Join Matt Light and Elizabeth Hibbert as they explore why better bid writing is about more than just finding the right words, and how research, strategy and collaboration help create stronger proposals.
What makes a great bid writer?
It's not just the ability to write well. The strongest bid writers ask the right questions, understand the customer, challenge assumptions and help shape winning solutions long before the proposal is written.
In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, brought to you by VisibleThread, guest host Matt Light is joined by Elizabeth Hibbert, Proposal Writer at CGI, to discuss why bid writing has become one of the most strategic roles in the bidding profession
Elizabeth shares how her background in marketing, business development and freelance writing has influenced her approach to bidding, why research and storyboarding are critical to developing persuasive proposals, and how understanding evaluators can improve bid quality. They also explore the growing role of AI, the importance of involving bid writers earlier in the capture process, and why the profession offers an exciting career for people who enjoy solving problems as much as writing.
00:00 – Introduction and welcome
02:20 – Elizabeth's journey into bid writing
04:40 – Skills that transfer into proposal writing
07:10 – Why bid writing is more than just writing
09:30 – The strategic role of bid writers
13:30 – Storyboarding and building the bid strategy
16:30 – Researching customers and stakeholders
18:50 – Writing with evaluators in mind
23:20 – How AI could influence bid evaluation
26:00 – Practical techniques for writing better bids
28:30 – AI as an opportunity for bid writers
33:00 – Helping organisations get more value from bid writers
36:40 – Promoting bid writing as a career
43:30 – Advice for aspiring bid writers
47:20 – Quick-fire questions and key takeaways
✔ Bid writers add value throughout the bidding process, not just at submission stage.
✔ Better research leads to stronger, more customer-focused proposals.
✔ Clear structure and thoughtful storytelling help evaluators score responses.
✔ AI works best as a support tool, with people providing the judgement and insight.
✔ Curiosity, communication and critical thinking are just as important as writing ability.
Elizabeth Hibbert is a Proposal Writer at CGI with a background in marketing, business development and freelance business writing. She is also an active member of the APMP UK Bid Writing Focus Group, helping raise awareness of bid writing as a profession and encouraging more people to consider it as a career.
Follow Elizabeth Hibbert and Matt Light on LinkedIn for more conversations about bid writing, proposal management and the future of the profession.