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J.
J. & Associates, Ltd.
What are the
most important things to know
about writing winning proposals
CREATING AND WRITING WINNING PROPOSALS:
Presented By: Jessie J. Williams
STEP ONE
Making the bid/no bid
decision is the single most important
step in the negotiated
procurement process. Bids generally
will require lengthy
technical proposals that are both costly
in dollars and in person
hours. Accordingly, bid wisely and
selectively.
STEP TWO
Indicators for a yes bid decision are:
·
You know the procurement history
and have information on your chances of success.
·
Your capabilities are a perfect or
near perfect match with the requirements.
·
You know that you can bid a
competitive price.
STEP THREE
Indications of a no bid decision are:
·
You are bidding blindly on a public
procurement and all the information you have is in the REP.
·
You are attempting to stretch your
qualifications and capabilities to meet the requirements.
·
An incumbent contractor is bidding.
Often incumbents re-win their contracts. Broadly, you probably shouldn’t bid
unless you know the customer is unhappy or you have special knowledge of the
procurement.
HOW TO CREATE A WINNING PROPOSAL
Proposal
writing is one of the most crucial skills in selling to government. But how do
you win in these competitive situations? More proposals are rejected than
accepted. Invariably, price is blamed as the villain, but in fact, price is
rarely the only consideration and many times not even the main one. Proposing
the lowest cost solution will not guarantee success unless you have also
convinced the evaluators that you can do the job.
Even
if you have the best products, you might lose if the customer is concerned about
your service capabilities, or your ability to meet the deadlines, or the risks
of doing business with you. Winning proposals, regardless of the product,
service or organization, have a number of characteristics in common. They all
prove what they are saying, demonstrating the wisdom of selecting the supplier.
They provide practical examples. They provide clear evidence of the bidder’s
superior capabilities. They do not include grandiose, sweeping claims such as
~we have the best widgets in the industry.’ It is much more effective to
provide the evaluators with the evidence. For example, “Our widgets have
become a standard in your industry and are being used successfully by 10 of the
major cities in this state. Their names and telephone numbers are in the
reference section” For your proposal to be taken seriously, you need to
convince each of the evaluators of four basic facts.
Convince
Evaluators That You Understand the Problem
Often
firms fail because they do not make the evaluators aware of their experience
that they have dealt with this problem many times before. Instead of
demonstrating their specific experience in relevant areas, they simply
paraphrase the customer’s definition of the problem. For example, one supplier
responding to the RFP from a college stated that it had worked with other
similar institutions. Its competition went much further; it described some of
the problems that another institution had experienced during the implementation
and how it had helped the customer overcome these difficulties. By doing this,
its proposal was identified by the evaluators as the least-risk solution. To
prove that you can do the job better than your competition, you need to show
that you understand the problem or situation, and in particular, that you
understand the buyer’s concerns (which may not have been stated in the RFP).
Convince
Evaluators That You Can Solve the Problem
The
next challenge is to demonstrate that you can actually solve the problem and
have a plan that will produce the required results. Your proposed solution must
be practical; the customer must be able to see where it goes. The proposed
solution should not be vague and should address all of the purchaser’s
concerns. Based on your firm’s specific experience, you should demonstrate
that the plan will work, that each element of the plan is feasible and entails
little risk. Make your plan as specific as possible. A detailed project plan
with resources and deliverables demonstrates that you understand the issues, how
to organize the work and can deliver the goods. The people-recommending
acceptances of your proposal are taking a risk with their careers: Provide them
with the ammunition to speak confidently of your plan.
Convince
Evaluators That You Can Do the Job
Just because you understand
the problem and have a solution doesn’t mean that you can actually deliver on
your promises. Once you’ve convinced the evaluators that you do understand the
problem, and that your solution makes sense, you must show them that your
company can do the job successfully. Prove that your project team has been
successful in the past. Prove that each person on your team has direct relevant
experience. Prove that they are well-qualified and dependable. In short,
demonstrate that your team and company can carry out the plan successfully.
Convince
Evaluators That You Provide Value
Having convinced the
evaluators that you understand the problem, can provide a practical solution,
and can do the job, it’s not yet over. You must now ensure that your proposed
solution provides value. The price needn’t be the lowest, but it must be
consistent with other suppliers’ proposals or differences must be easily
justified by the evaluators. Evaluators often perform risk analysis as part of
the process and least risk is often selected over least cost. Winning proposals
do not happen by chance; they are based on specific strategies. Your strategy
provides evaluators with a reason to select your firm. It ensures that your
proposal is the best. If your proposal fails to establish a clear difference
between your firm and the competition, the decision will be made on the basis of
cost. Always remember that your proposal is foremost a sales document-- designed
not simply to prove that you can do the job, but that you can do it better than
any of the other competitors. Regardless of your proposal’s specifics, you
must make sure that the evaluators clearly distinguish between your company’s
proposal and that of your competition. A winning strategy sets you apart from
your competitors. It highlights your strengths and reduces the impact of your
weaknesses. It matches your proposed solution with the customer’s needs.
WHAT EVALUATORS THINK AS THEY READ
YOUR PROPOSAL
I recently read the results
of a survey of government proposal evaluators conducted a few years back. The
purpose of the study, called “The
Evaluator Preference Survey”, was
to discover what experienced
proposal evaluators liked and didn’t like in proposals, and how they made
decisions. The survey was directed at DoD and NASA evaluators, but my experience
tells me that the results are pretty much the same for all evaluators. Here are
some highlights:
Evaluators
love summaries; and think they are
extremely important to a winning proposal. Summaries tell the readers what they
are about to see, which makes readers better prepared for the message. All the
respondents said they read summaries first before going onto the detail. Some
read only the summaries at the beginning sections they weren’t interested in
or tasked with scoring.
This makes the summary-of
any section-the ideal place to plant the seeds of your strategic messages-your
themes.
Evaluators
like cross reference matrices; that
show where the RFP requirements are addressed in your proposal. For large
proposals responding to complex RFPs this is a must. Evaluators like being able
to scan the matrix for their topics of interest and find exactly where they will
find it addressed in the proposal.
This
saves time. It also indicates that you have done a thorough job.
Evaluators
like a well-organized and consistent proposal;
This goes beyond simply following the RFP outline. This means that subsections
are well organized and consistent throughout the proposal. A systematic,
well-prepared proposal indicates that the supplier will be orderly, thorough and
effective on the contract.
Evaluators
don’t care for alternate proposals;
this signal to evaluators that the supplier is not really prepared to meet the
requirements the customer has made. The evaluators surveyed said they didn’t
read alternate proposals thoroughly, if at all.
Of course, if the customer
has specifically asked for an alternative to the solution called out in the RFP,
then by all means, supply one. But for the most part, if you have waited until
you write the proposal to give an alternative solution, then you are way too
late. Do it sooner, months before the RFP drops.
Evaluators
like to see contract deliverable items;
in other words, what will you produce as a result of the work you do? Detailing
the deliverables tells evaluators that you know the full scope of the contract;
it gives them the warm fuzzy that you have it under control.
Many federal government RFPs
require this information (check out the Contracts Data Requirements List-CDRLs).
Many customers both in and out of the government don’t, however, and including
the contract deliverables tells the evaluators that you know exactly what the
contract requires and what you’re on the hook to deliver.
When it comes to resumes,
here’s what the study showed
evaluators found important
(in decreasing order):
· Experience
· Education
· Publications
· Patents
· Professional
affiliations
Evaluators
found backup material valuable and useful;.
By back-up material they mean technical data not specifically called out in the
proposal but that supports your case. Not many thought marketing literature was
very helpful.
But the material needs to go
in the back of the proposal; don’t try to wedge it into the proposal if it
doesn’t fit either the format or the context.
And here’s what evaluators
found most irritating (in decreasing order of importance):
1. Proposals that are
too wordy.
2. Poor proposal
quality-washed out or all
b/w graphics, spelling errors and typos,
poor
quality copying, etc.
3. Poor response to RFP
requirements
4. Poor approach to
resolving the problem
5. Inherent
deficiencies-missed requirements
here and there, inaccuracy of data, etc.
Note that the top two most
important irritants have more to do with the readability of the proposal rather
than the content.
These results won’t tell
you how to write winning proposals; all they do is give you an idea of what a
small slice of people think is important in proposals. Think of them as pointers
to making better proposal decisions in the future.
HOW DOES THE CUSTOMER EVA UTE PROPOSALS
It’s
impossible to give a description of how each evaluation process works; every
firm and agency that evaluates proposals has its own way of doing it. But it is
~ possible-and very useful-to explain a few things about proposal evaluation in
general.
For
any given procurement, the customer receives a pile of proposals in response to
his solicitation. His next move is to begin sifting through the proposals. And
what do you think he is doing as he evaluates? Is he selecting a winner? Is he
reading each of the documents one after the other in order to find the one that
leaps out at him?
No.
What he is really doing is what we all do when we make a decision; he starts off
by eliminating the ones that do not measure up to the standards.
Evaluating
a proposal, then, is really a process of elimination, rather than a process of
selection. That’s why when you write your proposal you ought to be focused not
on writing a proposal that will be selected. You should instead focus on WRITING
A PROPOSAL THAT CANNOT BE ELIMINATED!
You
must be aware of this as you write your proposal. You need to write it in such a
way that there is no possibility that the evaluator can toss it into the reject
pile, not at the beginning of the evaluation nor at any time during the process
as the pile of “keepers” grows smaller and smaller.
Here’s
how you can do this:
You
need to respond to each and every requirement in the solicitation. This makes it
impossible for the client to reject you for being “non-responsive to the
RFP.”
You
need to make sure that your proposal offers a solution that will solve the
problem at hand at least as well as any other. This makes it impossible for the
client to reject you for not being as qualified or as competent to do the job as
the rest of the field
You
need to make sure that you call out the clear and direct benefits of your
proposed solution. This makes it impossible for the client to reject your
approach on the grounds that it does not add value, or that it does not meet all
the client’s concerns-even those unspecified in the solicitation.
At
some point in the evaluation, usually when it’s down to the last two or three
proposals, the client does make a decision. He selects yours over the other
firm’s. But he does so because he has tried to eliminate yours (and theirs)
throughout the process and simply cannot do it. By this time you have pounded
the benefits of your approach into his head for so long that he simply could not
consider rejecting your proposal.
There
is a big difference between writing a proposal to be selected as the winner and
writing one that can’t be eliminated. When you write to avoid being
eliminated, you begin to think of all that it takes to meet that single
objective. In other words, you begin think about writing the proposal from the
standpoint of the reader.
LOOK INSIDE THE EVALUATION PROCESS
You
just spent untold hours hammering out a response to a 100-page RFP for a
government project. You submitted your proposal, and now you’re waiting. How
will your response be judged? Most evaluation processes are similar.
First, the project manager
or RFP officer determines whether the proposal complies with each of the
mandatory terms and conditions in the RFP. In some jurisdictions, proposals
that fail to comply must be
eliminated from further consideration. In other jurisdictions, they may be
eliminated at the discretion of the procurement officer.
If the organization is
handling cost as a separate issue, the cost proposal is separated from the
technical proposal. If technical experts are used to evaluate certain features,
they receive only those proposal sections dealing with their issues.
Proposals are then evaluated
and scores are computed for each of the predefined criteria. Proposals may be
ranked, and only those capable of providing an acceptable solution receive
further evaluation.
SCORING THE PROPOSAL: THE INSIDE STORY
Evaluators
are supposed to score your proposal against a set of predefined criteria. This
approach is intended to ensure that each proposal is handled in a similar
manner. But does it work?
Evaluation is a complex
process. Evaluators are human and influenced by their own experiences and
expectations. They can’t help bringing their own world view to the process.
Therefore, while the entire process is designed to promote objectivity,
evaluators are not always objective. With this in mind, let’s look at ways to
promote a good score.
Tip No.1.
Evaluators are influenced by past experience with your company and its people.
They will remember if the last proposal you submitted was the worst they had
ever seen. They will remember if your company provided excellent service and
helped solved a critical problem on the last project. They will remember if you
threatened to complain to senior management during a contract dispute. And they
will remember your embarrassing comment at the suppliers’ meeting about the
quality of the technical specifications.
Each
of these events may cause an evaluator to score you higher or lower than your
proposal actually deserves.
Tip
No. 2.
Evaluators compare proposals; they can’t help but compare proposals. Say, for
example, the RFP requires a project plan and the third proposal the evaluator
reviews contains a detailed project plan and a five-page analysis of risks
associated with the work. If the evaluator likes that proposal’s write-up, he
or she will look for a similar section in your proposal and in all the others.
In
spite of the evaluation criteria, evaluators now recognize that proposal number
three is superior and that the company understands the project. That vendor has
succeeded in altering the evaluation process and having its proposal adopted as
the standard.
Tip No. 3.
Evaluators don’t like promises without a description of how you plan to keep
them. Make sure your proposals are specific, the plan is detailed and the
deliverables are described.
In the ideal proposal, every
feature, function or requirement identified in the RFP is described and followed
with a “proof” statement, such as “We implemented this feature 12 months
ago and it is currently installed at 10 sites. The reference section includes
names and addresses.”
Tip No. 4.
Easy to follow, well-written proposals receive higher scores. Make sure your
proposal is easily understood by a typical evaluator.
Evaluating
10 or 12 proposals is tedious. By the 10th proposal, the evaluator is tired,
bored and finding it hard to follow the text. Anything that you can do to help
the evaluator understand your proposal will promote a better score. Headings,
diagrams, checklists and summaries all promote understanding.
THE
MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING WINNING PROPOSALS
The
single most important element of a winning proposal is a
clear
set of direct benefits the customer will receive by
selecting
you. Nothing is more important than that. Your
proposal
will win or lose on that alone.
You
must remember this crucial fact: From
the customer’s perspective, most firms in a given competitive procurement are
technically capable of doing the job. The only way you can win is by
differentiating yourself from the competition. And you do that by offering a
solution that has more benefits to the customer than anyone else.
And
here’s something else to keep in mind. What you perceive as a benefit may not
be what the customer sees as a benefit. I cannot count the number of proposals I
have read that cited features of an approach as if they would automatically be
perceived by the customer as benefits.
Which
brings us to a definition;
what’s the difference between a feature and a benefit? A feature is an element
of your solution. It’s what you will do, or what you will offer. Air
conditioning in a car is a feature. But is it a benefit? Most of us would say
yes. But what if we lived in
Nome
,
Alaska
? Is air conditioning
still a benefit? Or is it a piece of equipment I may use once or twice a year
but the rest of the time is a costly attachment that decreases my gas mileage?
A feature is not
automatically a benefit. It is a benefit if and only if the customer values it.
So, you can’t just fill your proposal with feature after feature and expect
the customer to see the intrinsic value. You have to discover what the customer
values, and present your features as a way to bring that value. Then it becomes
a benefit. In order to discover what he values, you have to find out what his
hot buttons are.
EIGHT STEPS TO A WINNING PROPOSAL
Your
proposal can lose for a whole lot of reasons. Some are out of your control. Most
proposers, however, carry their fates in their own hands; whether they win or
lose depends in great part on how they conduct their proposal writing
activities.
Over the years I have
found that there are certain key elements in preparing winning proposals. Here
are my top eight:
Open
and sustain a dialog with the client. Establish early client contact to find out as much
as you can about his needs and how you can help meet them. But make sure you
don’t let it languish by not carrying on the dialog.
Listen
to the client, and come up with possible solutions.
Then go back and listen some more. The better the dialog, the more the client
will view you as helping him solve his problem. Show the client your ideas as
they evolve. A client will always be more favorably inclined to a proposal that
includes an approach he is already familiar with. In your on-going dialog with
the client you need to be showing him your approach to resolving his problem,
getting his feedback, and improving it. When he sees it in the proposal he will
be familiar with it.
Make sound go/no-go
decisions. Winning proposals require
solid go/no-go decisions based on close scrutiny of facts about your client,
your competition, and yourself. Don’t make go/no-go decisions based on gut
instinct. You may win once in a while, but chances are good you’ll lose more
than you win.
Differentiate yourself
from your competitors. Here’s a
fact: most firms in any given competition are equally capable of doing the work
the client wants done. The winning firm will cast its approach in such a way as
to create the perception that its approach is unique. You need to find ways to
do this.
Identify your specific
competitors early. If you know who
your competitors are, you can identify their strengths with respect to this
proposal opportunity, and then figure out ways you can neutralize them in your
proposal. Once you have determined the competition’s strengths, come up with
ways your firm matches or exceeds each perceived strength.
Call out the direct and
specific benefits of your approach to the client.
It’s not enough to stress the strengths of your approach or your project team.
You must also point out in specific terms just how your strengths translate into
direct benefits to the client. Make sure that these benefits are clear; this
lets your proposal stand out above the rest of the competition.
Commit 100% to writing
the proposal. If you want to win, you
must commit yourself to the kind of effort it really takes to win. Dedicate the
necessary people to the proposal, even if it means taking them off billable
work. Get your subs involved from the beginning. And plan the effort from the
start, to make sure everyone’s time is used wisely.
Get started early.
The best way to win is to start early. If you wait until the last possible
moment, you will probably lose. To put it another way, if you wait, don’t
write the proposal. You can bet someone out there has got the jump on you.
KEY POINTS TO
REMEMBER
·
Change the way you think about
writing
proposals
·
Find out who reads proposals and
how they evaluate them
·
Proposal writing rules of thumb
·
Establish a relationship with the
client
·
Make the most out your existing
client contact
·
Market the client BEFORE the
solicitation hits
·
Give the clients what they want
·
Develop themes based on client
benefits
- Identify
the client’s hidden concerns and capitalize on them
Infrastructure
Requirements
·
Working efficiently: Plan the
proposal
project
·
Identify the proposal project
milestones
·
Identify Who should work on the
proposal
·
Prepare a proposal schedule
·
Plan the Proposal Writing
·
How to outline the proposal so the
client can find what he wants to see
·
Write the Proposal
1.
Write “proposalese”
2.
Highlight client benefits
3.
Substantiate your claims
4.
Write with clarity
5.
Write the Executive Summary
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