The more experience you gain in writing bids, the less intimidating the task seems and the easier it becomes to find the most effective means of communicating your message. For people who are on the staff of a firm, one useful route into the process is to start by contributing technical input to bids and pre-qualification material, working with bid managers and proposal specialists. If you are a manager looking to develop good bid writers, you need first to identify people with the right qualities and then help them build up a bank of skills not just in business communication and the logistics of bid preparation, but also in the strategic aspects of tendering:
gauging a practicable response to the scale of contract requirements;
analysing contract issues, options and approaches;
seeing contracts from the client's side of the table;
matching technical procedures with their cost implications;
applying project management techniques in developing work programmes;
researching markets and projects;
understanding client needs and priorities;
applying first-hand project experience to bid development;
acquiring an attitude of mind that looks into the mechanics of a project, sees what problems might occur and how to prevent them, and builds these measures into an effective partnership between client and contractor.
Successful bid writers:
are bright technically;
know how to write clearly and directly;
work conscientiously and methodically;
do what the client asks;
care about detail;
perform well in a team;
understand outputs and meet deadlines.