Articles

The best way to organize your proposal is around what the customer is looking for. But you have to do it in a very literal sense. The customer is looking for something tangible. They are looking for something in black and white, spelled out, and written down. Different customers look for different things. But if you can anticipate what your customer is looking for, you have a significant advantage. Here are some examples of what your customer might be looking for: Answers to qu

Understanding how to set your priorities is key to winning proposals. There are far too many things you want to do before the deadline than are possible to achieve. If you do not have the right priorities, you will waste time and effort on things that have a lesser impact on your probability of winning.  Ideally, your priorities will perfectly match the impact of each item on your win probability. But calculating win probability is not always possible. That’s where Maslow’s Hierarchy of Nee

If your proposal messaging amounts to: We’re fully capable of doing the work because we have experience and bring qualified staff, so here’s our approach that fully complies with all RFP requirements… Then you're telling the customer you are merely acceptable and not competitive. Every other proposal that makes the competitive range will also be acceptable. And most will be better. Most will be competitive. Assume that every proposal submitted will meet the specifications. Some

This surprised me, so I thought I’d share. I’ve published dozens of articles about how recycling proposal content can hurt your win rate more than any possible cost savings it provides. Then I stumbled on this quick and easy proof: Take 10% of txe litters in a documgnt and replqce them w&th gprbage or intertional typos. Then, tome how lonk it taker you to fnx all the tipos. The imterestIng thing is tkat the sintences with the typqs are 90% simalar to the ones wlthout the typoz. If yuur

There is a big temptation on proposals to get words on paper. The problem is that having too many words on paper too quickly becomes a problem when they are not the right words. The right words are very specific because a proposal doesn’t win by chance. Your proposal wins when the evaluators see what they need to give your proposal the top score. And that requires they see the reasons why your proposal is their best alternative. And that requires differentiation. And it requires RFP compliance.

When you are alone you have to work within your own limitations. What you know is all you know.  What you can write is all that’s going into the proposal. What you can do before the deadline defines your standard of quality. It’s not about winning or creating a great proposal. It’s about whether you can complete the proposal at all. Here are some tips that won’t help you win, but they might help you get your proposals submitted. What is the minimally viable proposal submission? The gap b

I like to think of it as the “other people” problem. Proposals would be so much easier if you didn’t have to work with other people. If they would just do what you need them to do…   At work we tend to think that working with other people is just a matter of management and leadership. But proposal specialists often (usually?) work with people that they have no direct supervision of. Proposals borrow people. And those people have other priorities.  If the only techniques you have are ma

How we got started... Carl Dickson started CapturePlanning.com in 2001 as a membership-driven site to help people learn how to find business opportunities and win more contracts. He had some great content and wanted to sell it. But he wanted to take advantage of the web and not just put it out there as books. He went with a membership model so that he could offer an entire library and not have to sell every title separately. The site has grown every year since then. It went from a side

If you use the format for Proposal Recipes that we recommend, they can be easily integrated with your Content Plans.  The recipes include a list of questions to answer and approaches and strategies you can take.  Not only do recipes do a better job of inspiring and accelerating than recycling proposal narratives, but they also integrate with the planning process better. The questions to be answered can be dropped directly into your Content Plans.  The approaches and strategies can be used t

Here is a simple approach that can not only help you achieve compliance, but can help you exceed compliance by answering all of the customer’s questions (including the ones they forgot to ask). Here is a simple approach to help you cover all the bases in your proposal.  For each section/requirement that you must address, make sure you answer: who, what, where, how, when, and why.  Repeat it until it rolls off your tongue and you have it memorized. Who:  who will do the work, who w

This presentation is from our Introduction to Proposal Content Planning course, which is free for PropLIBRARY Subscribers.

While the instructions, evaluation criteria, and statement of work contain most of the requirements that the customer expects you to address, there may be other requirements in other sections of the RFP that need to be part of the proposal. There is no way to avoid it; you have to read the whole RFP in order to make sure that you have accounted for all of the requirements.  Significant terms, conditions, and requirements that impact what you say in the proposal can hide in any section of the RFP

Here is a list of things to consider and actions to take as soon as the RFP is released: ❏   What is the method for submitting questions, and when are they due? ❏   When is the proposal due, when is award anticipated, when is the project start anticipated? ❏   What has changed since the release of the draft RFP (if any)? ❏   Did the customer act on your suggested changes? ❏   Is there anything in the RFP that might prevent you from bidding? ❏   Does the RFP provide all of the in

The Proposal Manager should finalize this list before the RFP is released so that he or she can immediately distribute the RFP as soon as it is available and not overlook anyone. Capture Manager: Executive Sponsor: Proposal Manager: Project Manager: Contracts Manager: Subcontracts Manager: Pricing Manager: Staffing/Recruiting Manager: Proposal Writers Technical: Management Plan: Past Performance: Resumes: Others:  

Be prepared to act quickly when an amendment is released You should check in with the customer frequently so that you anticipate any amendments and aren’t surprised by them. The Proposal Manager should lead the effort to assess the impact of the Amendment and make any changes necessary to accommodate it. Have you distributed the Amendment to the same people you originally distributed the RFP to, plus any new stakeholders? Is there an extension?

Your questions should be carefully prepared to ensure there is no misunderstanding The Proposal Manager should collect questions, edit their wording to improve the chances of getting a precise answer, and review the list with the Capture Manager to determine which ones to submit to the customer. Check the RFP to see if there is a deadline for when questions must be submitted by. Submit Questions Via: Email Telephone Fax Letter

Tracking team member data If you are bidding as a team or have subcontractors, you need to track the flow of documents and information.   This table identifies many of the most common items that need to be tracked.  Make a copy for each team member or subcontractor. Item Due Date(s) Notes Non-disclosure agreement     Teaming agreement     Resource requiremen

You should anticipate what you need to have, distribute, or present at the meeting so you will be ready. Things to do before the meeting: Create proposal directories/workspaces Initialize the directories with templates and/or other files Distribute the RFP Prepare any training materials or other handouts Invite attendees Things to bring to the meeting: Extra copies of the RFP Draft proposal plans including: Schedule Assignments

This invitation is provided to expedite your preparations.  You do not have to use it if something else will serve your needs better. We are planning to hold a kickoff meeting for the [Name] proposal at [Date and Time].  The meeting will be held at [Location].  Everyone who may be impacted by the proposal effort is invited to attend. We have been preparing for the release of this RFP for some time. The purpose of this meeting will be to bring everyone up to date on the status of our pr