We’re spinning up a new weekly blog post with accompanying email to our subscribers every Friday. We hope you find it useful.

This week we have a guest blog from our friend Michelle Bee, bidding expert and AI thought leader. If you would like to contribute to our blog, please do reach out here.

Michelle and I also recorded a podcast on the subject last week, found here.

The future of bid professionals – realising our value alongside AI

Bid professionals are often underestimated, yet we hold a unique position at the intersection of strategy, execution, and perception. Our role goes beyond proposal writing; we can shape a business’s identity, credibility, processes, and growth trajectory. Experienced bid professionals act as thought partners, providing invaluable insights that influence wider business strategies.

Bids as a Barometer of Organisational Health

Every bid reflects an organisation’s trustworthiness, capability, and innovation. To craft winning proposals, bid professionals must deeply understand:

1. Organisational Capabilities – What can be delivered in practice?

2. Client Priorities – What does the customer truly value?

3. Market Trends – How does the company align with industry changes?

This holistic perspective enables bid professionals to diagnose an organisation’s competitive readiness, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth.

Translating Business Identity into Action

Winning bids are not just technical documents but compelling narratives that communicate an organisation’s essence. Bid professionals identify gaps between perception and reality, challenging businesses to prove their claims and align aspirations with actual capabilities. This reflective process often sparks internal transformation, influencing broader strategies and investments.

The Art of Strategic Persuasion

Bids are exercises in influence, requiring us to:

• Capture attention

• Build credibility

• Inspire confidence

• Motivate action

Successful bids blend psychology, storytelling, and data to resonate with decision-makers. Their persuasive expertise extends beyond bidding, businesses should rely on bid professionals to lead on major presentations, content strategy and strategic messaging.

Bridging Silos and Building Consensus

Bid professionals act as organisational connectors, breaking down silos between departments. They:

1. Identify misalignments

2. Foster collaboration

3. Ensure a unified business vision

Our ability to navigate complexity makes us key contributors to strategic initiatives, change management, and crisis resolution.

From Proposal Writer to Trusted Advisor

Those of us with years of experience, should naturally evolve into strategic advisors, helping organisations:

• Shape Strategy – Identifying trends and opportunities

• Enhance Decision-Making – Providing data-driven insights

• Drive Cultural Change – Promoting collaboration and accountability

Our pragmatism ensures businesses focus on substance, not just presentation.

The Heart of the Enterprise

Bid professionals safeguard trust, credibility, and excellence. Their impact extends beyond winning contracts, they strengthen an organisation’s reputation and long-term success. More than just writers, we are strategists, storytellers, and invaluable thought partners in this new AI world where trust and authenticity is the ultimate currency.