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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.

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

You can’t make a final Bid/No Bid decision before you see what is in the RFP. You can “no bid” with certainty at any time, but you can’t make a final decision in favor of bidding until you see what is in the RFP. The investment required to pursue will go way up once the proposal effort starts, so you should reexamine whether the pursuit is worth it. The clock is ticking…  the time spent deciding takes time away from preparing to win. After the

Hardly any RFPs are actually wired. Even if the customer has some bias, they can usually be stolen away if they get a better offer. Think about how you buy things. Most folks will give someone they’ve done business with for a long time the benefit of the doubt, but if someone has a better product or a significantly lower price, they sometimes make a switch. This is especially true if the relationship has gone stale. You may have no way of knowing without bidding. Use of the word “wired” mak

Never pursue a bid just because you can Every bid can’t be a “Must Win.” It’s really hard to break the habit of bidding everything you find. Here is an additional list of reasons to “No Bid” an opportunity: ❏   You find out about the opportunity when the RFP is released ❏   The customer has no budget or can’t afford what is required ❏   Your competition is cheaper or there are too many competitors ❏   You don’t know who the competition is ❏   You

It is important to assign staff to designated roles in order to define expectations. You may assign a person to more than one role. If you have been asked to perform a role, it is your job to object if you cannot fulfill all of the expectations.  Do not accept assignments lightly.   Record which people have been assigned which roles using the following table. Role Assignments Role Name(s) Contact Information

In a US Government RFP, the Statement of Work (SOW) for what the customer wants you to do or deliver will typically be in Section C.  If you do not have a Section C, you will need to look elsewhere to find what the customer wants you to propose doing or delivering.  Sometimes the customer will use different terminology, and instead of calling it the “Statement of Work,” may refer to their requirements as a “Performance Work Statement” or something else. The name is unimportant.  The third