Updated September 2026: in 2018 I wrote about closing a complex bid with two feuding delivery experts, helped by a capable associate the cooperative expert brought in, while the difficult expert commented on every input. I have rewritten it into advice on getting a hard bid over the line.
I had hoped the bid would be dropped, but it was going to the client, so I had to work with both experts. To ease the load, the cooperative expert added one of his team members, who had good skills and gave me the information I needed. The difficult expert still had opinions on every input we collected. My advantage was time: the deadline was close. When other teams started questioning the estimates, the difficult expert was too busy on those to pay attention to the delivery inputs we were collating, which let us finish.
What helps most in the last days of a hard bid?
- A capable extra pair of hands: ask for one early rather than late.
- A frozen scope: no new sections after a set date.
- A single decision-maker: for each part of the solution.
- Short daily check-ins: open items, owners, blockers.
How do you handle constant comments from one person?
Log them, accept the ones that improve the response, and ask the decision-maker to rule on the rest. Not every comment needs to be answered before submission.
Why does a deadline sometimes help?
Because it forces decisions. Arguments that run for weeks end when the submission time is fixed. Use the deadline to close debates.
What should you do after submission?
Thank the people who helped, especially the associate who stepped in, and copy their manager. Write short notes on what worked and what did not for the next bid lead.
When is it right to hope a bid is dropped?
When the team cannot deliver a credible response. Hoping quietly does not help, though. If you think the bid should not go ahead, say so to your manager with reasons, early enough for the account team to decide. If it goes ahead, commit fully.
How do you recognise a helpful associate's work?
Name them in the submission mail, describe what they contributed, and mention them to their manager. People who step in on hard bids are easier to find next time when they know their help was noticed.