Who’d have thought actors and musicians weren’t the only ones putting on a show? Bid teams do it all the time. (Usually) without the applause or the costumes.
At ShineX, we often say bidding is equal parts art and science. The science is fairly obvious: process, compliance, deadlines etc. The art is trickier. It shows up in storytelling, in how you frame a solution, and, in the roles people play at different stages of the bid journey.
Before the bid lands, you often meet the Observer. Sometimes it’s someone sitting in front of a client with a poker face, listening hard and giving nothing away. Other times it’s quieter, behind the scenes, picking through intelligence or comparing notes on competitors.
During the bid, the Disruptor usually makes an entrance. They can be frustrating, but they also shake things up and stop the team from sounding like everyone else. The Still Face takes a different tack, paying attention to pauses in meetings, or the slightly raised eyebrow that suggests the client isn’t quite convinced yet.
Sometimes you need the Straight Face – the calm, credible presence that makes bold ideas sound reasonable or the Cheerleader to keep the energy up in the final stages of the bid when it might all feel a bit too much. Somewhere in the background, there’s always a Devil’s Advocate poking holes until the story is tight enough to stand up in front of a client.
No single mask carries the day. What matters is the variety of roles, letting people lean into the roles they’re good at, but also having the freedom to step into a different one when the moment calls for it.
Because yes, the science of bidding always matters. But the art – in all its messy, shifting forms – is what turns a process into a win.
At ShineX we are used to playing different roles in bidding, although our poker faces have been known to fail us sometimes. If you want to get the most out of your team and explore how to use all these roles and more to your advantage, let’s talk.
