In January 2026, I joined Aspire Bidding, the newly formed bid consultancy based in Edinburgh. It was when I received my email signature on the very first morning that I became a bid writer. Despite graduating with a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, I had no prior experience writing professionally.

Before joining Aspire Bidding, I was working with a small sporting goods enterprise in Surrey – a pre-Covid-19 start up business set up by three friends of mine, now one of the biggest of its kind in the UK. I was comfortable, competent, established in my role – feeling a sense of pride at seeing the success of a business I had grown with from its infancy.

A major factor, however, for making the move to join Aspire Bidding were its co-founders, Andrew Morrison and Chris Denyer. It was an opportunity to work closely with two highly experienced professionals within the industry – Andrew’s reputation as APMP Global Thought Leader speaks for itself.

Over the first 6 months as a bid writer, I have tried to glean as much as I could from watching how Andrew and Chris work and communicate. Further, being close to, and involved with, live, complex tenders has cultivated an environment where learning is driven at a fast pace. So, here are some of the things I have learnt.

1. Staying within my lane

There have been times when a client has asked for advice that falls outside the remit of a bid writer. Tender documentation sometimes requires specialist advice that a bid writer is unqualified to speak on – particularly legal/contractual advice. As much as I wished to know all the answers, and to provide the greatest value for the client, it is always in the client’s best interest for a bid writer to stick to doing what they are paid to do. In these situations, I have learnt to be clear and avoid opinions.  The client will appreciate the professional answer, allowing them to seek the right information in due time.

2. Clear communication

Communicating clearly and effectively during the proposal process is a real challenge. Often there are two main channels for communication: (1) emails (2) calls / meetings. As a younger person brought up in the mobile phone era, where texting is preferred to calling, emailing felt more comfortable at first. Video calls would raise my heart rate, which would cause the odd verbal faux pas. My confidence would lower as a result, sensing the client was judging my competency. These are experiences, however, to be embraced. Video calls are an essential part of communication in the post Covid-19 era of business. Emails have their material limits. There is no guarantee that the contents of the email will be read. Key decision makers and subject matter experts are receiving numerous emails daily. The email from the bid writer may easily go overlooked. So, if you have information that really must be heard, there are a couple tips I have picked up to communicate more effectively.

• Limit the information you include. Provide your client with only the key details. Save the narrative for a later conversation or meeting
• Use bold or coloured font to highlight key information
• Increase the text size of dynamic subheadings, that allow the client to digest important information quickly
• Arrange a call if the matter is urgent and requires problem solving that an email chain would delay
• Assign roles clearly. If you need a particular person to action a task, put their name directly to it. This removes ambiguity and eliminates the assumption that ‘someone else was working on it’
• C-suite members can be copied into urgent emails, where information is not forthcoming and deadlines loom. This may prompt the necessary escalation

3. Avoid emotional communication

Subject matter experts may have limited experience with tendering. They can become flustered with the demand of work beyond their day job and deadlines looming. As a result, I have seen how important it is to be level-headed throughout the proposal process. When information is not forthcoming, reminder emails are necessary. But I have learnt to stay positive, encourage (without patronising), and look for ways to help them as much as possible. Here are some suggestions on how to help:

• Suggest they just send over whatever they have (rather than feeling that they need to send a fully formed response)
• Arrange a short call, over phone or video, asking tactful questions that allow them to talk freely. Often the information is all there; needing to provide a written response could be stopping it from flowing
• Avoid adding pressure that may make the experience stressful, which will ultimately have a negative impact on their output. If you decide that escalation to senior management is necessary, do so tactfully, commending the expert’s collaboration thus far, and explain that the bid requirements may exceed their current capacity
• Work around problems. Particularly if a bid is back-ended, assess the information you require and see if it is absolutely necessary to ask the subject matter expert. You may find that the information you need is publicly available. It could also be sitting within the client’s bid library in a different place. Be resourceful to lighten any burden imposed upon the expert

4. Work hard, yes, but work smart

It’s not always clear from the start what the most efficient route to the end will be, but some thinking ahead and planning can save a lot of time. The ideal situation would be to capture plan with the client before the tender goes live. But it is not always possible. So, when the tender does go live, I have seen the importance of taking the necessary time to ‘shred’ the tender documentation comprehensively, ensuring the compliance matrix is accurate. This requires incredible attention to detail and avoiding any assumptions that certain information is not important. If I am unsure, it is always best to do some research or to reach out to a more experienced colleague.

Further, I set time aside, ideally on a separate day, for a diligent review of the drafted compliance matrix. Regardless of how diligent my first examination is, missed key information often shows up in this review. AI can be used where allowed to help speed this process up, but I believe that even document shredding should be largely human led. This first step gives me the knowledge and insight I require to understand the full scope of services and to identify the client’s pain points. Ultimately, this helps me to structure my work in the leanest and most efficient way.

5. Dedicate discrete time for pieces of work

Sometimes I find myself needing a 2–3 hour period without interruption. Though it is important to stay responsive to emails and updates, constantly reading new emails can distract my attention – and can detract from a highly productive flow of work. These flow states often produce high quality, inspired pieces of work. I have found it is okay to go an hour or two without looking at emails. If something is urgent, I will receive a call.

6. Handling pressure

At times, I have spiralled into thinking that the success of the bid relies upon the work that I do, and that an important tender could go wrong if I was to make a mistake, or to not perform to the best of my ability. This is, of course, flawed thinking. The bid manager holds ultimate responsibility for the progress of the bid and the bid sponsor holds ultimate accountability. Seeing how level-headed my bid managers’ have remained throughout tender processes not only demonstrates their familiarity and competence but further teaches me to trust in their leadership. Where a bid writer may have seen 10–100 bids, the bid manager will have seen many times more. Their calmness is not to be mistaken for complacency. The bid manager is in full control, focussed and operating at a high level. This knowledge eases some of the nerves and pressure, freeing me to write and think with the necessary inspiration.

I look forward to the next six months and beyond working with two highly professional individuals, who lead with an empathetic, people-centred approach. My first 6 months in bid writing have challenged me but yielded rewarding outcomes. It has at times been stressful, as all new jobs typically are, but to see what I have learnt in such a short time is gratifying. I look forward to expanding upon these lessons learnt in an article after 1 full year, and to still be enjoying what I do.