Bid Letters


There are many situations that call for nothing more formal or elaborate than a short letter in response to the client's approach. Generally in these circumstances the structure and content of the letter will be left to your judgement.

Start the letter by showing that you understand the client's objectives - perhaps as a result of a meeting to assess the scope of the advice that the client really needs: you may have to help the client identify problems and issues, which may not always correspond with his or her initial view of a situation. Then explain your proposed approach, programme of work and timetable, with an estimate of the expected costs; conclude with an offer to provide any further information the client may request. Background information about your credentials and experience can be included in the body of the letter, following the opening statement or in an appendix. Like all business correspondence, bid letters must be clear, precise and to the point. The aim is to avoid a situation in which there can be any misunder2standing or difference of view about either what the client wants you to achieve or what you would expect to do for the client.

To illustrate one possible approach, Figure 12.4 (at the end of this chapter) reproduces in full the text of a successful bid letter, amended only to protect the identity of the client and the bidder. Though the work was for a public sector authority, its fee value exempted it from formal tendering requirements. In this instance, the representative of the client knew the work of the bidder and had requested a proposal. For this reason, material about professional experience did not appear in the body of the letter but was included as an appendix in case the letter had to be copied to other officials. No one else was competing for the assignment: even so, the letter needed to give a precise and clearly structured statement of the services offered and the estimated costs of the work. Having a potential client who is disposed to give you work is helpful, but this does not absolve you from the need to spell out a systematic framework for performing the work, with a realistic timetable and acceptable costs. You can still lose the job through a complacent or sloppy bid!

The qualities that give impact and credibility to a more formal bid apply equally to a letter. The structural principles of logical order and coherent organization, the importance of knowing your strengths and keeping them visible to the client, the need to build client perception of an alert, innovative and dependable source of professional advice - these considerations are central to every bid, whatever its length. And, of course, the content of the letter has to be backed up by the quality of its presentation.




Bids, Tenders and Proposals. Winning Business Through Best Practice
Bids, Tenders and Proposals: Winning Business through Best Practice (Bids, Tenders & Proposals: Winning Business Through Best)
ISBN: 0749454202
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 145
Authors: Harold Lewis

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