Whereas readers with different interests at bid stage will take something on project management and sales tips on putting forward persuasive arguments, this book is really for managers about to engage in writing a commercial proposal which, if successful, will result in a contract to deliver a project or a programme of work. The author takes the reader through the five sensible stages of the bid cycle which are: analyse the opportunity; formulate a strategy to win; create a feasible proposal/compliance and quality control; bid assembly and dispatch; and transition to the project.
If the bid is misconceived, it is clear that no amount of sophisticated project management is going to rescue the outcome. This comprehensive book guides prospective project managers through the bid-writing lifecycle, providing guidelines and useful tips on crafting a winning bid and setting up the project with the best possible chance of success.
There are 13 chapters and two appendices, totalling some 220 pages. On casual reading of the book, not in a bid-writing situation, every reader can probably spot in this book mistakes they have made in the past and identify what the correct action should have been. Each chapter also has a really useful summary of its key points.
To single out a few of the key messages of some of the chapters, Chapter 8 covers realistic costing and pricing and the author re-asserts the obvious but sometimes misunderstood concept that price should not be confused with cost. Chapter 9 illustrates a structured approach to writing the bid, which is very useful of course, and also notes if you do not have the right structure for your proposal, you will end up sending the right messages but not necessarily in the right order. Chapter 10 is about getting the message across and notes that objectivity is a vital part of the bid-writing process, stating if you cannot (or refuse to) see anything other than the benefits of your solution, you are unlikely to counter potential criticisms of your approach. Chapter 11 details the management solution and highlights in particular the criticality of the executive summary. In Chapter 13, which covers the transition to a project, some useful guidelines to prepare for possible trade-off discussions with the client are included.
All those involved in the bid-writing process will take something from this book. If this is the reader’s first bid then this process may seem somewhat daunting, and so it should, as the seeds are sown early in the process. This book would give such persons a chance of addressing the right issues in the right order. If the reader is an expert bid writer, then the book will serve as a handy guide and checklist, most likely offering some good ideas or alternatives to the skills already developed.
The author writes in an easy-to-read style and the book is thorough, interesting, and full of common sense, while being persuasive where it needs to be. The bid has to be right. There seems to be little published leading literature on the subject, and therefore I have no hesitation in recommending that those responsible for bid writing should have a copy of this book to hand.
