Driving bid success: Inside EiB's proven approach

Over the course of an insightful episode, they explained how the business was founded and outlined our commitment to delivering client-focused, high-quality bid support through a fully employed consultancy model

In this article, we highlight some of the key talking points from this discussion, including how EiB attracts and retains top talent, why early client engagement is key to winning work and Caitlin and Scott’s key learnings from their time with the business.

EiB’s winning model

EiB’s journey to becoming a market-leading bid consultancy began with a small team and a flexible associate model. But, as demand grew, so did the challenges. Associates and the senior team were stretched thin, juggling client delivery and business development. This prompted a pivotal shift, with EiB transitioning to a fully employed consultancy model.

Today, EiB proudly supports clients across multiple sectors through a team of approximately 45 consultants that are all trained and developed in-house. This model enables us to avoid conflicts of interest, be selective about who we work with and ensure every client receives the same high standard of service. Annual growth has followed, fuelled by a strong learning and development culture, with funding for APMP and CMI Chartered Management Consultant qualification available to all employees.

Strategic bid planning that translates across sectors

EiB’s work winning methodology is rooted in early engagement with our clients. We begin by ensuring alignment with the right client through a robust bid/no-bid decision process that considers their market position, pipeline potential and openness to collaboration. Then, prior to tender documents being released, we conduct deep market analysis and run strategy workshops to define win themes that will resonate with the commissioning client’s needs.

This strategy prevents reactive, reverse-engineered submissions by guaranteeing a consistent approach from response planning through to delivery. Through tools such as storyboarding and compliance matrices, we help structure responses around the evaluation criteria and persuasively express our clients’ key differentiators. Our integrated model enables us to work as an extension of our clients’ teams, with EiB writers collaborating daily with subject matter experts to develop high-scoring submissions.

EiB’s cross-sector expertise also enables us to proactively challenge norms and apply best practices and insights from diverse industries. By disrupting positively, we encourage clients to rethink their delivery models and focus on what evaluators truly value, not just what they do well.

Our culture of growth and passion for bidding

EiB’s culture is built on developing talent, fostering enthusiasm and challenging norms. Our two-year graduate programme accelerates development by giving graduates exposure to a wide range of projects and sectors. This is supplemented by our recruitment of experienced bid professionals with diverse sector experience. Our model provides all employees with a tangible path into leadership roles, with half of our managers beginning as graduates or early-career hires. Additionally, EiB’s accredited training programme, which has received the prestigious Chartered Management Consultant Award (ChMC) from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), enables team members to achieve Associate status after three years and Chartered status after five. By offering variety and meaningful opportunities, we have cultivated a team that is passionate about bidding and brings that energy to our clients.