Top 10 Bid Management Tips (For SMEs Managing Bids Themselves)
Let’s be honest: most SMEs don’t “run a bid process”. They survive one!
A tender lands. A deadline appears. Everyone suddenly has opinions. Someone goes quiet. You’re chasing input, stitching documents together at speed, and praying the portal accepts your upload. We’ve all been there.
That’s why bid management matters. It’s basically project management for tenders, the system that stops your bid becoming a last‑minute stress document.
If you’re an SME managing bids yourselves (no dedicated bid team, no proposal department, just you and a handful of busy humans), these are 10 practical bid management tips to help you get organised, stay compliant, and submit something you’re actually proud of.
The 10 tips (quick list for skim‑readers)
Decide Bid / No‑Bid early (and be a little ruthless)
Run a proper kick‑off (yes, even if it’s just three of you)
Build a bid plan with contingency (because life exists)
Assign clear roles and deadlines (stop “everyone owns it”)
Create a compliance matrix (your anti‑oops device)
Lock your “win themes” early (one bid, one story)
Control versions like your sanity depends on it
Manage SMEs (subject matter experts) with short, regular check‑ins
Build review cycles into the plan (QA is not optional)
Treat submission like a process, not a button.
Now let’s unpack them.
1) Decide Bid / No‑Bid early (and be a little ruthless)
Time is your scarcest resource. If you chase everything, you’ll do everything badly — including the bids you could have won.
Crown Commercial Service guidance literally starts with strategic bid planning: weigh up whether you can realistically win and deliver before you commit.
Do this:
Use a quick scorecard (out of 10) for:
Fit (can we actually deliver what they want?)
Compliance (do we meet minimum requirements?)
Evidence (do we have proof/case studies?)
Capacity (do we have people/time?)
Commercials (is it worth it?)
Common mistake:
Saying yes to a bid because “it would be nice to win”, then discovering it would also be nice to sleep.
2) Run a proper kick‑off (even if your “team” is small)
If you don’t align at the start, you will spend the rest of the bid un‑aligning.
A strong bid plan is typically agreed at kick‑off and becomes the “compass” for the rest of the work.
Do this:
In 30 minutes, cover:
Deadline and submission method
Sections/questions and who owns each
Internal deadlines (earlier than the real deadline)
What “good” looks like (key messages)
How you’ll communicate and escalate issues
Common mistake:
Starting to write before anyone agrees what the bid is trying to say.
3) Build a bid plan with contingency (because humans are unpredictable)
Deadlines don’t move. People do. Plans need slack or they break.
Your own BidVantage post on planning/time management is clear: plans need flexibility, and you should build contingency to stop minor setbacks becoming major problems.
Do this:
Create internal deadlines with buffer.
Assume one person will be late (not because they’re evil — because calendars exist).
Update the plan when reality changes (instead of pretending it hasn’t).
Common mistake:
A plan that assumes everyone has a clear diary and unlimited energy. Adorable.
4) Assign clear roles and deadlines (stop “everyone owns it”)
“Everyone’s responsible” is how tasks vanish into the ether.
Clear responsibilities and deadlines are a core part of effective bid planning and time management.
Do this:
Keep it simple:
Owner (writes the first draft)
SME (provides facts/evidence)
Reviewer (checks compliance + clarity)
Common mistake:
Three people editing one paragraph while an entire unanswered question sits quietly in the corner.
5) Create a compliance matrix (your anti‑oops device)
You can’t manage what you haven’t listed. A compliance matrix is just a checklist of requirements, and it stops you missing things.
APMG explicitly describes a compliance matrix as a way to list customer needs/requirements, plan coverage, and review the final proposal for completeness.
Do this:
Make a table with:
Requirement (exact wording)
Where it’s answered (section/page)
Owner
Evidence to include
Common mistake:
Assuming you’ve answered everything because it “feels like you have”.
6) Lock your “win themes” early (one bid, one story)
Without an agreed strategy, a bid becomes a patchwork of disconnected sections (and evaluators can smell that a mile off).
Bid management is described as ensuring your winning strategy stays prioritised throughout development.
Do this:
Agree 3–5 messages you want the evaluator to remember, e.g.:
“Low risk, high confidence delivery”
“Strong mobilisation and governance”
“Proven outcomes and evidence”
Then make sure every section reinforces them.
Common mistake:
Different sections accidentally arguing with each other (nothing says “risk” like internal contradiction).
7) Control versions like your sanity depends on it
Version chaos wastes time and introduces errors.
Do this:
One “source of truth” folder
One document owner per section
Clear naming (date + initials + version)
A cut‑off time for edits before final QA
Common mistake:
“Final_FINAL_v9_reallyfinal.docx” — the unofficial anthem of broken bid processes.
8) Manage SMEs with short, regular check‑ins (silence breeds surprises)
Bid work is cross‑functional. People are busy. If you wait until the day before internal deadline to check progress, you’ll get… character building.
Communication is explicitly described as a cornerstone of effective bid planning, and bid management roles are often framed as streamlining collaboration and communication.
Do this:
10‑minute check‑ins twice a week (or daily in the final stretch)
Escalate blockers early (don’t “be polite” into failure)
Keep requests specific: what you need, by when, in what format
Common mistake:
Asking an SME for “something on governance” and getting a 17‑slide deck at midnight.
9) Build review cycles into the plan (QA is not optional)
Public sector guidance explicitly recommends independent sense‑checking before submission, and it’s there for a reason.
Also: your own planning/time management piece stresses solving issues proactively rather than as an afterthought.
Do this:
Schedule two reviews:
Compliance review: did we answer every part, follow instructions, include required evidence?
Quality review: is it clear, consistent, and easy to score (plain language, good structure)?
Common mistake:
Leaving review to “if we have time”. You won’t.
10) Treat submission like a process, not a button
Portals are unforgiving. A great bid can still lose because the wrong file was uploaded or mandatory fields weren’t completed.
Crown Commercial Service guidance explicitly highlights following submission guidelines and avoiding common pitfalls.
Do this:
Create a submission checklist:
Correct files and formats uploaded
Mandatory fields completed
Limits respected (word/character counts, attachments)
Confirmation/receipt saved
Common mistake:
Thinking “we uploaded it” is the same as “we submitted it”.
The SME Bid Management Checklist
Before you start
Bid/no‑bid decision made (fit, capacity, compliance).
Kick‑off held; roles and internal deadlines agreed.
Compliance matrix created.
During delivery
Bid plan includes contingency and gets updated when reality changes.
Owners/SMEs/reviewers are clear for every section.
Win themes agreed and applied consistently.
Version control is locked down.
Before submission
Independent sense‑check completed.
Plain language + clear formatting used (headings/subheadings).
Submission checklist completed + receipt saved.
FAQ
What is bid management (in plain English)?
It’s the organised way of handling everything from deciding to bid through to submission — planning, roles, deadlines, coordination, QA, and lessons learned. It’s often described as a form of project management specifically aimed at tenders/RFPs.
We’re a small business, do we really need a bid process?
You don’t need bureaucracy. You need control. Even a lightweight bid plan, clear roles, and scheduled reviews will reduce stress and improve quality.
What’s the biggest reason SMEs struggle with tenders?
Usually one of three things: poor planning, unclear responsibilities, or leaving QA/submission too late, all of which are solvable with basic bid management.
What’s a compliance matrix and do I need one?
A compliance matrix is simply a list of all buyer requirements and where you address them. It as a way to plan coverage and review the finished proposal for completeness.
Final thought
Bid writing is the output. Bid management is the system that makes the output happen, on time, with fewer mistakes, and without ruining everyone’s week.