When you work with clients who bid for public sector opportunities, keeping up to date with the political climate and events in Westminster is essential. This is particularly poignant with the upcoming general election, as inevitably the winning party, whoever they maybe, will be implementing changes that will impact all public sector organisations (local and central) and influence their buying power.
Over the past few weeks, I have been avidly watching the various televised election debates, as they offer immediate comparative viewpoints, which are hard to derive quickly by comparing manifestos – and yes, I have been reading those as well!
For this article, I am focusing on the BBC debate which was shown on Friday 7th June 2024 and watched by c.3.2 million other people*. Reason being that so many parties were represented, it allows me to illustrate the learnings we can apply to bidding without a political bias (and I hope it comes across that the aim of this article is to learn and not to promote a particular party).
The debaters were leading figures from seven political parties**, selected due to their position in the opinion polls. The questions were posed by the audience, who were chosen (by the pollsters Savanta) to reflect the different backgrounds of voters across the UK.
The representatives of the seven political parties involved in the BBC Election Debate
Now, I’m not sure how you felt about it (and I would be interested to know), but I have to say I was left disappointed by the performance of all the debaters. The issue was the event quickly descended into a cacophony of aggressive arguments and shouting matches, with participants bellowing over each other in an ever increasing attempt to be the loudest, not the most articulate.
Angela Rayner (Labour) and Penny Mordaunt (Conservative) were frankly the worst offenders, squawking like seagulls fighting over hot chips. It got to the point where Carla Denyer (Green) sarcastically stated “well that was dignified” when she finally got the opportunity to speak after they wouldn’t stop caterwauling. The applause this received from the audience certainly validated my frustration, which I am sure was reciprocated by all those watching at home.
Angela Rayner (Labour) and Penny Mordaunt (Conservative) - "debating".
Whilst there were some eloquent responses to questions, and I have to say that the conduct of those representing the smaller parties was much more professional, overall I was still none the wiser as to what each political party intends to do to resolve the major, systemic issues currently impacting the everyday lives of us “ordinary people” (we will discuss this phraseology later). This was primarily because their general responses were either suspiciously vague, avoidant of the actual answers to the questions, or simply muddied by lingo, shouting and rhetoric.
But then I realised – questions posed, limited time to respond, being pitted against competitors of varying sizes, me reviewing responses telling people (well, the TV) to answer the question… this was a bid (a verbal one but none the less)!
And that got me thinking – what learnings from the election debate can we apply to bidding? So, with that in mind, these are my five take aways from the seven way debate:
1. Know your audience
A topic which kept popping up was Rishi Sunak (Conservative – Prime Minister) leaving the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day early, which has been met with condemnation by the general public. By prioritising the election campaign over this mark of respect, he is appearing to be out of touch with the nation (“the audience”).
If this were a bidding scenario, it would be akin to not understanding the aims, objectives, issues and requirements of your customer. Knowing what your customer wants (their “hot buttons”) is essential to creating a compelling response that fully demonstrates how you will meet their needs.
You can achieve this by simply reading the documents (all of them please), researching the customer and collaborating with your team during a storyboarding session (outlined below) so everyone understands how these insights will be incorporated into the bid / proposal.
2. Answer the question
I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that one of the biggest frustrations when listening to politicians is their general avoidance of answering questions (probably up there with not delivering on promises, but we cover this off later). Have you noticed how politicians can respond to a question with an answer that broadly has no relevance to the subject matter but focuses on something positive they want to talk about. This is called ‘Pivoting’, which they are taught to do as part of their media training (scarily, this is true).
Love him or loath him, Tony Blair was a master at this. He would often respond to questions with phrases like “what we should be talking about is”… This no holds barred, artful pivot would divert the conversation to a topic he wanted to discuss, whilst simultaneously inferring that the original question posed was of little concern.
Anyway, (ironically) I digress… So often when I’m reviewing responses, I have to go back to the author and say, “you haven’t answered the question”. And interestingly, they often can’t see why, as they have provided what they think the answer is and not the answer the customer is looking for.
Whilst you can’t pivot in a bid response; you can include positive points that showcase what you do (win themes) whilst still answering the question. Let me explain how that works…. You and your team should identify win themes for inclusion, then map out how/where to include within the bid ('storyboarding').
You should then plan your answers, structuring around the question first, then strengthen your response by adding the win themes in places which naturally respond to the customers’ requirements (‘answer planning’). Using this process, you get to the right answer quicker whilst showcasing your USPs in a natural, engaging way.
3. Don’t badmouth your competition
The worst thing about this election being called was knowing we had to endure six weeks of sly, diggy comments, where politicians threaten us with a poorer quality of life with any other party but theirs, rather than focusing on how they will practically make things better.
Phrases like “Tory scum” or “Labour flip floppers” (not mentioned during the debate, but have been frequently used in the past) just makes me uncomfortable. It’s driving votes by polarising people – reinforcing a ‘football politics’ approach, where you only back your team and squashing the hope of any kind of bipartisan agreement on issues which would be better served outside of party politics.
Importantly, focusing on what others have done badly, rather than what you will do well, feels unseemly and generally undermines the point you are trying to make. If you think hearing it is bad, reading it in a bid comes across even worse.
When writing a response, you should always remain positive. Showcase what you do well and your USPs (using the storyboarding and answer planning methods outlined above), and don’t mention what you perceive to be the shortcomings of your competitors.
4. Don’t make up statistics or make sweeping statements
In an attempt to remain neutral and offer viewers clarity over what statistics provided by the panel were true, the BBC had a team of fact checkers working to verify the statements put forward during the debate. As an example, the Nigel Farage (Reform) barrage of scary statistics must have had the team working overtime, as several of his statements were deemed as (to quote his US bestie) “fake news”.
But why is this important for bidding. The evaluation criteria will include a synopsis of the scoring methodology for quality / technical questions. For a top score, you will often be told “not to make sweeping statements” and “demonstrate ability”. When writing a response, we achieve this by evidencing our statements. It’s not enough to say you're good at something, you need to justify it with statistics, experience and the anticipated outcomes for the customer.
And when it comes to statistics and experience, don’t make it up because:
The customer may just ask you to provide evidence.
It sets an expectation for what you will deliver when the contract goes live. If you can’t achieve it, you will have one disappointed customer.
5. Be credible and sincere
Anyone else find it really condescending when MPs try to show they understand the general public by calling us “ordinary people”? Well this happened during the debate. Additionally, I think it was Nick Clegg that set the precedent, particularly in the UK, for thanking the audience for asking questions and empathising with their hardships. Sometimes it works and is well meant, but there were instances in the debate where this approach came across as insincere.
So how do we make sure we don’t do this in a bid? As well as including the statistics and evidence outlined in point 4, you should:
Speak your customers language. Use their phraseology and terminology so they can see you have taken the time to fully understand the specification.
Research their issues and show an understanding of the market and any internal / external impacts which may have driven them to procure this product / service.
Don’t go overboard with compliments. I personally dislike phrases like “we would love / relish the opportunity to work with you”. It’s fine to say you’re excited by the opportunity as it would be mutually beneficial – this is business after all. Recognising that both parties will achieve something from the relationship is much more sincere and also shows you are invested in making it work.
Don’t over promise and under deliver. Be realistic (maybe with a bit of stretch) over what you can achieve. At the end of the day, if there are requirements you can’t deliver, you probably shouldn’t be bidding for the opportunity.
So there you have it. My advice is – if you want to submit a quality bid, don’t respond like a politician. And if you want to win an election – you should probably campaign like a bid manager!
10 Downing Street
Thanks for reading. Coming soon….The next blog in the “What learnings” series will be: What learnings from The Avengers can we apply to bidding.
*Viewing statistics from the Evening Standard.
** Hosted by Mishal Husain. Debaters included the Conservatives’ Penny Mordaunt, Labour’s Angela Rayner, Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper, Stephen Flynn from the Scottish National Party, Rhun ap Iorwerth from Plaid Cymru, Carla Denyer from the Green Party and Nigel Farage from Reform UK.
Author: Alison Colyer AKA - The Bid Wizard
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