Bid Writing Guide Standards and practices A reference manual for content creators v.1.2

2015

Prepared by Mihail Giurgea Liftec Lifts Limited

9/15/2015

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CONTENTS

About this Guide

3

Spelling and Grammar

4

Company names: singular or plural?

4

Capitalisation of Job Titles

5

Bullet points

6

Checklist of language to avoid in business writing

7

The Trinity: Template – Tailoring - Case Study

9

Content: How-To Write a Case Study

11

Style

13

Keep it simple, yet professional

13

Case studies/Customer references

14

Staff CVs

14

Commercial sensitivity

14

Why Us?

14

Standards and policies

15

Pricing

15

Review Cycle and Sign Off

15

Annex: Bid Writing Process

16

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ABOUT THIS GUIDE

This style guide compiles various standards and practices our company adheres to in the production of

content.

The content our company produces is essential to solidifying our brand. We want our brand to be identifiable

to customers, but consistency can be a challenge, since Liftec employs multiple writers and content creators.

The scope of this Guide is to

• Give our content voice consistency. The content we produce is our means of communicating with

our customers. We want what is being said and, more importantly, how it is being said to be

recognizable. Content gives our company a voice, and when several different people contribute to

that voice, identifying the characteristics and qualities that define it becomes more important than

ever. It’s about establishing what our readers already know, and what they want to know. It’s about

defining how our readers want to be talked to, and how we can achieve that.

• Help with growing pains. Our company is a growing entity and — chances are — it’s going to

change over time. There will likely be employee turnover, product evolvement or any number of

other exciting challenges in our future. By having a written standard for how content is created, we

can help ease those transitions.

• Help settle editorial conflicts. No matter how great our writers are, we might find ourselves facing

an editorial squabble over some aspect of the created content.

Creating a style guide might seem like unnecessary work, but if done well, it could actually end up saving us

time.

This Guide is a reference manual our content creators can — well — reference easily and accessibly. Rather

than trying to explain to our employees why it is we do things a certain way, we have a tangible set of

standards to point to.

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SPELLING AND GRAMMAR

COMPANY NAMES: SINGULAR OR PLURAL?

The industry is unanimous on this one:

“Company names are ALWAYS singular”

(The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-c)

“A government, a party, a company (whether Tesco or Marks and

Spencer) and a partnership (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) are all IT and

take a SINGULAR verb. So does a country, even if its name looks plural:

Example: The Philippines HAS a congressional system, as DOES the United

States; the Netherlands DOES NOT. The United Nations is also singular.

Like governments, parties and companies, brokers are singular too:

Example: Legg Mason Wood Walk IS preparing a statement.”

(Source: The Economist, http://www.economist.com/style-guide/singular-or-plural)

Therefore we will use:

Liftec IS accredited to ISO9001 and as part of our management procedures

WE HAVE a process for continuous improvement

But we will avoid inconsistencies:

Liftec WERE awarded the whole of the contract for over 700 lifts and 300

mobility lifts. In 2014 the contract was re-tendered and Liftec WAS

awarded area A

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CAPITALISATION OF JOB TITLES

The easiest rules to remember are:

• Capitalise a job title that comes before the person’s name. Example: Professor Plum, or Speaker of the

House Thomas Thumb, or Chairman Scarlett

• If the job title comes right after the person’s name then it is capitalised, as in: Mark Lomas, National

Service Operations Director, will attend the meeting.

• In signature lines at the end of a letter or email, the job title would be capitalised, like:

Sincerely,

Mary C, Senior Engineer

• Cap up titles, but not job description, e.g. President Barack Obama (but the US president, Barack

Obama); Chief Engineer John Plowright (but the chief engineer); Pope Francis (but the pope)

• Capitalise job titles or abbreviations that come immediately before or after a person’s name: Dr.

Seuss, Prof. Peters.

To summarize the capitalisation of job titles:

You capitalise the job title when it comes immediately before the name or

immediately after the name.

It is not capitalised if it comes after the name if there is a “the” before it.

(Source: http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/capitalization/capitalization-of-job-titles.html)

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BULLET POINTS

Bullet points are used to draw attention to important information within a document so that a reader

can identify the key issues and facts quickly. Since Microsoft Word is the standard software for business

writing, it makes sense to use Microsoft’s rules, in order to save time, to keep it simple, and avoid

inconsistencies. Here are some guidelines that apply only to Bid Writing, not to the usual day-to-day writing:

Always capitalise after a bullet point (MS Word does this by default)

Do not use any punctuation marks at the end – no period, no coma, no

colon or semicolon

Lists of bullet points will have more impact if each one begins with the same word class (or part of speech) and

if they are all of a similar length. Action verbs are a good choice for the first word, i.e. verbs that describe the

performing of an action.

Bullet points tend to have more impact if their text is relatively short. Make sure you use the same typeface

and margin width within each section.

Bullet points are visually attractive and make it easy for a reader to locate important information.

Nevertheless, try to use them sparingly: too many bullet-pointed sections in the same document will mean

that their impact is lost.

(Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/bullet-points)

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CHECKLIST OF LANGUAGE TO AVOID IN BUSINESS

WRITING

1. Do not use contractions

Contractions are the words formed from two abbreviated words, such as "don't", "can't" and "won't".

Please write the full words.

Correct: Please note that we DO NOT perform any type of Asbestos

removal.

Incorrect: Please note that we DON’T remove Asbestos

2. Do not use colloquial vocabulary

Colloquial vocabulary includes words and expressions that are used in everyday spoken language.

They do not provide the exactness needed in an academic setting (Fowler & Allen, 1992).

Instead of:

Retirement is something most of us must face sooner or later.

We should use:

Retirement is inevitable.

Also avoid other types of conversational language such as figures of speech, clichés and idioms; for example:

Colloquial Expression Formal Alternative

above board legitimate

reached a happy medium reached an acceptable compromise

get through it survive, penetrate

part and parcel intrinsic to

easier said than done more difficult in practice

beyond a shadow of doubt definitely

in recent years recently

pay lip service to support through words but not through actions

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got out of hand was no longer under control

a stumbling block point of contention

explored every avenue investigated alternatives

3. Avoid using run-on expressions

Run-on expressions include phrases such as 'and so forth', 'and so on' or 'etc'. Try to complete the

sentence properly; do not use these if you can avoid them; for example:

Informal (includes run-on) Formal Alternative

Nurses must take into consideration patients' dietary

needs resulting from allergies, medication, medical

conditions and so on.

Nurses must take into consideration patients' dietary

needs resulting from allergies, medication and medical

conditions.

Public transport includes vehicles for public use on the

roads, airways, waterways etc.

Public transport includes vehicles for public use, such

as buses, trains and aeroplanes.

4. Do not use rhetorical questions

A rhetorical question is a question for which no answer is expected. You should not risk your point

being misunderstood: make your point clear and 'up front'; for example:

Informal (includes rhetorical question) Formal

Industrial sites cause vast amounts of environmental

pollution, so why do we still use them?

The question surrounding the continued use of

industrial sites, given their vast pollution production,

still remains.

What is a team? A team can be one person but will

usually end up including many more.

A team can include one person but usually involves

many more.

5. Place adverbs within the verb

Adverbs should be placed within the verb group rather than in the initial or final positions. In informal

English, adverbs often occur as clauses at the beginning or end of sentences; for example:

Informal Formal Alternative

Then the solution can be discarded. The solution can then be discarded.

Source: http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/2e.html

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THE TRINITY: TEMPLATE – TAILORING - CASE STUDY

BECAUSE WE NEED ALL OF THEM: STANDARDS & CUSTOMER VALUE & EXPERIENCE

The Trinity is mostly used when writing about Method Statements and Programmes of Work.

What’s a Standard Method Statement/Programme of Work and why use it?

These are TEMPLATES. They were created as result of your company’s extensive field experience.

We should use them for the same reasons we use ISO Standards:

To ensure consistent quality delivery

To prove our corporate capability of maintaining a Standard Approach. Using a Template Method

Statement/Programme of Work shows corporate strength and experience. Your Client will trust you

more to deliver quality services and products

Because Templates are great time savers. Creating tailored Method Statements and Programmes of

Work before winning the tender is a waste of resources

A Standard (Template) Method/Programme should be less than an A4

You should be able to find these templates in the Bid Library

Standard Method Statement/PoW

Case Study Tailored

Approach

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What’s a Tailored Approach and why use it?

A TAILORED APPROACH is an Evaluation of your Client current situation and a Proposal - how you plan

to solve the problem if they hire your company

Why use it? Because you value your customers and they appreciate a tailored service

Because you want to prove them how you are aware of their needs and how you are prepared to

solve their problems

Because tenders using a Tailored Approach score higher

The Tailored Approach should only include a few figures (“we know you have 340 lifts, and 80% of

them are over 40 years old, therefore we propose THIS, in order to address the spare parts issue”) and

should be less than half of A4.

You should be able to obtain the Tailored Approach for each tender, from the Technical Department

or from the Contract Specialist

What’s a Case Study and why use it?

A CASE STUDY is the proof you delivered this service before (and with good results), you learned from

experience and you are ready to deliver even better services

For How-To write an effective Case Study, see the next chapter

Don’t forget to select only the Case Study that is relevant for your tender

Don’t forget to update regularly your Case Studies and to add new ones

You should be able to find the relevant Case Study in the Bid Library

Can we skip the Template and use only an old Method Statement as example?

No.

By using only an old method statement

You take an unnecessary risk. Different people read the same text in very different ways. Your Client

might think your example is not at all appropriate for their situation, although you think it is. Then you

will lose the points for that question. This risk is mitigated by using a Standard (template) document

You will also lose the opportunity to show how your company is an experienced organisation with

Standard procedures in place, which might be an advantage against the competition

Think of a Template as a skeleton. It provides a good start, but you need to put some flesh on it – this is the

Tailored Approach. Finally, the Case Study, your experience, is the solid ground to support your creation. Now

you are ready to win.

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CONTENT: HOW-TO WRITE A CASE STUDY

THE S.T.A.R. TECHNIQUE: SITUATION, TASK, ACTION, RESULT

S.T.A.R. became the industry standard technique for business presentations, and for good reasons. It provides

an easy-to-use structure and it allows you to write clearly and effectively, even when you are not a natural

born writer. People who know about STAR will appreciate your professionalism, but even people who never

heard of it will instinctively recognise its value. STAR is a behavioural interview technique.

Situation: What happened?

Task: What did you have to achieve?

Action: What did you do?

Results: What was the outcome of your actions? What did you achieve through your actions and did

you meet your objectives? What did you learn from this experience and have you used this learning

since?

EXAMPLE:

Situation: The contract with Kings College Hospital was originally set up

that all lifts would have 12 visits per annum, this was a cost saving

exercise with the Hospital.

Task: The Hospital and Liftec decided together to reduce the visits to 10.

Action: Liftec monitors this over a 6 month period to see if this would

have a detrimental effect on the running of the lifts and to see if

breakdowns increased. Liftec found that this did not happen as we have a

robust service schedule, so we were able to make cost savings for this

contract.

Result: This made around an £8,000 saving per annum. The customer

was pleased and they recently renewed our contract.

Recommendations:

We should actually use these five words - Situation, Task, Action, Result – when writing a Case

Study (as above), even when we are limited to 500 words. This makes our structure more obvious and

our Case Study will be easier to read.

Your Case Study should always have a clear happy ending (“we reached our goals and the Client was

pleased”, “we won the contract”, “we were awarded with a new contract”).

For Results: you may want to include a very short testimonial (e.g. an email from the Client), if

possible.

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QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN WRITING A CASE STUDY:

Who to contact?

Contract background?

Duration?

Low or High Rise?

How many floors?

Listed Building?

How many lifts?

Lift type?

What you did?

Problems/challenges?

How the problems/challenges were solved?

Any feedback?

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STYLE

KEEP IT SIMPLE, YET PROFESSIONAL

1. Address exactly what the Buyer asks for, and ONLY what the Buyer asks for!

2. Use a consistent writing style

3. Be professional in the format and presentation of the response

Do exactly as the Buyer asks

When compiling your tender response, the most important thing is to do exactly as the Buyer asks, and if you

are unsure of anything – ask them. Always think about what the Buyer is looking for when writing a tender,

and write your response within that context. If there is additional information that you think is relevant and

you would like to include this detail, place it in an Added Value or Additional Products/Services section.

Documents should be presented in a way that makes it as simple as possible for the Buyer to evaluate – if you

get too sophisticated or try to be different this often will not impress the evaluation team. Don’t forget the

evaluation team are specifically asking for all proposals to be presented in a consistent way to make the

evaluation process easier and quicker for them to complete.

Writing Style

The writing style should be a combination of a formal tone used in providing the information required, and a

subtle selling tone, influencing the Buyer as to why they should purchase from you. This can be a difficult mix

to get right. A style which is too ‘salesy’ will overload the Buyer with information that is often outside the

scope of what they require. Ensure that there is consistency of tense and voice (for example use of the third

party). Avoid jargon and excessive use of acronyms.

Format and Presentation

The overall design of the proposal document makes a statement to the Buyer about the professional ability of

your organisation. A simple design with a header and footer which makes the document looks professional.

USE LIFTEC TEMPLATES:

Blank for new text – for tender proposals

Front Cover# - for the cover

Tender Label BLANK - for the envelopes (if not provided by the Buyer)

The document should be divided into clear sections, either as specified by the Buyer or created to provide a

clear and logical presentation of the proposal content.

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The Tender Process

Throughout the document there should be a consistent font, text size, alignment and numbering sequencing

used. Paragraphs should be short and punchy with bullet points and images such as simple flowcharts used to

break up the text. Appendices should be used for detailed information, removing this from the main

document. The front cover of the proposal may be the first thing the Buyer sees, and should create an

impression of the quality of the remainder of the document. The cover should clearly identify the owner by

including the company corporate colours, an existing corporate ‘look and feel’ and logo. It should also include

the bidder’s organisation name, title of the contract or tender and any reference codes.

CASE STUDIES/CUSTOMER REFERENCES

You can develop a template for these.

Case studies can be used to demonstrate that your business has provided similar services/products to other

organisations, which, if required, may be approached to vouch for the quality of service. The case study

projects should be in a consistent format.

STAFF CVS

Buyers need to know that your business has the right skills and experience within the team to deliver the

contract. This can be demonstrated by providing a short pen pic of each member of the team within the body

of the proposal with full CVs attached in an appendix.

COMMERCIAL SENSITIVITY

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, any tenders or documents submitted and associated letters and

emails are subject to the FOIA. A separate Freedom of Information form is often enclosed as part of the tender

document pack. Mark clearly the sections which contain information you consider confidential and include a

line to justify your selection and also state for how long the selected information is likely to remain

confidential.

WHY US?

Summary points of why the Buyer should choose your company over the competition. Sum up your bid,

explaining succinctly why it meets all the client’s needs and why your company is best placed to undertake the

work, or provide the service. These points should be a series of short statements consisting of one or two

sentences, outlining: an endorsement which makes you stand out; an advantage over your competitors; a

compelling argument; and a conclusive reason why the Buyer should select you.

Examples:

• We are the only UK contractors that have done this type of work before

• Our safety record within this industry has been recognised by five gold awards

• Our manufacturing facilities and procedures demonstrate performance in excess of the ITT

requirements

• Our approach has been developed through many years’ experience of working within the industry

and includes a number of tried and tested alternative methods, should problems arise

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STANDARDS AND POLICIES

Most tenders require the supplier to adhere to industry standards, business laws and regulations. In order to

demonstrate compliance the following policies are commonly requested:

• Environmental Policy

• Sustainability Policy

• Fair Employment Policy

• Health & Safety Policy

• Certificates supporting technical capability

• Quality

If the Buyer asks for something you do not have yet, you may have to think ‘outside the box’. The reality is that

many businesses are actually adhering to these standards and policies, and they are hidden within their

normal operational procedures.

PRICING

Buyers will usually specify the exact pricing information to be included in the proposal and how it should be

presented. Normally this will take the form of a table or spreadsheet, requiring a detailed breakdown of the

cost elements to be provided and an indication of how they are calculated.

As well as the total price, suppliers may be asked to provide costs on:

• Specific stages or parts of the work – as this level of breakdown may be required during evaluation;

• Specific hourly or daily rates for individuals working on the project; and

• Estimated costs of subsistence and expenses. When presenting the price make it clear whether it

includes VAT or not and, if exchange rates are involved, which rate has been used in the calculation.

The calculation of the project pricing should be thought out very carefully and should be set or

reviewed by a representative within the business with financial responsibilities. Once submitted the

business is contractually bound by these prices. When preparing the financial costing for the proposal,

there may be details on which you have to make assumptions. You should list these assumptions

within the pricing section so the Buyer is aware of them, reducing misunderstandings.

REVIEW CYCLE AND SIGN OFF

It is vitally important to review your proposal at regular intervals during its preparation for content, sense,

readability and flow.

The nominated proof-reader should ideally be someone who has not been directly involved in the tender

preparation and can review it as if they were the Buyer. Allow enough time in the tender timetable for review

points and follow-on actions to be incorporated.

An appointed person within your business should sign off the tender. This person should be regularly informed

of progress, the costs estimates and any identified risks.

It is always a good idea to create a Bid Writing Process in line with the

company quality standards and to refer to it.

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ANNEX: BID WRITING PROCESS

Log PQQ / ITT

Admin to distribute to Bid Leader

Tender meeting to decide if pursuing

Bid Manager to Issue tech questions & complete Quality

Questionnaire

Bid Manager to send Quality Questionnaire

for Sign-Off

Submission signed off and ready to go

If Framework /Partnering Contract

Team Meeting

Admin to send submission to Client

If Construction to Company Directors

If Service to Company Directors, Service

Director & Contracts Manager

Contracts Manager to complete Pricing &

Sample Survey

Submission signed off and ready to go

Service Director & Contracts Manager to

agree approach to service delivery

If Service, distribute hardcopies to Service Director & Contracts

Manager