Stephen Scott – One Month In

Having just finished my first month at Executive Compass, I understand how daunting it must feel when organisations are completing their first tender. Yet, in the short time I have been here, I have learned a great deal about the public sector tendering process and how vital it is to communicate your ideas in a persuasive and professional way.

How the Team of Bid Writers Works

Executive Compass are a dedicated team of bid writers, committed to working alongside their clients to complete successful PQQs and tenders. The team have worked with an array of clients and possess extensive knowledge across a large range of industries. I am currently assisting one of the more experienced bid writers in the team and it has been really interesting observing how they structure a narrative response, the specialist writing techniques they use, and the methodology for undertaking a bid from start to finish.

Through the use of proven bid processes, significant value can be added to a submission to increase the chances of a tender being successful. Nine times out of ten, an organisation will contact the team fully able to deliver a contract operationally, but lacking the skills to put this into writing and showcase their capabilities to their fullest extent.

What I’ve Learned So Far

I have learned a great deal in the short time I have been working with the team, improving my knowledge, and my expertise in bid writing. I have learned how difficult it can be for SMEs to compete against larger companies. SMEs can often compete on price, but cannot match larger companies’ knowledge of the bidding process. The team here engage in considerable communication with the organisations they work for, to gain a good understanding of how the company operates, and most importantly, to be able to convey that to the contracting authority in the correct way. Executive Compass know the process inside and out, which helps to level the playing field for our clients. It is often not obvious what evaluators look for in a bid, so having an expert writer on your side can be extremely advantageous.

Executive Compass has stringent quality standards which are second to none. Nothing is left to chance; everything is planned and checked to make sure everything is complete and meets the high standards expected of the company. The quality management process can involve up to three stages of review. This way, the team are able to verify the quality of each bid produced and to build on that quality by constantly improving submissions. Improving the quality of bids has led to numerous contracts being secured. Experiencing this quality process has led me to improve my own skills through constructive criticism and spotlight training from the rest of the team.

In my short time here, I have witnessed a number of companies contacting Executive Compass very late in the bid process. Although it would have been helpful to have engaged help earlier in the process, the team of writers have worked effectively to enable the bid to be completed by the deadline as unfortunately there are always occasions when a submission is very last minute. Due to the meticulous tracking process employed at Executive Compass, projects are always delivered on-time and to schedule – even though this often means working weekends and evenings!

Assistance With Your Bid

Executive Compass assist businesses in a variety of different ways. For example, I have reviewed tenders, prepared model answers and helped complete full bids. The Executive Compass team can be as involved as the client requires. Bids can be completed entirely or partially, and support can be offered at any stage of the process. The flexibility offered is an advantage and allows the quality that Executive Compass expects to improve a bid at any stage in the process.