Our Skills
Straplan Limited was incorporated in 2005 for the provision of tender and bid writing services and management consultancy. We are a team of expert tender and bid specialists with an auditable win rate of 88% delivered through clear bid strategies, effectively managed bid submissions, and the crafting of compelling tender narratives.
Our team have extensive experience of producing high quality tenders, bids and ‘Request for Proposal’ responses across Public Sector, Education, Healthcare, Recruitment, International Consultancy, Construction and Manufacturing and FMG sectors across the UK, Europe and globally.
We led the delivery of 238 successful submissions in 2018/19 for 86 clients achieving £1.2billion in client contract value. We have written Standard Selection Questionnaires (SSQ), Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQ’s), Frameworks, Invitation to Tender (ITT) Responses, Requests for Proposals (RfP’s) and Quotations (RfQ’s), achieved Framework Provider status and Approved Registers for clients. Our expertise includes success in achieving grant funding proposals, capital projects, innovation funds and contracts for service.
While bid writing provides the majority of our service to clients, we are proactively involved in auditing internal tender and bid processes and supporting the development of a clear bid strategy focused on key objectives and working with the client to manage the full bidding cycle increasing return on investment of internal and external resources.
We support clients through the full bidding cycle starting with strategy and pre-bid preparation, through opportunity identification and management, through bid appraisal to reach a ‘go-no-go’ decision and into the planning processes.
Stuart Pyle MBA MIOD FIRP – Bid Strategy
Expert Bid Planner, Writer & Manager & Educator – a ‘Wordsmith’ on target to deliver £300 million in tenders for my clients this year. I have written successful bids for 3rd sector charities, private global businesses & even the NHS delivering 78 wins from 89 submissions across Education, Health, Public Sector, Care, & Construction.
BID PLANNING
Winning starts with planning to win! The first question might be can I win? However, the best question is how do I win? – Build a business model; identify your assumptions; develop your costed finance model & decide if it’s a project you actually want.
BID RESEARCH
Good bids are built from a solid base of evidence and referenced into the submission. Good research provides the most convincing arguments for your business case & don’t forget the competitor analysis.
BID WRITING
Winning is often not who is most deserving, but who can present the most cohesive, coherent & compliant submission that speaks to all the commissioner’s questions, extending your advantages while minimising those of your competitors, while fully addressing the specification.
BID MANAGEMENT
Coordinate teams of bid writers, researchers, editors, sense checkers & proof readers & facilitate collaboration between stakeholders to drive bid writing projects to timely completion.
BID IMPLEMENTATION
Deliver your promises! Bid winning is not the end, just the first step in a transformation journey. Stuart works with you and your team to deliver a seamless implementation of your winning service model.
EDUCATOR
A qualified leadership & sales trainer & assessor delivering Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) qualifications up to Level 7, and specialising in sales, marketing & leadership training to multi-national organisations e.g. Experian & Gist People.
SPECIALITIES
Bid & Tender Management, Winning Bids, Bid Implementation, PQQ’s/ITT’s/RFQ’s/EOI’s/Proposals, Pitch Presentations; Bid review & Educator.
Claire Pyle – Bid Manager
Expert Bid Manager, Editor & Educator and on a mission to win £300million in tenders for clients this year. In 12-months she has edited & proofed 78 winning client bid submissions ranging between £50k & £20m. Auditing the transformation following bid implementation to evaluate compliance for 12+ organisations ensuring project success.
BID MANAGEMENT
Managing a team of bid writers, facilitating the collaboration between stakeholders & driving bid writing projects to timely completion. Claire manages the horizon scanning, coordinates the research and is an expert in online tender portal processes.
EDITING
Every word counts! Maximise the effectiveness of words. No one writes in isolation even professional writers use editors to check work for continuity, sense checks & stay on point with relevance. Powerful bid writing needs fresh eyes, a critical friend & expert editing.
PROOF READING
You know you’re a proof reader when you proof menus at restaurants & send the children’s teachers comments back for typos! I Learnt my trade working with the HSBC promotional marketing team. When first impression counts, Claire validates your work.
COMPLIANCE AUDITOR
Bid implementation is only half the story, getting it done & done right is what confirms reputation. Claire conducts third party evaluation of your service delivery providing independent verification of your leadership, quality & delivery effectiveness through systemic auditing processes. If you want to know how your organisation stacks up, contact me!
BID IMPLEMENTATION
Deliver your promises! Bid winning is not the end, just the first step in a transformation journey. Let me work with you & your team to deliver a seamless implementation of your winning service model.
SPECIALITIES
Bid & Tender Management, Winning Bids, Bid Implementation, PQQ’s/ITT’s/RFQs/EOI’s/Proposals, Independent Compliance Auditing/Educator.