Working on Tenders: Keeping Your Sanity While Delivering Results
Let's face it – working on tenders can be incredibly stressful. The deadlines are tight, the questions are complex, and there's always that one subject expert who's on holiday just when you need them most.
If you've found yourself staring at a 200-question ITT at 6pm on a Friday, or trying to explain to your MD why you need three case studies by tomorrow morning, this guide is for you.
Handling the Pressure Cooker
When you're knee-deep in tender documents with the clock ticking, pressure mounts quickly. Here's what actually works:
Break the monster down. Large tenders become manageable when split into smaller chunks. It sounds obvious, but many of us still try to tackle everything at once. Don't. Create mini-deadlines for each section and track progress visibly.
Stop reinventing the wheel. If you've answered a question about your quality management system 17 times before, you shouldn't be writing it from scratch again. Keep a folder of your best responses (or better yet, use proper bid software – more on that later). Spend your time tailoring it.
Build in breathing room. We all know the submission portal will crash 30 minutes before deadline. Or the finance director will suddenly question your pricing strategy at the eleventh hour. Set your internal deadline at least two days before the actual one – you'll need that buffer.
Get help before you're drowning. Many businesses wait until their bid team is completely overwhelmed before seeking support. By then, it's often too late for the best results. Consider a partnership with bid writing specialists :) who can take overflow work when things get hectic.
Making Your Role Sustainable
Burnout is real in the bid world. I've seen too many good bid managers leave the profession because they simply couldn't sustain the pace. Here's how to avoid becoming another statistic:
Document everything. When key information lives only in someone's head, you're always one sick day away from disaster. Create simple handover notes for each live bid with the key decisions, conversations and rationales.
Use proper tools. Spreadsheets and shared drives might work for occasional bids, but serious tender work needs proper systems. Bid management software centralises your knowledge and makes it accessible to everyone who needs it.
Plan your workload realistically. If you know six major frameworks are renewing in September, start preparing in July. Map out your known opportunities for the next six months and be honest about resource requirements.
Learn to say "not now." When the sales director asks you to "just take a quick look" at a new opportunity while you're finalising three others, it's OK to explain your capacity limits and suggest a time when you can properly focus on it.
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Click hereAdvice for those Working on Tenders
Getting the Bid/No-Bid Decision Right
Nothing wastes more time than working on tenders you were never going to win. A proper bid/no-bid process saves enormous effort:
Keep your qualification simple. A one-page scoring sheet covering the basics – do we meet the minimum requirements, is this work we want, can we be competitive, do we have the resources to bid properly – is enough to start with.
Don't involve the whole company. You need a small, empowered group who can make quick decisions. Too many cooks turn a 15-minute qualification into a three-hour debate.
Write down your thinking. Before you start working on the bid, note your honest assessment of win probability and why you think you can win. It's amazing how our memories change after we've invested weeks in a submission.
Check your results against predictions. Every quarter, look back at your bid/no-bid decisions and compare outcomes with expectations. This simple review will sharpen your qualification process faster than anything else.
I've seen companies increase their win rates from 30% to over 60% just by getting more disciplined about which opportunities they pursue. That's a lot of wasted effort eliminated.
Writing Bids That Buyers Actually Want to Read
After reading thousands of tender submissions as both a writer and evaluator, I've noticed the same issues coming up repeatedly:
- Most bids talk about the company, not the buyer. Your 30-year history and three offices are interesting to you, not them. They want to know how you'll solve their specific problems.
- Generic responses get generic scores. When you use the same content for every bid, it shows. Take the time to understand what makes this buyer different and address their particular challenges.
- Evidence beats claims every time. "We provide excellent customer service" means nothing without proof. "Our customer satisfaction score has averaged 4.8/5 over the past three years" carries weight.
- Simpler language wins. I once saw a bid that used "utilise" 47 times. Nobody talks like that. Write like you're explaining things to a smart colleague, not competing for the longest word award.
- The most successful bids feel like they were written specifically for that buyer – because they were. They show genuine understanding of what the buyer is trying to achieve and offer relevant evidence of how the supplier can help.
Learning From Every Submission
Each tender offers valuable insights if you take the time to capture them:
- Ask for detailed feedback, even when it's uncomfortable. Most buyers will share their thoughts if you ask specific questions about where you could improve.
- Run your own post-mortem. Gather the bid team to discuss what went well and what didn't. Keep it constructive and focused on processes rather than people.
- Look for patterns. One negative comment about your risk management approach might be an evaluator's opinion. The same feedback three times in a row suggests a real issue you need to address.
- Create a simple improvement plan. Pick the two or three most significant issues and focus on fixing those before moving on to other areas.
How Technology Makes Life Easier
The right tools can transform your tender experience:
Modern bid software isn't just a document storage system. Platforms like our Tender Library make previous responses instantly searchable, so you can find relevant content in seconds rather than hours. Many users report 30% time savings – that's more than a day back from each working week.
AI-assisted review tools can help spot inconsistencies, check compliance, and suggest improvements to your content. They won't write the bid for you, but they can sharpen what you've written.
Simple deadline tracking prevents nasty surprises. Most bid management tools include alert systems that remind everyone of upcoming tasks and deadlines.
Version control stops the "which draft is current" nightmare. There's nothing worse than realising you've spent two hours editing the wrong version of a response.
Remote collaboration features mean your subject experts can contribute from anywhere. This has been a game-changer for teams spread across multiple locations.
Building a Team That Delivers
The people working on your tenders ultimately determine your success:
Clarify who does what. Bid confusion often stems from unclear responsibilities. A simple responsibility matrix showing who's writing, reviewing, approving and submitting saves countless headaches.
Invest in your writers. Good bid writing is a skill that needs development. Regular training and feedback helps your team sharpen their abilities and stay motivated. We not only train bid teams - we also recruit them!
Create collaboration points. The best technical experts aren't always the best writers, and the best writers don't always understand the technical details. Bringing these people together at key points improves both accuracy and readability.
Consider flexible support models. Many businesses find that a core in-house team supplemented by external specialists during busy periods gives them the best balance of consistency and capacity.
Recognise the effort. Bid work is often invisible until something goes wrong. Make a point of celebrating wins and acknowledging the work that goes into submissions, regardless of outcome.
How We Can Help
At Thornton & Lowe, we've been in the trenches with bid teams for years. We understand the real challenges you face, and we've developed practical solutions:
Our Tender Library software was built by bid professionals who were fed up with wasting time searching for information they knew existed somewhere. It makes finding previous content quick and simple, helps you manage version control, and ensures your knowledge stays with the company even when people move on.
When your team is swamped, our bid writing service provides skilled professionals who can step in at short notice. Many clients use us as their overflow resource – we learn their business and can seamlessly support their in-house team during busy periods.
Our Bid Mentor Service (from £750 per month) gives you ongoing access to expert guidance. It's like having an experienced bid director on call when you need advice or a second opinion.
We also offer comprehensive bid training programmes, search and selection services to help you find the right opportunities, and design support to make your submissions look as good as they read.
Tenders don't have to be a source of stress and burnout. With the right approach, tools and support, you can transform your tender process into a streamlined, successful part of your business development strategy.
Get in touch for a free initial consultation, and let's discuss how we can make your tender work more effective and sustainable.
