Lifting the bid conversion rate for an industry leader
Bid-writing training for in-house writers
The client
Overbury
The challenge
Overbury is the UK’s leading fit-out specialist, producing hundreds of bids each year. They wanted to improve the writing of their bid documents to improve their strike rates and win more business. The challenge for us was that bid documents contain contributions from technical specialists who are not professional writers. We had limited time to coach them on an array of writing skills and techniques.
The solution
We reviewed Overbury’s past tender documents to identify areas of weakness, recommending a focus on message development and writing skills. To improve message development, we worked with the in-house bid team to develop a structured, easy-to-follow, motivating process for bid preparation. Then we created a briefing sheet to prompt insights into the prospective client’s situation and identifying their needs which could then be used to direct the bid proposal. To consolidate this, we designed and delivered a day-long training session. It introduced the bid team to the message development process and addressed the writing issues with past bid documents.
The results
positive team feedback about the usefulness of the training along, with an uplift in bid conversions, resulted in an ongoing retainer commission to train different teams in different parts of the UK.
The credits
Copywriting agency: Barnaby Benson Copywriting London
Copywriter: Barnaby Benson
Client: Overbury
