In an ideal world, we would be offered the training needed for most jobs we are asked to do, and working on bids should be no different. However, this is very often not the case. Perhaps because it is assumed that the primary skill needed is writing, and that we’re all taught that at school, so nothing more is needed?
The skills needed to contribute to the bid process and to writing proposals are very specific. If you’ve got professional project management or writing skills, that’s a great start. A non-commercial organisation that recognises this is the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), whose vision reads “APMP promotes the professional growth of its members by advancing the arts, sciences, and technologies of winning business.”
As previously stated, I instigated the UK branch of APMP, working with people like Jon Williams and Tony Birch to build what has become a 1,400 membership organisation. They have a number of accredited training organisations, as well offering professional accreditation at 3 levels.
An essential proposal writing skill is the ability to answer the customer’s question in a concise fashion. The acronym RTFQ was coined to make the point that this process starts by Reading The Flipping Question; and I concur. A structure that works for answering questions is ISBP. I is for issue, suggesting that you starting be restating and analysing the issue that their question raises. S is for solution, whereby you outline your solution, based on your analysis. B is for benefit, which is where you tell them how that solution specifically benefits them by linking the benefits back to their specific needs. P is for proof, where you underpin you self-proclaimed benefits by offering real examples of past value delivered.
It also has to be said that many organisations who seek to improve their bid / win ratio believe that the answer is training, whereas I firmly believe that whilst it’s important, it’s much more important to look at bidding holistically, as discussed in this series of posts.