Building a Proposal that Wins: 17 Tips for Success

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Building a Proposal that Wins 17 Tips for
Success

• Alba M. Alemán
• Cairo Corporation
• May 18, 2005

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About Cairo Corporation

• Specialists in legislative and regulatory
  compliance for government agencies
• Bid win competitive proposals regularly
• ISO90012000 registered
• Fast growing company
• 1 Washington Technology Fast 50
• 18 Virginia Fantastic 50
• Inc 500 Honoree

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Tip 1 Know Your Customer

• People do business with people
• Develop your networks long before a proposal hits
  the street
• Invest strategically in that network
• Understand the customers environment
• Know the customers pain
• Pour your knowledge of the customer into your
  proposal

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Tip 2 Use a Framework

• Adopt a proposal development methodology
• Adapt it for your business (size, type, scope)
• Tailor it accordingly for each proposal
• Train your organization regularly on it

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Sample Proposal Process
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Tip 3 Create a Winning Team

• Select partners that strengthen your value
  proposition
• Partner only when needed
• Select partners with similar business values
• Keep lines of communication open direction
  should be clear and simple
• Set mutual and clear expectations
• Develop partnerships in advance

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Tip 4 Assign Roles Responsibilities

• Capture Manager
• Proposal Manager
• Technical Writers
• Technical Solutions Writers
• Review Team Participants (Pink, Red, Gold)
• Train all members of your team on their roles
  responsibilities

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Tip 5 Develop a Proposal Management Plan

• Always prepare a Proposal Management Plan (PMP)
• Complete and review the PMP prior to the kickoff
  meeting
• Distribute the PMP at the kickoff meeting
• Keep the PMP current, but manage to the plan
• Avoid sliding completion dates
• Develop a PMP template for your organization

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Sample PMP Contents

• Proposal project summary
• Customer profile
• Competitive analysis
• Proposal strategies and themes
• Staffing roles and responsibilities
• Proposal operations

• Proposal schedule
• Proposal outline
• Writers info (forms, templates, references,
  guidelines, etc.)
• Proposal strategy
• Executive summary
• Work breakdown structure

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Tip 6 Manage Your Team Daily

• Allocate a war room strictly for the proposal
• Live the PMP
• Define document your solution first
• Confirm that all participants understand their
  assignments, roles responsibilities
• Conduct daily stand-up meetings
• Focus team members on their next, immediate task
• Use storyboards to track progress
• Review a single aspect of all storyboards daily
• Post proposal collateral on the wall for everyone
  to see and review

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Tip 7 Develop Win Themes

• Brainstorm theme statements
• Use them consistently
• Link benefits to features state benefits first
• Quantify benefits whenever possible
• Draft themes that matter to the customer
• Use the Theme Litmus Test
• Can your competition make the same claim?
• Could the evaluator plug your theme statement
  into the evaluation form to give you the highest
  rating?

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Tip 8 Use Storyboards

• Storyboards are planning tools used to develop
  and review new content before writing text
• Use templates for storyboards
• Meant to save time and improve quality
• Tailor storyboards to the opportunity
• Train writers to storyboard
• Manage the difficult transition from
  storyboarding to the first draft

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Sample Storyboard Template

• Understanding the task
• Proposal info
• Bid request info
• Analyzing the bid request
• Compliance section
• Section outline
• Defining your offer
• Major issues
• SWOT analysis
• Approach
• Features benefits
• Risk management
• Past performance

• Developing your strategy
• Section discriminators
• Volume strategy
• Section strategy
• Section theme
• Creating key visuals
• Figure number
• Figure title
• Action caption

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Tip 9 Answer the Mail

• Dont simply restate the customers words
• Specify how you will
• Satisfy the requirement
• Measure success
• Communicate your action plan
• Provide validation that you understand the
  requirement

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Tip 10 Target Your Customer

• Pay close attention to the evaluation criteria
• Demonstrate your knowledge of the customers
  environment
• Use the customers jargon
• Demonstrate your skill and past performance on
  work of similar size scope
• Address the customers business technical
  concerns
• Its only important to mention if its important
  to the customer

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Tip 11 Avoid Boilerplate

• Template vs. Boilerplate
• Template candidates
• Staffing Plan
• Resumes / Skill Matrices
• Implementation / Transition Strategy
• Risk Management / Problem Resolution
• Quality Assurance Plan
• Management Practices
• Employee Retention

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Tip 12 Select Relevant Past Performance

• Select past performance that is of similar size
  scope
• Include all relevant past performance data in
  location required by solicitation
• Integrate examples of specific past performance
  wherever you make claims
• Ensure that write-ups highlight solicitation
  requirements
• Use matrices to relate experience to technical
  understanding
• Emphasize experience graphically easy to read
• Address all weaknesses known by customer

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Tip 13 Name Key Personnel

• Prepare resumes early on before the heavy writing
  begins
• Ensure that resumes of key personnel address
  solicitation requirements
• Arrange in a functional requirement and/or
  accomplishment format easy to read
• Keep resumes brief, clear and error free
• Use capability skill matrices to emphasize
  total team capabilities
• Avoid photos

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Tip 14 Compliance is Critical

• Pay close attention to evaluation criteria
• Develop a compliance matrix early on
• Monitor it regularly for adherence
• No matter how good your solution, it may not even
  be read if it is not compliant
• A proposal can be won simply because it is
  compliant

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Tip 15 Remember the Basics

• Allow sufficient time for production
• Ensure ample production materials (binder, tabs,
  cds, etc.) allow room for error
• Design production materials ahead of time
• Arrange backup production plan in case of
  equipment failure
• Make frequent backups of electronic materials
  separate sources offsite
• Arrange for duplication in delivery
• Deliver on time

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Tip 16 Proof Your Work

• Define number of reviews in the PMP depending on
  complexity of proposal
• Follow a consistent process for each review
• Ensure adherence to compliance matrix
• Make clear review assignments writers should
  never review their own sections
• Balance each reviewers work load
• Review for consistency and compatibility between
  volumes and sections
• Make sure participants have pre-read solicitation
  and understand requirements prior to review

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Tip 17 Always Debrief

• Whether you win or lose request a debrief
• Prepare detailed questions
• Limit questions to your proposal only
• Learn the strengths weaknesses of your proposal
• Never waste an opportunity to get in front of a
  customer
• Be professional

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Reference Materials

• Proposal Guide for Business Development
  Professionals by Shipley Associates
• www.shipleywins.com

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Thank You

• Alba M. Alemán, President
• Cairo Corporation
• 14900 Conference Center Drive
• Suite 500
• Chantilly, VA 20151
• [phone]
• www.cairocorp.com