Bids, Tenders and Proposals: Winning Business through Best Practice (Bids, Tenders & Proposals: Winning Business Through Best) [Hardcover]

Harold Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2005 | ISBN-10: 0749443693 | ISBN-13: 978-0749443696 | Edition: 2nd

"Lewis clearly knows his subject, and you can't fault the advice he gives. His book.. is well researched, thoroughly prepared, and clearly presented." -- Building

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Written in a crisp, accessible style, using examples and checklists, it explains how to create bids that are outstanding in both technical quality and value for money." Commerce & Industry "Explores all aspects of public and private-sector bidding...includes a new section on business development and market intelligence prior to writing a bid, and updated information on the European Union." Supply Management "Expert guidance on how to win services and consultancy contracts, research awards and government funding through competitive tenders." First Voice "Takes you through the entire process of tendering step by step, providing relevant examples of situations and the appropriate responses, pro-formas of essential documents and detailed supporting information." Edge Magazine, "Guides the reader through the process of writing bids, tenders and proposals for contracts and project funding." Carmarthenshire Business "Simply superb. By far the best book I have read on the subject of bid preparation. Comprehensive and focussed material throughout. Expensive in comparison to others, but worth every penny." Customer review

About the Author

Harold Lewis is a writer, editor and independent consultant with more than 30 years' professional experience of working with client authorities and consultancy organizations. Having written over 200 successful bids and proposals, he is a leading authority on the development and writing of competitive bids for professional services contracts and consultancy assignments.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kogan Page Business Books; 2nd edition (May 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749443693
• ISBN-13: 978-0749443696
• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.5 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,903,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to compete for bids with more understanding and the right focus, July 5, 2008

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bids, Tenders & Proposals: Winning Business Through Best Practice (Paperback)

This is based more on the European way of doing things, but Harold Lewis provides loads of terrific advice on how to approach both public sector and private sector bids. He also covers how to compete for funding for research and other kinds of projects.

The author takes a very practical approach. He wants you to know what you need to do to win. This includes deciding whether to even go after a request for information or a request for bid. Not all offers represent legitimate opportunities. You might be used to hammer down the price of a competitor. The offer might be in a fringe business for you that will end up costing more to support than you can make. You have to evaluate it carefully.

Lewis teaches you about the procedural realities and political realities that affect public sector contract. He also teaches you how to focus on your value add and creating a proposal and presentation that stand out for the private sector.

The chapters are all short and full of bullet point ideas you can use as appropriate.

If you want to improve your bids and make your company more competitive in winning more contracts, this is a fine resource. But don't mistake it for a sample book that offers you plug-and-play samples. This is more valuable.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reasonable Book, May 14, 2007

By 

Ahmad Alwajih (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bids, Tenders & Proposals: Winning Business Through Best Practice (Paperback)

This book contains very useful information on bid preparation; however, you still need to have a number of additional resources on tendering to complement your knowledge base, including a good set of "market proven" sample tender documents and their corresponding proposals.

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introductory book, September 26, 2010

By 

Nicholas Assef "Nicholas Assef" (Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bids, Tenders & Proposals: Winning Business Through Best Practice (Paperback)

This book provides a very good set of frameworks for approaching and assessing Bids / Tendering.

It is quite 'step by step' which is a positive and outlines some of the softer factors (political) that need to be considered.

Worth purchasing - as it is a good foundation book which can be referred to on an ongoing basis.