Many times in working with bid teams, I come across the same issues over and again. One of the most common and easiest to fix is communication within the team.

As we all know, bids are conducted in a highly pressurised environment. Timescales are usually tight, contributors have a million other things to do and orchestrating input from lots of specialist partners means that the end solution sometimes doesn't come together until late in the process. Adding internal bid team meetings to this is just an added pressure, right?

Wrong!

Communication through the bid period is vital to a successful submission. It allows the 'story' of the solution to develop and gives the internal team the opportunity to solve problems laterally rather than in isolation. By understanding how a solution has developed - the ideas that were considered, discarded or enhanced along the way - the lead bid writer can clearly identify the differentiators and communicate your team's expertise and understanding. At interview, a team that has communicated well throughout the bid process will stand out from a disparate group of individuals thrust together to "give good face" in front of the client's team.

Programme regular review meetings into your bid period and, if that's not possible, make sure your lead writer speaks to all of your contributors regularly. Not just to chase input but to develop a detailed understanding of how their contribution has evolved and where those key selling points lie.

With that, I'm off for a chat…