Before using our Bid Review service, how were you quality-checking and refining your bid before submissions?
I am a new bid writer, starting this role in August 2025. I’m the only bid writer in the company and as a team of one person, quality assurance wise I would proofread the bid myself and then send it to our Head of Quality & Governance to read through to check that my content was accurate… and then just hope for the best!
What led you to consider our Bid Reviews service?
Although my win rate is now high, at around 90%, early in my bid writing journey I did lose a bid after failing to answer a question properly. I hadn’t fully understood what the question was actually asking. I decided to request a Bid Review as I lacked confidence in my writing style and I’d only bid for Frameworks up until this point. When a sole supplier contract came up I felt I needed more support. We’d included a Bid Review with the software, so we decided to use it.
Would you recommend this for people’s first bids?
100%, yes! Having an early bid review has been a game changer for me as a bid writer. Without that bid review early on, my win rates wouldn’t be as high as they are today. Without it I wouldn’t fully understand appropriate style, content or how to evidence what I was saying and how important that is. The review was a formative experience for me and it helped me adapt my style and tone.
How did you find the process of requesting and receiving a Bid Review?
Super easy, I reached out to our Account Manager and she coordinated all of it. We then agreed a date that I would send over my bid. Contracts Advance were really flexible but explained we needed enough time to make changes after receiving the bid back before submission. It was really easy. I had the bid back within two days. The review was really thorough; you could tell the reviewer went through it with a fine-tooth comb. It was a really straightforward process.
What impact has this had on your submissions? Has it changed how you approach future bid writing?
The bid review really helped me to understand the tone a bid requires and what it should look like. It made me realise that, although I have a lot of experience in professional writing, I wasn’t evidencing things enough, I wasn’t using statistics, I wasn’t using case studies to back things up. I was too flowery in my language. It’s absolutely made our organisation more competitive. Because we’re a care company, I was writing emotively and leaning into that emotional community aspect. What I understood from bid reviews is that anyone can write an emotive story, but evidence is required to ensure claims are robust. Contracts Advance were great at pointing that out and challenged me to prove our claims in my writing. I started focusing more on quality responses, using statistics from various parts of our business and getting case studies. Now all of my bids are a lot more data heavy, everything is evidenced and rock solid. I think that’s one major reason why our win rate has been so high.
What have you found the most valuable aspect of the Bid Reviews service?
When working on bids, you can focus on it for weeks and it can be difficult to see the wood through the trees when you review it internally. It’s good to know you’ve got somebody in your corner that’s going to be able to review it for you, impartially, which can take some pressure off.
How would you describe the return on investment of the Bid Review service?
Very good, the bid review was £750 and the contract value for our win was £6.1m. There were 30 other bidders, so it was certainly a competitive bid. Winning this contract has been really influential when securing more business, and we’ve since had five other referrals within the same area after winning it. This represents additional revenue into the business. It’s added to our reputation and proves the credibility of our business.
Would you use the Bid Review service again, and for what kind of opportunities?
So, we’ve already had another one and are budgeting for more Bid Reviews each year with Contracts Advance. We aim to use bid reviews on more competitive opportunities, one off contracts, but also for competitive Framework lots which are becoming more common in our space.
What’s the one thing you’d tell someone who’s on the fence about using it?
Not only does a bid review improve your tone, content and your style in the bid you are having reviewed, it’s also a really good education tool that can be applied to all of your future bids. Due to that education aspect, I think it’s going to make your business more competitive. We’re in a place at the moment where so many people are going to be pushing out bids using AI – it is more important than ever to be unique, work hard and genuinely put your heart and soul into a bid. I think that even if people are using AI to support in their bid writing, you’re going to benefit from a bid review – you’ll want to make sure your bid actually contains what it needs to and has an appropriate tone. You can’t solely really on LLM’s to give you a good bid, so I think just having that external view, making sure that what you’re writing is what the procurement team are actually looking for, and you’ve evidenced what you claim, makes you more competitive. I think no matter how experienced you are, you’re always going to need one for a second pair of eyes. If I get a colleague to review it, they’re more likely to give my writing praise and spare my feelings, but what I actually need is somebody really methodical to going through it.
Is there any other feedback you’d like to share?
Just to highlight, I think Contracts Advance have been amazing to work with. I love your actual software, I use it every single day and it saves me so much admin. I cannot express how grateful I am because I don’t need to just trace portals every five seconds. Everyone I’ve spoken to from Contracts Advanced has been so helpful and informative. Your webinars have been fantastic. I’ve learnt so much from you guys it’s insane, you’ve given me so much perspective, knowledge and learning. You’re definitely not scared to talk about and tackle the difficult subjects like AI. I just think the business is fantastic and the bid reviews are just the icing on the cake. I’ve been given a lot of faith and trust in what I do by the directors of the business, and being successful in bidding has really made a massive difference for me and my confidence as well. I’m really grateful to Contracts Advance for being part of my journey.