The bidding process…but for humans. Part 2
Welcome back to my Human-Centred Bid Processes series, where I aim to let go of outdated bid habits, gently (or not-so-gently) dismantle sacred cows, and remind ourselves that we are all humans, not scorecard-reading, document formatting robots.
Today’s topic? A spicy one. 🌶️
Win Themes.
A surprisingly sensitive subject. People clutch pearls over this one. Sometimes even lanyards. Please try to breathe normally.
Win themes are great. Internally
Some people consider win themes the holy grail of proposal writing…
People get very passionate about them.
There are workshops. Icons. PowerPoints. Rituals.
Whole teams revolve around them.
It can be… a lot.
Win themes make total sense behind the scenes and have a purpose.
They reduce the number of contradictory interpretations of the solution.
They stop people going rogue and writing their own version of reality or fixating on an idea that offers no value.
So internally?
Sure. Go wild.
Print them on laminated A0 posters.
Turn them into icons.
Have a theme-building session.
I will be right there with you…with snacks and post-it notes.
I will help you build them, refine them, and make them look fantastic.
But I do have thoughts….
Useful, yes. Overused, definitely.
And occasionally weaponised into something the client never asked for, didn’t want, and definitely didn’t have the energy to decode.
In multiple client debriefs, I’ve heard variations of the same message: “We didn’t understand your win themes.”
Translation: “What on earth were those?”
Nothing says “not client centred” like forcing evaluators to wade through a second set of invented language on top of the perfectly good language they already gave us.
This isn’t a takedown of anyone’s beloved win-theme workshop or their colour-coded sticky-note extravaganza. If those sessions help your internal team get aligned, brilliant. More importantly, if it gets your team thinking, even better. I support thinking.
But let’s be honest. No evaluator has ever said, “I wish this proposal introduced five new words I’ve never seen before.”
If a team wants win themes…Great! Fine! Fabulous!
Let’s go! I’ll help build them.
I’ll weave them in our narrative
I will not roll my eyes (externally).
But I want them used properly.
Win themes = the how
Client objectives = the what
Keep the client objectives as the spine of the submission. Win themes can support the story quietly in the background. They don’t need to be a loud headline the client has to reverse-engineer.
Clients already have objectives. Why create a second set?
Human-centred bidding is about meeting clients in their world, not dragging them into ours. And definitely not making them decode whatever five-word inspirational poster we’re obsessed with.
Clients give us:
Clear objectives
Clear outcomes
Clear evaluation criteria
Clear language.
And then we show up with our own “themes”, usually a mix of vague corporate fridge magnets:
Innovative
Collaborative
Community minded
Value for money
Trusted partner
Safe pair of hands
Future focussed.
These are not revelations. They are motivational wall art. The worst kind.
If we want clients to read and understand our proposals, maybe we stop burying their language under ours.
Write in their language. Mirror their structure. Make their job easier.
It is not rocket science.
Win themes are most powerful when they support the client’s objectives, not overshadow them.
Win themes are fine. Helpful, even.
But only as background support.
The moment we elevate our internal language above the client’s, we’ve stopped being client centred. We’ve wandered into self-centred territory. And that is never a winning strategy.
