How to Recruit a Winning Bid Writing Team

Thornton & Lowe are highly experienced provider of bid resource – the recruitment of key people that make up a bid writing team. Sometimes referred to as the bid team, proposal team, pitch team or tender team amongst other variations and permutations, how do you go about recruiting a successful bid writing team?

Who do I need? – Who makes up a bid team?

We are always asked, what is the perfect size for a bid team? And there isn’t a definitive answer being completely honest. In our experience though, bid teams need to be scaled in order to suit the demands of the sales pipeline. They need to be able to adapt accordingly and in some cases quite quickly but they must include all the skills and knowledge required to be able to respond to client requirements. Thornton & Lowe have recruited for the following roles: How you structure the team really depends on the specific needs and requirements of the company but we can advise on this accordingly. Finding the right people is essential to success; if you are struggling to find the experienced candidates you need then you should look into professional bid resource services. This will give you access to people who know the market inside out and who have access to experienced candidates, many companies now choose to outsource the recruitment of bid team staff because it is difficult locating the right people otherwise through their own internal HR.

Where to look for bid writing team members?

First of all we would always recommend a specialist recruitment agency just because the bid writing industry is so specialised it is best to get assistance from those who know it inside out. Then we would probably recommend looking for any recommendations or promotions from within business development or planning team staff whom are already available. Invest in a graduate, opening entry to them and then providing training to develop them. We would recommend also looking at job sites for candidates and a popular place for many recruiters is also through LinkedIn. One way in which you can source bid writing team members is through head hunting although this can be dangerous if not carried out effectively. Head hunting is a direct approach whereby you may target say a person in the position you’re recruiting for but maybe at another company or even a competitor.

What qualities to look for in a bid writer?

When recruiting for bid writing there is always a key set of qualities that we would look for as we know that any bid writer who holds such qualities will be successful.

• Proven Experience
• Time Management
• Organisation Skills
• Excellent English writing skills and the ability to get the point across
• Resourceful/Information
• Passionate About Quality
• Seek Professional Help from Experts

As a bid writing company, we know how stressful the world of bid writing is. We know what works and we know what doesn’t work. Over the years we have created a successful bid writing team who win hundreds of contracts each year for our clients.