Gimlet Associates: Expertise, Services and Bid Success Strategies for Businesses

Overview of Gimlet Associates: Expertise, Achievements, and Services 

Gimlet Associates is a team of two experienced professionals: Kate Skillman and Nigel Denison. For over 16 years, we have worked together, with the past 10 years under the Gimlet Associates banner. Our operational backgrounds have shaped our approach, allowing us to provide unique insights into the bidding process. This practical experience, combined with our strong collaboration, has helped us deliver successful results across a variety of sectors, including criminal justice, healthcare, patient transport, construction, social care, pharmacy, and more. 

Our clients have secured critical contracts with values ranging from a few thousand to hundreds of millions of pounds. The key to our success is simple — we integrate seamlessly into our clients’ teams and encourage early preparation before embarking on a bid. Our approach builds trust and often leads to long-term partnerships. 

Our Services: Helping You Win More Business 

Gimlet Associates is a specialist bid consultancy, dedicated to helping businesses of all sizes navigate and win competitive tenders. Our comprehensive range of services includes: 

• Bid Preparation: We assist clients in laying the groundwork for a strong bid. 

• Bid Management: We oversee the entire process to ensure everything runs smoothly. 

• Bid Writing: We help craft compelling response content that aligns with tender requirements. 

• Bid Reviews and Debriefs: We analyse clients’ previous bids to identify areas for future improvement. 

• Training and Workshops: We provide practical training to empower clients’ in-house bid teams. 

Common Challenges Businesses Face in Tendering 

One of the most frequent challenges businesses face is a last minute scramble to get their bid completed when they enter the bidding process too late. This approach rarely yields successful results, as quality inevitably suffers. We always advise our clients to start as soon as a tender is released. 

Another key issue is a lack of preparation. Many businesses assume that simply reusing previous bid content is a viable strategy, but each tender requires a tailored approach. Knowing the buying organisation and crafting responses specific to the tender are critical for success. 

We also see businesses failing to answer the tender questions properly, often focusing on only part of the question. This is a common mistake that can cost points during evaluation. 

How Our Workshops Address These Problems 

Our Introduction to Bidding Workshop provides a comprehensive overview of the bidding process. We guide businesses through the essential steps, from bid preparation and selection to question analysis and deconstruction. Participants often find this last section especially valuable, as it provides a useful strategy to make response writing easier, improve response content and score higher marks. 

Through our workshops, we demystify the bid process and show businesses that with proper preparation and a strategic approach, they can compete for tenders – and stand a much better chance of winning the contracts. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing several businesses we’ve worked with go on to win important contracts after attending our workshops. 

Helping Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Improve Efficiency 

For SMEs, the bid process can feel overwhelming. Our workshops offer new perspectives and practical solutions for businesses that haven’t seen the success they desire. We equip SMEs with the tools to decide whether a tender is ‘right’ for their business, and how to efficiently allocate their resources. Ultimately, our workshops empower small businesses to produce high-quality bids without the need for a specialised team. 

Why We Enjoy Working with East Riding of Yorkshire Businesses 

We love the diversity of businesses we work with in East Riding and Hull. The different sectors and experiences that come through our workshops make for engaging and dynamic discussions. We also appreciate the valuable contributions and insights that participants bring to our sessions, fostering a collaborative learning environment. 

Nigel Denison and Kate Skillman will be delivering the following FREE workshops on behalf of Invest East Yorkshire and Invest Hull:

Winning More Work Through Tenders 

10 October, 9.30am – 12.00pm, RaisE Business Centre, Goole

Practical Bid Writing Skills

12 November, 10.00am – 11.15am, Online