FREE Stuff
Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?
Contact me now to claim your FREE TENDER HEALTHCHECK. Send me a recent tender submission or a live bid document and I'll audit it for you. (You can sanitise it yourself, or trust me never to share that information with a third party. I'd never do anything to compromise either your organisation or my reputation).
My document audit will give you insights into their language and style, the clarity and navigability of the structure, the ratio of benefits to features, and the user-friendliness of the layout. I'll give you an assessment of the overall power of your bid documents and your chances of winning future tenders based on the written submission alone.
Then, at a time of your choosing, I'll sit down with you in your office and find out what process you follow to respond to invitations to tender. At the end of the healthcheck you'll get a tender-readiness score, with concrete suggestions for next steps and quick improvements. All of which will result in your winning more tenders.
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Also, download for free a copy of my seven tender-winning principles, an article on business writing, a writing checklist to use on your next tender document, and a copy of my January 2009 talk to the London Chamber of Commerce Business Development Club:
Get Better Results from Your Writing (article published in The Technology Staffing Handbook 2007-2008)
Seven rules and seven tools for effective business writing
'Winner Takes All', London Chamber of Commerce talk, 22 Jan '09, on the three most common proposal problems
As the site evolves and I publish articles and give talks, I shall add to these. So please check out this page next time you visit the site.
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Readability Stats in Word: how to access them
In MS Word 2007:
To activate: click on Office button top left of your screen - click on 'Word Options' in bottom right of that small screen - click on 'Proofing' in left-hand column - tick 'Show Readability Statistics' two-thirds down the page – click OK.
To use: highlight the text you want to score - go to 'Review' in top tool bar, run Spelling & Grammar check as normal – when the check ends, a dialogue box appears saying 'Word finished checking your selection. Do you wish to check the remainder of the document?' Click 'No' and the Readability Stats pop up.
In MS 97 - 2003:
To activate: go into Tools - Options – Spelling & Grammar tab – tick 'Show Readability Statistics' two-thirds down the page – click OK.
To use: highlight the text you want to score - go to Tools, run normal Spelling & Grammar check – when the check ends, a dialogue box appears saying 'Word finished checking your selection. Do you wish to check the remainder of the document?' Click 'No' and the Readability Stats pop up.