How to interview subject matter experts (SMEs) at tender time
SMEs – that’s ‘subject matter experts’ (rather than ‘small-to-medium enterprises’) – can be great to work with (as can small-to-medium enterprises!) on a tender. However, sometimes in the heat of a deadline SME input to a tender can become lost in translation (or worse left out). We’ve talked before about how specifics sell, and that’s […]
Continue ReadingCase studies: the ‘so what?’ test
Case studies have become a common way for firms to evidence their expertise in tenders, capabilities documents, directories, blog posts and on their websites. But before you launch into writing up your next case study, pause for a moment and think about how you can make it a compelling and stand-out case for your audience. […]
Continue ReadingCase studies – using them to improve your tender or proposal
Well-devised case studies in tenders or proposals can be compelling. Case studies, in this context, mean write-ups (in a journalistic or “article” style) of individual cases or circumstances which demonstrate: your distinctive expertise your understanding of the client’s industry and business challenges your appreciation of the special requirements, preferences, and culture of your prospective client […]
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Feature article
Tender readability – tips to improve your tender presentation and some tender presentation no-nos
Tender readability remains a problem for some in the 21st century. I still see submission documents that cling to a handful of really old hat tender presentation and formatting techniques. I suspect this is because some of these ‘rules’ are viewed as being more appropriate to a ‘formal’ style of document such as a tender. […]