How to Write a Bid Proposal
Write to the evaluation grid, not to the subject matter. The scoring criteria are the exam; your proposal is the answer sheet; and the evaluator with a checklist finds what you make findable.
An evaluator has a scoring grid, a stack of proposals, and a deadline. Your document wins by making that person's job easy: sections that mirror the criteria in the tender's order, claims backed by checkable evidence, and a price built for the stated formula. Everything else in proposal writing follows from that one frame.
Structure against the criteria. Take the evaluation table from the tender and turn it into your table of contents, criterion by criterion, in the published order and weighting. If technical approach is scored at 30 per cent, it gets the largest section, and its subsection headings use the tender's own language. Open with a one-page executive summary that answers the requirement plainly — what you will deliver, when, with whom — not a company history. Budget length by weighting, and write in short declarative sentences: the evaluator is scoring, not reading for pleasure. Two pages of structured approach beat six of company history, because the buyer already knows what it issued. Evaluators rewarded for finding things will find what you structured; nothing else is reliably read.
Evidence, cited like you mean it. "Extensive experience" scores nothing; "delivered the same service to a comparable buyer, on budget, 2023–2025 — reference, Appendix 2" scores. Every claimed capability should point at a named project, a number, or a reference letter. What steady, evidence-heavy bidding compounds to is visible in Quebec's named-bidder record (2021–2026, 405,956 tenders; bulk data: pubsecdata.org): among the most active bidders, engineering consultancies convert in the mid-forties — CIMA+ 44.4% of 2,787 bids, WSP 42.8% of 2,862 — while product supplier Softchoice converted 70.5% of 898, and road-builder Eurovia 25.3% of 3,159. Firms that document performance credibly, bid after bid, turn proposals into a production line; the win rate is the machine's efficiency number.
Build the price for the formula. Lowest-compliant bidding rewards a clean, complete, defensible number. Weighted scoring may reward investing points elsewhere — but never let the price look padded: evaluators read unit rates. Show a build-up an auditor could follow: labour at stated rates, materials, escalation, bond premiums, contingencies stated once. If the tender requires pricing in a specific template, use it exactly; free-form pricing gets transcribed, and transcription errors are yours to lose.
The disqualifiers, in rough order of frequency. Arithmetic that does not add across sections. Conditional bids ("subject to availability"). Missing signatures on declaration pages. Expired insurance or certification documents. Responses to mandatory requirements phrased as intentions ("will obtain"). Altered tender forms. Clarification requests answered after the stated window. Each of these is an administrative kill, delivered before anyone scores your ideas. A final pass against the compliance matrix catches all of them; see How to Bid on Government Contracts for the matrix method.
Tools, honestly used. Drafting against a tender is where AI assistance earns its keep: pubsec.pro is free and drafts proposals against the tender text (25 drafts a month included), which is a fast way to get a structured first pass. Treat the output as raw material. The evidence, the references, and the price are yours to stand behind, and the evaluator will hold you to all three.
Common questions
How long should the proposal be?
As long as the scoring grid requires, and no longer. Page limits are enforced, and padding dilutes exactly the sections that carry points.
Should I always bid the lowest price?
No. Bid to the formula. Under lowest-compliant rules the lowest complete, correct number wins; under weighted rules, points elsewhere can outweigh a price gap. Reading the evaluation method is part of pricing.
Can I ask questions during the tender period?
Yes, through the official question window, in writing. Answers are circulated to all bidders and become part of the requirement — ask early, because late answers help your competitors too.