Size and Presentation

Though clients like bids to be concise and to the point, large-scale contracts that involve complex work programmes and multiple teams of experts can require a sizeable body of documentation. Should the material be kept in one large volume or split into a number of smaller ones? In deciding this question you have to find a balance between two priorities: first, the client's need to be able to read and examine the document conveniently; second, your need to safeguard the physical integrity of the bid. The advantage of having one volume is that all the relevant information is to hand within a single cover. The drawback is that the bid may be unwieldy and hard to navigate.

You may choose to resolve the problem by setting a limit beyond which the bid, with all its detailed material, will not be allowed to grow, and then applying the necessary editing skills to contain the document within this limit by pruning down the material. In instances where a mass of information has to be supplied, dividing it into multiple volumes may be an appropriate answer, particularly if there is essential or highly relevant appendix material that resists editing or condensing. If resources extend to the multiple option, the use of a slip case housing the complete set of volumes is recommended.

The majority of bids are produced in an A4 portrait orientation. A4 documents are conveniently shaped for shelf storage, but it is worth considering the use both of a landscape orientation and of alternative sizes and shapes. Bids by their nature are ephemeral documents, not intended to have a long shelf life. Their presentation can play a part in building an image of creativity: a bid that looks different may project a message about being not only different but better. The important point is to present the bid in a format that makes it easy for the client to assimilate and to apply in the process of selecting a contractor.

The style of presentation must be geared to the client's expectations of professional quality. Your bid may be addressed to a middle manager in the client organization but may well find its way to the desk of the chief executive or the boardroom table before a decision is made. Think about the impression the bid is likely to make at top management level. The style of the document has to be efficient and businesslike: above all, it must strengthen your image as the right source of specialist advice for that client and for that job. Bids that are overloud or overdressed in terms of word processing and graphic presentation may look as if they are trying to compensate for a lack of confidence and content. Where professional services are concerned, a restrained design is better than overstatement.

• Some clients may require every page of the bid to be initialled by an authorized representative of the contractor, and even to have the representative's authorization confirmed by a written power of attorney accompanying the bid.

• Check the client documentation for instructions about the number of copies you have to submit. Clients may require a 'top copy' of the bid to be identified as the 'original' and the others to be marked with the word 'copy'.

• Keep at least three hard copies of the bid documents for future reference. Make sure the computer files and artwork from which the bid was printed are backed up and retained for at least a year after the selection decision, even when a contract has been lost.

• There are particular production issues such as questions of translation that may need to be addressed when the bid is for a client overseas. These issues are best resolved before the bid is written not afterwards. They are outlined briefly in Chapter 10.