Two teams can buy the same AI tool and get totally different results. One gets faster and sharper. The other ends up with more noise, more rework, and generic words that do not sound like them. When I spoke with April Shields, Head of Submissions at Built, she made it clear why. AI adoption in bid teams is not a software problem. It is a leadership and governance problem.

April shares how she was told to “go and get AI” and why she refused to start with features. She started with the real problem: how do you equip a flat-out team to deliver fewer bids that are far more complex and far higher impact? That shift changes everything, including what “success” even looks like.

We talk about what makes AI genuinely useful in a bid environment, including tools that link safely to your libraries so you can find and pull together relevant content fast. But the bigger win is what you do with the time you get back: more judgement, more time with SMEs, and better strategic decisions.

And we get blunt about quality and risk. Garbage in, garbage out still applies, and governance is what stops AI turning into sludge. April also raises the long-term question the industry cannot dodge: if AI takes the junior work, how do we train the next generation of bid leaders?

CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Meet April Shields and Built

01:41 Why AI adoption varies in bid teams

02:44 Define the real AI problem to solve

04:33 The content search time sink

05:14 Team trial and adoption buy in

07:08 Garbage in garbage out and libraries

08:50 Judgement over automation in bids

10:20 AI and better SME collaboration

13:32 AI governance and rules of use

14:42 Tone of voice and quality control

15:58 Asking better why questions

16:25 Getting senior stakeholder buy in

16:37 Training junior bid writers with AI

18:33 Clarity under bid pressure

19:51 Better SME conversations and strategy

22:01 From blank page to first draft

23:34 Predictable leadership cuts rework

25:03 Culture and behaviours before tools

27:42 Governing AI long term in tendering

29:10 The human edge in competitive bids

30:05 Closing thoughts and thanks

April Shields - https://au.linkedin.com/in/april-shields-9aa22434

Web: https://www.tenderplusconsulting.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tender-plus/

In the tendering world, time is our most precious resource. Yet, there is a pervasive culture that treats sleeplessness, late-night bid submissions, and running on pure caffeine as a status symbol. In this episode, Deborah challenges a long-standing industry norm and explains why treating long hours in tendering like a badge of honour is not a sign of commitment; it is a major operational red flag.

Stretching your bid team into 18-hour days does not produce better work. In high-stakes tender submissions, extreme fatigue triggers a law of diminishing returns, resulting in a drop in quality that can easily cost you the win.

Chronic overwork is a diagnostic symptom of a deeper problem. Persistent late nights point directly to structural issues within a business: internal bottlenecks, poor resource management, onerous governance, or a failure to respect the bidding process. If a company wouldn't run its core operations in a constant state of emergency, it shouldn't allow its tender management and proposal teams to operate that way either.

This is a vital conversation for anyone involved in competitive bidding, whether you are a bid manager, tender coordinator, proposal writer, graphic designer, or executive stakeholder. Winning work requires strategic clarity, sharp decision-making, and care. None of which can be delivered by an exhausted mind. It’s time to stop rewarding the martyrdom of the all-nighter, respect the craft, and build a framework that allows your team to win well-rested.

CHAPTER MARKERS

0:00 - The "Long Hours as a Badge of Honour" Club

0:50 - Sleeping Under Desks: A True PPP Tender Story

1:25 - Why Burnout Culture is Ruining the Tendering Industry

1:52 - The Law of Diminishing Returns in Bid Management

2:25 - How Exhaustion Lowers Your Tender Submission Quality

2:48 - Why Long Hours in Tendering Are an Operational Red Flag

3:27 - Diagnosing Bottlenecks, Poor Resourcing, and Broken Governance

3:53 - Choosing Strategy Over Exhaustion: How to Win Rested

LINKS:

Web: https://www.tenderplusconsulting.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tender-plus/

In this episode of Chasing the Win, Deborah from Tender Plus speaks with Carla Garvie, Commercial Director (Australia and New Zealand) at Alstom, about what actually creates an edge in high-stakes bids. If you work in tendering, major projects, government procurement, or competitive bids, this is a practical look at how winning teams think and lead when the pressure is on.

We discuss why major tenders are won or lost early, often before the submission is even drafted. Carla shares what preparation really means in bid management, including getting the right people in the room, creating role clarity, and aligning the team on what “good” looks like. If you are a bid manager, tender manager, proposal manager, or part of a pursuit team, you will recognise how quickly assumptions and unclear roles can derail a tender response.

Carla also explains why communication is a system. We talk about the discipline of capturing information, running regular reviews, and keeping submission work, governance, and interactives aligned. Interactives are now a major part of many tender evaluations, and the teams need to use them to test solutions and build trust and collaboration.

Finally, we take a look at what “data-driven tendering” actually looks like in major bids. From pricing risk and departures, to modelling lifecycle cost, reliability and availability, data analytics shifts a tender from intuition to evidence. If you want to improve your approach to tendering this conversation is one to listen to.

CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Introduction to major tenders and tendering strategy

01:21 Carla Garvie career journey in rail and mobility

02:08 Early tender strategy and role clarity

04:23 Left shifting and pre tender preparation

05:30 Aligning submission, governance and interactives

07:06 Strategy before win themes

09:13 Data driven bidding and tender analytics

12:41 Leading diverse bid teams

14:50 Keeping the bid on strategy

18:39 Transport sector tender challenges

21:34 Winning tender interactives

23:33 Leadership under pressure in major tenders

24:49 Mentoring and wrap up

LINKS:

Carla Garvie LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/carla-garvie-12896533/

Web: https://www.tenderplusconsulting.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tender-plus/

In the tendering world, words matter. Not just the “world class” and “synergies” fluff that makes a bid sound like a brochure, but the small words that quietly shape how a team shows up under pressure. In this video, Deb takes a look at one word that is sabotaging confidence in tendering and bid teams everywhere: “just”.

You’ll hear why “I’m just the bid writer”, “I’m just the coordinator”, or “I’m just the graphic designer” is not humility, it’s self-erasure. In high-stakes tender submissions, every role is critical to winning work. Bid writing, tender coordination, bid administration and proposal design are not support acts. They are core to creating clarity, building a persuasive narrative, and helping evaluators feel safe choosing you.

This is a practical mindset shift for anyone working in bids and tenders, whether you’re a bid manager, proposal writer, tender coordinator, graphic designer, subject matter expert, or part of a pursuit team chasing competitive work. If you want to improve tendering confidence, strengthen collaboration, and lift the standard of your tender responses, start with the language you use about yourself.

Tendering is a team sport and winning tenders is never about one person. It’s about a team that respects the craft, respects the process, and respects each other. Take a moment and think about the words that you use to describe yourself. Are they a true representation of your worth, or keeping you feeling small?

LINKS:

Web: https://www.tenderplusconsulting.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tender-plus/

Tendering is not won by the loudest capability statement. It is won by the team that truly understands the client. In this episode, Deb from Tender Plus shares a client-centric approach to tendering and bid writing that goes beyond the RFT documents, into the real pressures, risks and decision-making dynamics that shape what clients choose and why.

Joined by Karina Ames, Business Development Specialist and Manager at Tender Plus, we take a look at what separates generic tender submissions from proposals that feel like they were written for one client, and one client only. If you want to improve your tender strategy, strengthen your win themes, and write more persuasive tender responses, this conversation will help you focus on the one thing that consistently moves the needle: putting the client first, properly.

We talk about why client centricity in tendering is not a buzzword; it is empathy in action. That means asking better questions, having real conversations, and learning what matters to the client beyond the formal schedules. If you are working on tenders, proposals, government tenders, or competitive bids, you will hear practical ways to gather the insights that help you tailor a solution that is valuable, not just compliant.

We also cover what it takes to influence before the tender drops, how to build trust early, and why incumbents do not win by default. Tendering is never just what is written down. There are biases, internal politics and risk concerns under the surface, and winning teams know how to read them and respond with clarity, humility and confidence. If you want to win more tenders by improving client relationships and writing bids that feel safe to choose, you are in the right place.

CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Client-Centric Tendering Mindset

03:03 Tendering and Bid Writing as an Exercise in Empathy

04:13 Understanding the Client Ecosystem and Decision Drivers

06:54 Collaborative Contracting and Relationship-Based Tendering

07:34 Why You Should Talk to the Client Before the Tender

08:37 Asking Better Client Questions to Win More Tenders

11:54 Tender Clarifications, Probity and Staying Compliant

13:52 Influencing Early: Shaping the Tender Before It Drops

15:05 Incumbent Tender Risk: Avoiding Arrogance and Showing Humility

18:04 The Hidden Iceberg: Unwritten Factors That Decide Tender Outcomes

19:20 Final Takeaways on Client Centricity and Winning Tenders

LINKS:

Web: https://www.tenderplusconsulting.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tender-plus/

Tendering was not the path I expected to take, but it became the work that showed me how meaningful impact can happen in very real and practical ways. What began as a dream of diplomacy eventually led me into the world of aid, and then into tendering, where I discovered a craft that is strategic, collaborative and deeply purposeful.

My first tender, supporting a judicial reform program in Indonesia, opened my eyes to a completely different kind of contribution. It showed me that winning work is not just about process or paperwork. It is about bringing together ideas, people and strategy to create something thoughtful, persuasive and worth choosing.

Over time, that journey became Tender Plus. From a one-person business to a team working across Perth, Sydney and Brisbane, I have seen just how much skill, care and resilience this work demands. Tendering is often misunderstood, but it plays a vital role in shaping infrastructure, services and communities, and the people behind it deserve far more recognition than they often receive.

This story is really about why tendering matters. It matters because it creates opportunity, supports recovery, and helps good work move forward. And it matters because behind every submission are people doing their best to make a genuine difference. That is the story I want to keep sharing.

CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 From Diplomat Dreams to Tendering

01:53 How I Found My Way into Aid Work

02:06 My First Tender Win and What It Taught Me

03:52 Balancing Motherhood and Career Ambition

04:18 How I Built Tender Plus

05:06 Working on Major Australian Projects

05:33 Why Kindness Matters in Tendering

06:01 Leading a Business Through COVID

06:26 My Blood Cancer Diagnosis and Recovery

07:38 Why I Started This Podcast

08:23 Final Thoughts and Invitation to Listen

LINKS:

Web: https://www.tenderplusconsulting.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tender-plus/

Chasing The Win is for people in the pursuit world who know this work is about far more than deadlines, documents and compliance. Behind every bid, there is strategy, judgement, communication, trust and a whole lot of human effort. There is the challenge of bringing clarity to complexity, staying steady under pressure and creating something that genuinely deserves to be chosen.

I created this show because I believe more of this knowledge should be shared. Tendering shapes so much of the world around us. It influences who delivers vital services, who builds important infrastructure, who supports communities and who gets the opportunity to make a real impact. And yet, so much of the insight behind this work stays tucked away inside busy teams, hard deadlines and long bid days. I wanted to create a space where we could bring more of that thinking into the open and have more honest conversations about what it really takes to do this work well.

Through this podcast, I will explore pursuit strategy, win themes, persuasive writing, client relationships, team dynamics and the lived reality of bid work. Some conversations will be practical and focused. Others will explore the more human side of the work, the pressure, the collaboration, the tension, the resilience and the small shifts that can make a big difference.

At its heart, Chasing The Win is for the people behind the submissions. The bid managers, writers, strategists, subject matter experts, sales leads and everyone else who cares deeply about creating something thoughtful, credible and worth selecting. I want this show to feel generous, grounded and useful. A place where we can learn from one another, strengthen the craft and bring more clarity, confidence and humanity to the pursuit process.