Success in tendering hinges on your ability to persuasively and compellingly articulate your solution. As we often say, the best solution in the world won’t be successful if you haven’t adequately articulated your proposal to the client. At the end of the day, the only way the client can select your bid is if your formal proposal convinces them that your solution is the best.
This is why we spend so much time talking about, and teaching, tender writing. Each podcast episode on writing addresses a different angle or different perspective of tendering writing to deepen and broaden your understanding.
At Aurora Marketing, our methodology for writing stipulates a 3-draft process.
We know from experience that the first draft is never more than 40% complete, even when left to the last minute, and each subsequent draft only adds about 20%. So we start early and proceed through 3 drafts…
This blog discusses what is expected at each draft.
Let’s start with an analogy of baking a cake:
- The first step is to choose what you are going to bake and select your recipe. What will your ‘audience’ be expecting? Something light and fresh, or rich and decadent? Something for a picnic? Or something for a wedding? There are so many options, and you first need to choose. This is our Content Analysis step where you decide what the client wants and what you are going to create.
- The next step in baking is to get your ingredients and equipment out on the bench – do you have everything you need? Enough eggs? Enough milk? Enough flour? The right baking trays? An oven set at the right temperature? This is basically our Draft 1 where we do a ‘data dump’ for the deliverable and check that we have the right content to move forward.
- Next up, we start putting it all together. Measuring, beating, whipping, mixing, combining… It is starting to become a cake now and you can taste the flavours coming together. Most of the hard work is done and its taking shape. This is Draft 2.
- Then, cooking the cake. Set the temperature, watch it closely, and test as you go. By now you know you’re on a winner and it smells great! This is Draft 3.
- And the final phase is putting the icing on the cake and plating up to get that ‘wow!’ factor. This is the finalisation process where we copywrite, format and proofread the document, with special emphasis on drawing out the competitive edge and weaving through the win themes.
Now let’s talk more specifically and in real tender terms.
We set a target for Draft 1 to score 40% according to our scoring methodology, which you can read about in our podcast on Writing Content that Scores.
At 40%, there are obviously gaps in the content, but we should see some of the content starting to take shape. It will probably be a data dump of raw thoughts, ideas and information, and there may be some decisions that still need to be made about how to respond or what our solution is.
We expect:
- The answer structured exactly as per the client question
- All the headings we need in the finished answer
- Content roughed in to each section
- Content which is based on a certain position or set of assumptions
- Lots of dot points
- Descriptions of content still to come
- Descriptions of case studies, examples and evidence that will be relevant
- Sketches or descriptions of diagrams still to come
- Square brackets on facts or figures, for example “The first [5] sets will…
- Lots of annotations or notes, for example “Insert a table showing…” “Need to decide on…”
Tips for completing Draft 1 documents:
- Our Content Analysis helps us to keep on track and cover all the angles
- We write as quickly as we can and get down as many ideas as possible
- We don’t worry about spelling or punctuation at all at this stage, just ideas
- We use square brackets to rough in ideas and information that needs to be confirmed.
Next up, we set a target for Draft 2 to be 60%. The gaps are almost all filled and the content is reasonably clear. The thoughts, ideas and information are almost all fleshed out. It is mostly well structured and close to the page limits. All of the decisions about our solution have been made, although the detail may be missing. The technical content should be fully formed, and we should start to address project objectives, risks and challenges, and provide evidence to demonstrate why our solution will be successful.
We expect:
- The answer structured exactly as per the client question
- All the headings that will be used in the finished answer
- A sensible answer drafted in to each section providing comprehensive technical content
- Content which is based on the agreed decisions of the bid team, and only a few assumptions
- Only a few dot points – predominantly it should be well-structured prose
- Explicit reference to the project objectives and how our approach will meet the objectives
- Explicit reference to the client’s risks and challenges and how our approach will resolve them
- Evidence that relates to the solution being described
- Draft diagrams
- Square brackets on facts or figures, for instance “The first [5] sets will…”
- Only a few remaining annotations or notes, for instance “Insert a table showing…” “Need to decide on…”
Draft 3 is where it has all come together. We set a target of 80%, but it should be complete from a technical perspective. That means it should be technically complete and correct, clearly outline the proposed solution, meet the page limits, do a reasonable job of building confidence in the solution, and assert how our solution is unique and innovative.
We expect:
- The answer structured exactly as per the client question
- A fully formed final deliverable including all headings and sections completed and comprehensive technical information
- Content which is based on the agreed decisions of the bid team (all assumptions have been confirmed)
- Explicit reference to the project objectives and how our approach will meet the objectives
- Explicit reference to the client’s risks and challenges and how our approach will resolve them
- Evidence that relates to the solution being described
- A compelling response that shows why our approach is unique and innovative
- Finalised diagrams
- Any attachments.
After Draft 3, the Aurora Marketing tender team takes ownership of the document and turns it into a submission-quality winning tender. We copywrite, format and proofread the document to be powerfully persuasive and compelling, particularly by articulating our competitive edge, and weaving through the win themes.
If we follow this process, we know that the documents will be in their best shape to articulate our solution and convince the client that our offer is their best choice.
Aurora Marketing specialises in helping companies win their tenders and position themselves for success.
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