The 80% Rule: How to Win Bids Without Chasing Perfection
Perfection is the biggest threat to an on-time, high-scoring tender. The best bids don’t aim for 100% — they aim for 80%: clear, controlled, and evidence-led. This guide explains how to apply the 80% Rule so your submission feels confident, not overworked — and still scores where it matters most.
If you’re finalising a bid under pressure, our Bid Proofreading & Compliance Checks can help you focus on assurance over polish. For full build support, see our Bid Writer – Learning Disability, Home Care and Complex Care services.
🧭 What the 80% Rule Really Means
The 80% Rule is simple: focus on what scores, not what flatters.
Commissioners don’t award marks for literary finesse or graphic layout. They score evidence, logic and assurance. That means a tender that’s 80% complete in style but 100% complete in proof will outperform one that’s beautifully phrased but light on verification.
The final 20% — the pursuit of linguistic perfection — rarely changes scores. The first 80% — making sure every answer demonstrates control, cadence and verification — is what wins bids.
🧠 The Evaluator’s Perspective
Evaluators read fast and under pressure. They’re not looking for the “best-written” bid; they’re looking for the most believable one. Believability comes from three traits:
- Assurance: clear evidence that systems run as described.
- Cadence: predictable rhythm — weekly, monthly, quarterly loops.
- Verification: data or governance check proving change.
An 80% tender gets these three elements right and moves on. A perfectionist one tweaks adjectives while the data still drifts. Commissioners score control — not polish.
📋 Step 1: Identify What Actually Scores
Before you edit, map each question against scoring criteria. Ask: “If I were marking this, what would I need to see to award full marks?” Then build a quick checklist under four headings:
- Behaviour — what do we do?
- Frequency — how often?
- Evidence — what data proves it?
- Assurance — how do we verify change?
If those four appear in each section, you’ve already hit 80%. Everything else — phrasing, formatting, and tone refinements — adds little to the score sheet.
🧩 Step 2: Don’t Edit Past Clarity
Over-editing often blurs rhythm and weakens assurance. The rule of thumb: once a sentence is clear, factual and verifiable, stop improving it. Perfection doesn’t sound confident — it sounds uncertain.
Example:
Admin tone: “We are highly committed to delivering a safe, person-centred service.”
Assured tone: “Incidents and feedback are reviewed weekly; actions are tracked to closure; governance chaired by the NI verifies all completions monthly.”
The second version hits 80% immediately. Chasing the next 20% — stylistic tweaks — risks diluting the confidence.
🧮 Step 3: Apply the “3-Check” System
Before submission, apply three checks that together cover 80% of what evaluators look for:
- Logic Check: Every paragraph answers the question, in sequence.
- Evidence Check: Each claim is supported by data, cadence or verification.
- Tone Check: Calm, controlled, factual — leadership, not enthusiasm.
If your answer passes all three, it’s scorable. Perfect grammar adds polish, not points.
⚙️ Step 4: Quantify Just Enough
Evaluators don’t need every metric — just the right ones. 80% writing means using concise, defensible data rather than endless figures.
Example: “Safeguarding alerts are triaged daily; 100% reviewed within 72 hours last quarter; quarterly re-audit confirmed process stability.”
That single line delivers control, frequency, and verification — all within one sentence.
🧱 Step 5: Prioritise Assurance Over Adjectives
At least half of lost marks come from words that sound good but say nothing. Replace vague phrases with visible systems:
- ❌ “We ensure high standards of care.” → ✅ “Weekly supervision; monthly practice audits; 96% completion verified by governance.”
- ❌ “We are passionate about improvement.” → ✅ “Monthly audit reviews identify actions; NI verifies closures; re-audit in Q2 confirmed 12% improvement.”
Each rewrite removes decoration and adds data — the essence of the 80% Rule.
🧭 Step 6: Use the “Good Enough to Verify” Test
When unsure if a paragraph is ready, ask: “Could I evidence this tomorrow?” If the answer is yes, stop editing. Verification beats vocabulary every time.
Perfect-sounding answers with unverifiable claims erode confidence; 80% answers backed by traceable proof score higher.
📘 Step 7: Manage Time Like a Commissioner
Commissioners give each section roughly equal time to read. Mirror that logic: don’t spend 60% of your effort on the first 20% of questions. 80% bids allocate time proportionally:
- Plan & allocate hours per section.
- Finish every answer to a verifiable 80% before refining any further.
- Reserve final 10–15% of time for tone and flow checks, not rewriting.
The discipline of stopping at 80% clarity gives you time to strengthen overall consistency — the real scoring advantage.
🧠 Step 8: The “Evaluator Walkthrough”
Before submission, read your bid as if you were scoring it. Use a red pen to ask “Can I find this?” and “Can I verify it?” The 80% Rule aims for a tender that an evaluator can mark with minimal search — everything they need is visible, traceable and confident.
📊 Step 9: Build 80% Templates That Stay Fresh
The best template is 80% finished — with the final 20% left for local data, service names, and metrics. Over-templated answers lose tone and authenticity.
Use frameworks like our Editable Method Statements or Editable Strategies — pre-scored scaffolds that stay flexible and can be localised in minutes.
🧩 Step 10: Define “Done” Before the Deadline
Perfectionists often miss submission deadlines because “done” keeps moving. Leadership teams define it early: “80% means: evidence included, verified, proofread, tone checked.” Once that threshold is hit, they stop editing and start uploading.
Every high-performing bidder has a similar rule — because the final 20% of tweaks rarely improve marks, but often introduce inconsistencies or delays.
📘 Before / After: The 80% Rewrite
Governance
Before: “We maintain a robust governance framework and ensure continuous improvement.”
After: “Incidents, audits and feedback are reviewed weekly; actions tracked to closure; monthly governance chaired by the NI verifies change; Q2 documentation compliance 96% (84% Q1).”
Safeguarding
Before: “We always escalate promptly and follow local authority policy.”
After: “Alerts reviewed daily; 100% triaged within 72 hours last quarter; quarterly re-audit confirmed same performance; themes discussed in monthly supervision.”
Mobilisation
Before: “We will mobilise smoothly with our experienced team.”
After: “Daily huddles Weeks 1–2; weekly Mobilisation Board; gateways at Weeks 2/4; mock-run before go-live; Week-6 re-audit confirmed readiness.”
🧮 The 80% Checklist (Paste into Your Tender Plan)
- ✅ Every answer has behaviour + frequency + verification.
- ✅ All data anchored (time / source / place).
- ✅ No unprovable promises (“always / ensure / robust”).
- ✅ Consistent tone — calm, factual, leadership-level.
- ✅ Submission-ready: spellchecked, formatted, and evidence-attached.
🧭 How the 80% Rule Feeds Into Continuous Improvement
Adopting the 80% Rule changes how your team approaches every tender. It becomes a repeatable discipline:
- Planning: define scoring logic before writing.
- Writing: reach clarity + verification early.
- Reviewing: measure confidence, not adjectives.
Within three bids, teams see fewer last-minute rewrites, fewer inconsistencies, and better evaluator feedback. Commissioners start describing responses as “assured” and “deliverable” — signals of confidence earned through clarity.
🚀 Key Takeaways
- 🧭 The 80% Rule: stop at confident, verifiable, scorable — not “perfect.”
- 📈 Evaluators reward clarity, cadence and verification — not adjectives.
- ⏱️ Time discipline beats over-editing every time.
- 📊 Verification lines are worth more than eloquence.
- 💬 Calm, factual tone = commissioner confidence.
💼 Rapid Support Products (fast turnaround options)
- ⚡ 48-Hour Tender Triage
- 🆘 Bid Rescue Session – 60 minutes
- ✍️ Score Booster – Tender Answer Rewrite
- 🧩 Tender Answer Blueprint
- 📝 Tender Proofreading & Light Editing
- 🔍 Pre-Tender Readiness Audit
- 📁 Tender Document Review
🚀 Need a Bid Writing Quote?
If you’re exploring support for an upcoming tender or framework, request a quick, no-obligation quote. I’ll review your documents and respond with:
- A clear scope of work
- Estimated days required
- A fixed fee quote
- Any risks, considerations or quick wins
🔁 Prefer Flexible Monthly Support?
If you regularly handle tenders, frameworks or call-offs, a Monthly Bid Support Retainer may be a better fit.
- Guaranteed hours each month (1, 2, 4 or 8 days)
- Discounted day rates vs ad-hoc consultancy
- Use time flexibly across bids, triage, library updates, renewals
- One-month rollover (fair-use rules applied)
- Cancel anytime before next billing date
🚀 Ready to Win Your Next Bid?
Chat on WhatsApp or email Mike.Harrison@impact-guru.co.uk
Updated for Procurement Act 2023 • CQC-aligned • BASE-aligned (where relevant)