When we’re putting together a bid, we often find ourselves in a familiar dilemma: we need to be 100% compliant, otherwise we risk being excluded right from the start. It’s no surprise that the phrase “compliance is king” has caught on. In the RFP, the customer sets out their requirements, and it’s up to us to show how we meet them, usually by outlining the features that tick all their boxes.
The trouble is this often leads to bid documents that are pretty dull. All bids start to look the same. But here’s the catch: in order to win, we need to stand out. Yet strict compliance often leaves little room for differentiation. It’s a balancing act. The reality is that many bidders play it safe, sticking rigidly to the questions, typically describing their solution using massive amounts of technical terms and TLAs (three letter acronyms). The outcome? Predictably homogeneous proposals, where the only real point of distinction becomes – yes, you’ve guessed it – the price.
Some bid writers are aware of this issue, so they try to jazz up their responses with a bit of marketing twaddle like “we’re the leading provider of…” or “our state-of-the-art solution…” and “we have a long track record in…” (sounds familiar?). But more often than not, that only makes things worse. Useless corporate language. Urgh!
From a writing perspective, the key to making a document genuinely appealing is to complement features with benefits. Remember, benefits are the outcomes that happen on the client’s side, what they actually stand to gain. Think along the lines of: “you’ll save up to 23% in maintenance costs”, “helping you expand your presence in the Scandinavian market”, or “…reducing your workload by around 25%”. Notice the use of the word “you”? That’s no accident. However great your track record or your cutting-edge software is, these are all show-off features, not benefits.
Unsurprisingly, most of us find it easier to talk about our own products or strengths. It’s what we know best, and it feels safe. It’s our comfort zone. But here’s the thing: to really connect, we need to step out of our comfort zone and into the customer’s. That’s where the real impact happens. So, give yourself that little push, get some support from your sales colleague (yes, they’re the expert when it comes to the customer’s comfort zone!), and review your next bid not just for compliance, but for plenty of clear, customer-focused benefits.
And your benefit of doing all this? You’ll win more bids!
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