Easy ways to save time and make money when using a new bid professional

If you’re a growing training provider, at some stage you’ll be thinking about bidding for work from the public sector. Often, organisations will start bidding for contracts (or try to) but find the bidding process time-intensive, stressful and unrewarding (if they don’t win, which often first-time bidders don’t). Those same organisations could bring in an external bid writer to support, but might be put off by the cost.

Here are five basic steps a training provider can take to effectively onboard an external bid professional, lowering costs and increasing chances of winning.

1. Complete the Standard Selection Questionnaire

Most bid competitions are run on an online portal such as Procontract or Jaggaer. All of them require a (at least partially) completed Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ). You can find a copy at this link. Many of the answers to the SQ will stay the same in every opportunity you apply for, so long as the underlying business situation doesn’t change (e.g., ownership changes, changing sub-contractors). In apprenticeships and training, the following sections are almost always used:

1. Potential supplier information

2. Grounds for mandatory exclusion

3. Grounds for discretionary exclusion

4. Economic and Financial Standing

5. Further group details (if relevant)

6.1. Relevant experience and contract examples

7. Modern Slavery Act 2015

8.1. Insurances

The other sections may or may not be included, depending on the competition.

A bid writer can complete this for you, but it will take time for them to find out all of the details and most of these questions are yes or no declarations.

2. Provide up-to-date financials

Typically training providers are smaller organisations that are exempt from publishing their full accounts on Companies House. However, bids require full accounts and quite often require details of most recent financial year turnover, profit and loss, and assets and liabilities. Ensure you’re sending your bid professional the most recent full financial accounts and details.

3. Provide up-to-date certifications

Most competitions require details (and often, evidence) on your UKPRN, ICO registration, Cyber Security Essentials (or Plus) and insurance levels. If you have other relevant certifications, such as matrix Standard or ISO, include those as well. Send current pdf copies of certification to your bid professional, along with any expiry dates. Relevant professional memberships can be included here as well. If your certification expires during a competition, make sure you get a new copy in time to be submitted!

4. Apprenticeship and training-specific information

Surprisingly, it can be time-consuming for external people to track down exactly what some training providers actually deliver. Information is hosted on different webpages, courses have bespoke names, sometimes programmes are delivered under a completely different brand. Save time by creating a quick matrix of what you deliver, course duration, etc. How many learners have you supported on each programme? What are your course-specific achievement rates?

5. Put them in touch with relevant people in your company

It’s extremely helpful to create a spreadsheet of relevant people in your company for the bid professional to ask questions of if necessary (it will be necessary). Including mobile numbers is particularly helpful, as these are often left off individual email signatures. A quality lead, a delivery or operations lead, and someone from Finance/Accounts are three core roles that should be included. Sending a group introduction email will mean your team understand who is supporting the company externally and why that person is asking for information!

If you would like to explore how to set this up in your organisation and want advice, email me on [email protected].