There are multiple support roles within a bid team, and whether you are part of a large organisation, a small to medium enterprise (SME), a micro-SME or a one-man band, if you’re considering outsourcing bid support, you need to know what you want. Put simply, the answer will always be: I want someone who can help me win my bid.
But who is that person? Before you engage someone to help you craft that winning bid, you need to decide what you want them to do.
Do you need someone to assess the ITT or PQQ and help you make a bid or no bid decision? That’s a Proposal Architect or a Bid Manager.
Do you need help managing the team and the process throughout the bid? That’s the role of a Bid Manager, often supported by a Bid Coordinator.
Do you want assistance in shaping your solution and structuring your documents in a way that will ensure you answer the questions? You want a Proposal Architect.
Do you need someone who can translate technical information into a coherent answer? That’s a Bid Writer.
Do you need information extracted from your subject matter experts (SMEs) and turned into content? That’s also a Bid Writer.
Do you need someone to develop new content in a technical area? That would be a specialised Bid Writer or an external SME.
Do you need help with reviewing your responses? That’s either a Proposal Architect or a specialist Reviewer.
Do you need someone to cross the “t”s and dot the “I”s? This is best done by a Proofreader.
Do you want your proposal to be eye catching? Formatters and Graphic Designers take care of this.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive. If you need help figuring out what or who it is you need, speak to a bid agency – an initial conversation aimed at assessing your needs should be free of charge. (Speak to us any time or send us a message here). You can also check out our blog on getting the most out of your outsourced bid support.
What if you’re new to this game and you don’t know what you need? Go for a company that can provide all the skills and put together a tailored, flexible support team to bring in what you need, when you need it. BiD Masters can help with this.