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The Power of the Proposal - Preparing Winning Tender Packages
Author : Mel-Lynda Andersen
The opportunity of a lifetime has found its way to your
organization in the form of a Request for Proposal (RFP). You
share the RFP document with the members of your management team,
and you begin planning your response strategy. That’s when you
begin to realize the work that lies ahead.
Indeed, the excitement that an RFP generates is often quickly
tempered by the dawning realization of the immense amount of
toil that goes into competing for – and winning – that coveted
government or private-sector contract. As always, it’s when the
stakes are highest that everyone on your team must shine their
brightest and produce their best work.
You can help by breaking down the proposal into manageable
parts, by assigning specific sections to the appropriate
individuals on your team, by establishing a series of realistic
deadlines that allow for producing a polished looking proposal,
and by ensuring that the finished proposal contains both a
strong call to action and all the required information specified
in the RFP.
INCOMPAS can assist you in all phases of this process, or you
can call us in at the very end, to assist you in the editing and
final presentation of your proposal. To get you started, we’ve
developed a point-by-point plan to assist you in preparing a
winning proposal.
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Proposal Preparation Plan
Be Informed:
· Read the RFP carefully, all the way through, at least three
times, so that everyone in your organization has a thorough
grasp of all requirements and expectations. The information that
is crucial to your proposal will likely be scattered throughout
the RFP.
· Recognize and understand the proposal for what it is: a plan
that identifies a need or problem, followed by effective
strategies that meet the need or solve the problem, a list of
anticipated costs and an explanation of how the strategies’
progress and resulting benefits will be measured. Your proposal
must contain a strong call to action, and it must be organized
and concise, including all required information.
· Focus on the proposal evaluation criteria and the subsequent
weight given to each proposal section. It is here that you will
learn where to focus your efforts during the preparation of your
proposal.
Be Organized:
· Develop a proposal schedule by working backwards from the due
date, and stick to it. Establish separate due dates for
financial information, allowing sufficient time to acquire more
information and refine existing information. Hold regular
meetings with your proposal teams to discuss strategies,
progress and any roadblocks that are encountered along the way.
Make sure you factor in plenty of time for copying, binding and
delivery of your proposal. Set aside additional time for
distributing your proposal to your entire team, and make sure
there is a qualified person on hand to proof-read the final
document before it leaves your organization.
· Delegate and inform. In each section of the RFP, specify the
individual who will be preparing the information for that
section, and provide them with a guideline word or page count as
well as a bulleted list of the points to be covered in that
section. Post important instructions, so that your team has easy
access to information such as the proposal due date, the number
of required copies, delivery instructions, etc. Don’t complicate
your team’s job by making them hunt for this information.
· Create an RFP binder to assist your team in quickly and easily
accessing the information that applies to them, with all the
sections clearly divided. Highlight the most important sections
of the RFP and flag them with post-it notes.
Be Prepared:
· Ask questions well in advance. If anyone on your team has any
questions about the RFP, make sure that you ask them well in
advance of the query deadline. And because agency replies are
typically distributed to all proponents, it’s important to
carefully phrase your questions, so that you do not give away
any information on strategy or pricing to your competition.
· Create a budget checklist to ensure that you have accounted
for all proposed revenues, expenses and additional costs.
· Allow plenty of time to gather all the financial information
you will require. Make sure you understand the financial nature
of the RFP – fixed fee, cost-plus, etc. and price your proposal
accordingly.
Be Compliant:
· Follow the RFP outline and structure exactly when preparing
your proposal. The contracting agency will be comparing your
“apples� to those of your competition; you don’t want them
hunting for information because you chose to follow a different
format.
· Follow all proposal preparation instructions exactly. If you
take one step out of line your proposal could be eliminated
before it’s even read or considered.
· Follow the conventions and structure specified exactly in the
RFP. Don’t assume that the contracting agency has any prior
knowledge of your organization’s staff, capabilities and work
experience. Their job is to review, compare and contrast only
that information which is contained in each proposal.
Be Convincing:
· Fully describe the value and benefits of your organization’s
products and services, not just the features. These benefits may
seem completely obvious to you, but they may not be quite so
obvious to the decision makers. If you can clearly and directly
describe the benefits to your contracting agency, and convince
these decision makers that your proposal contains the biggest
and most important benefits, you will automatically set yourself
above your competition.
· Clearly answer the who, what, when, where and why details
specified in the RFP.
· Use tables, charts and other graphic elements to display
information and break up large chunks of text. This will make
your proposal easier to read, digest and evaluate.
Be Sure:
· Accurately document and list any assumptions you make when
presenting your budget. Triple-check that all numbers add up.
Print out a hard copy of your budget to assist in spotting
errors. When displaying numbers, make sure you use a font that
is large enough and easy to read.
· Proofread for consistency throughout your proposal in terms of
spelling, punctuation, section headings, etc. Ensure that each
copy of your proposal contains all pages in the correct order.
· Complete and sign all associated forms that must accompany
your bid. Read the submission instructions over one last time to
ensure that you have included everything and followed
instructions exactly.
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The Executive Summary is the most important section of your
proposal
The Executive Summary is the first (and sometimes the only)
section that will be read by RFP decision makers. While the
Executive Summary appears first in most proposals, it should be
the last section that you write, as it must capture your
proposal’s highlights, and it must underscore the strength and
competence of your team.
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