Completing Bids Like a Pro!
Winning tenders requires more than just submitting an ITT - it demands a strategic approach, real effort, and a clear understanding of what evaluators are looking for. Whether you’re bidding for public sector contracts or private opportunities, completing bids like a pro means drafting compelling, compliant, and competitive submissions.
At Thornton & Lowe, we’ve been helping businesses win tenders since 2009, winning billions in contract value. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the essentials of completing bids successfully, from bid writing best practices to strategic approaches that increase your win rate.
Who Are Professional Bid Writers?
Us! Thornton & Lowe :)
Professional bid writers are specialists in bid management who have extensive experience in preparing and submitting competitive bids. These experts understand procurement processes, evaluation criteria, and how to position a business effectively to win contracts.
At Thornton & Lowe, our team of bid specialists includes:
- Bid Writers – Crafting clear, persuasive responses tailored to client needs.
- Bid Managers – Overseeing the entire bid process, ensuring compliance and strategic alignment.
- Bid Consultants – Advising on bid strategy, market positioning, and best practices.
- Bid Reviewers – Conducting quality assurance to strengthen bid submissions.
- Bid Trainers & Mentors – Helping businesses develop in-house bid writing capabilities.
We help organisations of all sizes from SMEs to large corporations win contracts by improving their bid success rates.
What Goes Into a Winning Bid?
Planning and both pragmatic and innovative approach - focused on perfection! A formal bid is typically required for longer term and higher value contracts - so well worth the investment and taking a professional approach.
The bid writing and completion process typically includes:
- Understanding the Tender Requirements – Carefully reviewing the specification, contract terms, and evaluation criteria to ensure compliance.
- Bid Strategy Development – Identifying key strengths, unique selling points, and how to position your business effectively.
- Gathering Evidence & Supporting Documents – Providing case studies, policies, financial details, and references to strengthen your bid.
- Bid Writing & Narrative Development – Drafting clear, structured responses that address all requirements while being persuasive and engaging.
- Compliance & Quality Checks – Ensuring that formatting, clarity, and technical details meet the tendering authority’s expectations.
- Submission & Follow-up – Submitting the bid within the deadline and preparing for potential clarifications or presentations.
Businesses that take a structured, strategic approach to bid writing consistently achieve higher win rates. At Thornton & Lowe, we apply best practices and proven techniques to improve bid quality, ensuring our clients submit stronger, more competitive tenders.
Speak to a bidding pro today
Contact usHow Do You Start Winning Tenders Like a Pro But Without the Budget?
Winning tenders without a large budget is possible with the right approach, commitment, and strategy. While outsourcing to bid writing experts can significantly improve success rates, smaller businesses and those new to tendering can still develop strong bids by focusing on key areas of improvement.
1. Invest in Bid Writing Training
Improving your own bid writing skills is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase your win rate. Understanding how to structure responses, align with evaluation criteria, and communicate value effectively can make a significant difference. Thornton & Lowe offers bid writing training and mentoring to support businesses in developing these skills in-house.
2. Learn from Past Bids
Reviewing previous submissions both successful and unsuccessful - helps identify strengths and weaknesses. By analysing feedback from evaluators, businesses can refine future responses to better meet buyer expectations.
3. Develop a Bid Library
A bid library can simply be made up of previous responses or a best practice version to ensure consistency across your business. It should allow businesses to quickly tailor and refine bids instead of starting from scratch each time. Tender Library is our solution.
4. Focus on Key Bid Requirements
- Answer the questions directly and clearly.
- Provide evidence to back up claims (e.g., case studies, testimonials, performance data).
- Ensure compliance with all tender requirements (e.g., policies, certifications, financial information).
- Highlight your unique selling points and how they align with the buyer’s needs.
5. Use Bid Templates and Tools
Instead of writing from scratch, businesses can use bid templates designed by industry experts. Thornton & Lowe offers bid templates from £1,300, which include key tender questions and model answers tailored to different industries.
6. Consider Bid Mentoring for Additional Support
For businesses that need occasional support without the cost of full outsourcing, a Bid Mentor Service (£750 per month) provides expert guidance, feedback, and advice on improving bid responses.
While professional bid writing services can save time and increase success rates, businesses can still compete effectively by investing in training, leveraging past experience, and applying a structured approach to bid preparation.
Case Study: The Bid Disaster – A Masterclass in What NOT to Do
Meet Barry Bid-Flop, a small business owner who’s just spotted a high-value public sector tender on FTS. It’s exactly the type of contract his company could win… if he actually planned the bid properly. But who has time for that?
Step 1: The Non-Existent Bid Plan
The tender deadline is a month away. Plenty of time, right? So, Barry does what any logical business owner would do - he parks it for three weeks and focuses on "real work" instead. After all, it’s just a bit of paperwork!
Fast forward three weeks. Five days to go.
Barry suddenly remembers the tender and thinks, Right, let’s smash this out!
Step 2: The Legendary Bid/No-Bid Decision (or Lack Thereof)
Barry hasn’t even looked at the tender documents. But it’s a big contract, so surely it’s worth bidding for? No need to check whether his company meets the requirements or has the experience the buyer is looking for.
Instead of asking:
- Do we actually have the right qualifications?
- Can we deliver the contract effectively?
- Do we have strong evidence to prove we’re the best choice?
Barry confidently declares: “We’ll figure it out later.”
Step 3: Skipping the Tender Pack – Who Needs Details?
With four days to go, Barry finally downloads the tender documents.
200 pages? Surely that’s a mistake! Who has time for that? Instead, he scrolls to the first question and figures, I’ll just wing it!
No need to check specifications, deadlines, compliance requirements, or annoying details like submission formats. He’s got this.
Step 4: AI to the Rescue!
Time is running out. But Barry has a secret weapon—ChatGPT! Surely AI will write a flawless, award-winning bid in minutes? He copies and pastes the tender questions, presses enter, and voilà - a perfectly generic, robotic response.
No tailoring, no evidence, no personalisation.
Just glorious, automated corporate jargon.
Barry reads the AI-generated response:
"We are delighted to offer our synergistic solutions to provide unparalleled value in a dynamic and evolving landscape."
He nods approvingly. That sounds impressive. It must be good.
Step 5: The “That’ll Do” Quality Check
With one hour to go, Barry skims through the bid, realising he’s missing a few key documents—like case studies, financial records, and half the required policies.
“No time for that now. Let’s just submit what we have.”
Sure, he hasn’t actually answered some questions properly. Sure, the AI’s responses don’t relate to his business at all. But come on - it’s 30 pages of words. Surely the evaluators will appreciate the effort?
Click. Submit. Done.
Step 6: The Brutal Reality
A few weeks later, Barry gets the result.
Unsuccessful.
The feedback is brutal:
- Compliance failure – Didn’t submit required documents.
- Weak responses – Generic AI-generated fluff.
- No supporting evidence – No case studies, testimonials, or proof of expertise.
- Missed the mark entirely – Clearly didn’t read the requirements.
Barry is shocked. How could this happen?
But instead of learning from his mistakes, he sighs, leans back, and says:
“Must’ve been rigged.”
Moral of the Story?
Don’t be like Barry Bid-Flop.
✅ Plan ahead – Give yourself time to prepare a strong bid.
✅ Make a proper bid/no-bid decision – Only bid if you have a real chance of winning.
✅ Read the tender documents – Every detail matters.
✅ Tailor responses – Show how your business is the perfect fit.
✅ Use AI wisely – As a tool, not a shortcut.
✅ Review before submission – Quality matters.
Need help avoiding a Barry-style disaster? Thornton & Lowe can guide you through the bid process properly - so you actually stand a very good chance of winning. Hello@thorntonandlowe. com / 01204 238046
