One of the most common objections to building a bid team is the perceived cost. Salaries for Bid Managers, Proposal Writers, or Coordinators can range from £30,000 to over £100,000 annually, depending on experience, level, and industry. On the surface, this may appear to be a considerable investment, particularly for smaller organisations or those with lean operational budgets. But this is where value must be carefully assessed against cost.
The True ROI of Bid Roles
Increased Revenue Generation
A skilled bid professional can boost a company’s win rate by 10–30% or more, simply by submitting stronger, more compelling, and fully compliant proposals. For example, if a company bids on £5 million in opportunities annually and secures just 5% more due to improved submissions, that’s an extra £250,000 in revenue, far outweighing the cost of the role.
Higher Bid Volume Capacity
With dedicated bid support, organisations can respond to more opportunities without overburdening their sales team. Even one full-time bid resource can enable a business to pursue 30–50% more tenders each year, each with a higher chance of success.
Better Use of Sales Team Time
If a sales manager spends 10–15 hours on every bid, and they handle 1–2 bids a month, that’s 20–30 hours of time or 3-4 days diverted from selling. Transferring bid responsibilities to a professional frees the sales team to focus on closing deals and nurturing client relationships, activities that directly drive revenue.
Reduced Risk of Non-Compliance
Errors in proposals, such as missing documents, formatting issues, or failure to meet mandatory criteria, can lead to disqualification. Bid professionals minimise the risk of costly rejections by ensuring quality and compliance throughout the process.
A Long-Term Strategic Asset
Bid teams often build a valuable knowledge base, a library of well-crafted, reusable content, templates, and metrics. This resource not only improves efficiency and reduces preparation time for future bids, creating long-term productivity gains, but can also be leveraged cross-functionally. It supports not only the pursuit of new business but also the retention of existing clients.
What Happens If You Don’t Make the Investment in Bid Roles?
Consider the alternative scenario – no bid resource: A company with £5 million–£20 million in annual bid opportunities may lose out on hundreds of thousands in potential revenue due to rushed, uncoordinated, or skipped submissions. Meanwhile, the strain on the sales team, who are stretched between proposal work and their core selling roles, can lead to burnout, higher staff turnover, and increased operational costs.
A smart business decision: The cost of a dedicated bid resource is often recouped many times over through improved win rates, increased bid output, enhanced client perception, and greater sales capacity. Rather than viewing bid roles as overhead, they should be recognised as revenue enablers, critical members of your growth engine.
