How well does your organisation know the client before the tender is formally issued?

We read the tender for the first time when it arrives · We have some prior knowledge but no structured approach · We invest in client knowledge but not consistently for every tender · We actively position ourselves with the client long before the tender — and influence the playing field

Do you know your competitive position before submitting?

No, we rarely know who else is bidding · We have a sense but no systematic insight · We analyse the competition but don't act on it sufficiently · We have a clear picture of our competitive position and actively play to it

Does your team have an explicit win strategy per tender — not just a plan of approach, but a strategy to win?

Our approach is primarily procedural — we answer the questions · We think about what the client wants but don't translate that into a win strategy · We formulate a strategy but it doesn't steer the proposal sufficiently · Every tender has an explicit win strategy that drives the entire document

Does your proposal have clear, distinctive win themes that run consistently throughout the entire document?

We describe what we do but don't formulate distinctive themes · We have an introduction with themes but they disappear in the rest · Win themes are present but not consistently carried through · Client-specific win themes that thread the entire proposal from cover to appendix

To what extent does your proposal speak the client's language and address their specific challenges?

Our proposal is largely generic — limited client-specific adaptation · We adapt the proposal but it remains product- and service-focused · We address client needs but the client doesn't sufficiently recognise their own situation · The client reads their own challenges back in our proposal — at every level

How well do sales and bid support collaborate in the bid process?

Sales hands over the tender to bid support and largely disengages · There's contact but no structured collaboration · There is collaboration but the division of roles isn't clear · Sales and bid support work as one team — shared responsibility, clear roles

Is there sufficient commercial and substantive leadership in your organisation to win complex tenders?

Nobody really takes ownership of the bid process as a whole · There's a bid manager but strategic leadership is missing · There's leadership but mandate and seniority are insufficient · Strong bid leadership with strategic mandate, deep client insight and team management

How structured is your content planning and production within bids?

We write the proposal in the final phase — structurally under time pressure · There's a structure but planning and coordination are weak · We plan content but don't always meet internal deadlines · Tight content plan with section ownership, structured reviews and timely delivery

How well prepared is your organisation for the negotiation phase after submission?

We respond to what the client asks — without a clear strategy · We have positions but no elaborated negotiation approach · We do negotiate strategically but not consistently or in a structured way · We enter the negotiation with a clear strategy, fallback positions and mandate structure

Does your organisation structurally evaluate both won and lost tenders?

We move directly to the next tender — barely any reflection · We evaluate informally but draw no systematic conclusions · We do evaluate but the insights don't consistently reach the team · Every tender is evaluated — we learn from loss and win, structurally