Writing a competitive proposal takes resources - there is no way around it. To prepare a responsive and responsible offer to a Request for Proposal (RFP) requires the offering firm to make a significant investment of time, personnel and funds.

Senior level support and investment is critical to successfully preparing a proposal that meets the government’s requirements while portraying the company’s offer with sufficient clarity to make the competitive range and subsequently be recognized as the firm providing the best advantage to the government.

Effective Proposal Investment Management

Proposal costs are investments and, like any investment, must be managed. Activities from bid/no-bid decisions, to responses to inquiries after submittal, must be consistently focused on winning.

Characteristics of effective management include:

• Using pre-RFP positioning to obtain the information you need to win and to creating the prospect’s expectation that you are likely to win
• Providing relevant, factual and timely information in your proposal
• Assigning tasks to capable and proven personnel and keeping proposal milestone deadlines
• Understanding your win strategy, communicating it clearly to your proposal team and being absolutely certain it is presented clearly and effectively in your proposal
• Avoiding unnecessary fluff, graphic decoration, platitudes, and never using the words “uniquely qualified’ or ‘world-class” without overwhelming and highly credible supporting evidence
• Keeping the message and text easily readable, clear and simple
• Ensuring your proposal precisely complies with every single RFP requirement