Service

Description

When service is needed:

RFP Analysis for Bid / No-Bid Decision

· Detailed review of RFP requirements, evaluation and award criteria.

· Analysis of bidder qualifications using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

· Recommendation for Bid/No-Bid decision.

· Uncertain whether or not to bid.

· Do not understand RFP requirements, evaluation or award criteria.

· Uncertain whether you have the required capabilities and/or experience required to win.

· Uncertain about partnering, subcontracting, etc.

· Uncertain about competition or other dynamics. (Why bid if the solicitation appears “wired”?)

Service

Description

When service is needed:

Preparation of Proposal Outline and Win Themes

· Preparation of Compliance Matrix based on RFP requirements, evaluation and award criteria.

· Preparation of Requirements-Driven Outline (RDO), using thematic annotation, with page counts.

· Preparation of high-level Win Themes and discriminators based on SWOT analysis.

· Uncertain how to the organize proposal response for technical compliance, readability and ease of scoring.

· Uncertain what content is required in the proposal response; what ought to go in, what ought to be excluded.

· Uncertain how to differentiate your proposal from competitors. (What will discriminate your offering as “best value” from others?)

Service

Description

When service is needed:

Proposal Planning, Scheduling, and

Resource Allocation

· Review of proposal outline and requirements for major proposal sections (e.g. technical approach, management, past performance).

· Identification of skills required to author proposal sections.

· Identification and review of existing proposal content for suitability.

· Creation of proposal schedule with milestones, reviews and writing assignments.

· Require assistance in scoping and planning the proposal effort.

· Require assistance identifying existing content that may be leveraged (e.g. mining prior proposals for content, identifying appropriate “past performance”).

· Require assistance identifying appropriate personnel to author or contribute to proposal sections.

· Require assistance planning the proposal process, setting milestones and reviews.

Service

Description

When service is needed:

Proposal Writing and Editing

· Preparation of draft and/or final versions of some/all sections of the proposal in accordance with proposal outline.

· Incorporating win themes and discriminators throughout proposal, utilizing techniques such as storyboarding as appropriate.

· Working with subject matter experts (SME) to convey technical solution to intended audience most effectively.

· Ensuring proposal speaks with “one voice” by editing sections from multiple authors for consistent language and professional tone.

· Ensuring proposal sections support one another most effectively.

· Technical team does not have sufficient writing skills or experience working on proposals.

· Authors have difficulty conveying technical solution to e.g. non-technical audience. (How do you say this in plain English?)

· Authors have difficulty conveying benefits of the solution, are simply saying “how” it works, not how it benefits the customer to provide best value.

· Proposal comes across as unprofessional or “too technical”, e.g. focused on technical details, rather than high-level benefits to the customer (and decision makers).

· Proposal sections do not support one another effectively; e.g., Technical Approach section does not make reference to specific projects in Past Performance to substantiate claims. (Proposal has too many “trust me” statements for which evaluators take off points.)

Service

Description

When service is needed:

Proposal Reviews at Key Milestones

· Review of proposal at key stages to ensure it remains “on track”, providing specific corrective guidance as needed.

· Review of the RFP requirements; evaluation and award criteria; Compliance Matrix; Win Themes and discriminators; outline and (draft/final) proposal for compliance, consistency and persuasiveness.

· Written comments and detailed constructive criticism provided to authors, documenting finding and suggesting ways to correct problems and inconsistencies, strengthen proposal.

· Need to ensure the proposal complies with all requirements of the RFP and can be scored easily by evaluators according to evaluation and award criteria.

· Need to ensure that the proposal remains “on track” with respect to the proposal outline, Win Themes and discriminators, in particular when multiple authors (or multiple  companies) are involved. Does the proposal “answer the mail” at a minimum, and does it convey “best value” in an effective, coherent manner?

· Occasionally, proposal reviews (such as “Red Teams”) can be non-constructive or worse (e.g. corrosive, personal attacks, etc). This is absolutely wrong, completely counterproductive and has no place whatsoever in the PWS Tech approach. PWS Tech comments are direct and always include suggestions for how to improve the noted shortcoming, typically suggested rewording of sentences, text to replace a questionable paragraph, sketches for new figures, etc.

Service

Description

When service is needed:

Proposal Management

and Coordination

· Leading or assisting the above activities as required by providing management oversight and schedule enforcement for the full lifecycle process.

· Preparation of Proposal Outline and Win Themes

· Proposal Planning and Resource Allocation

· Proposal Writing and Editing

· Proposal Reviews at Key Milestones

· Looking for experienced leadership to guide the proposal process that can utilize staff resources most effectively, and coordinate between internal and external groups.

· Need someone who has “been there” and “done it before” to lead and train your proposal team so they can perform their functions more effectively and efficiently on this proposals and in the future.

· Believe in the “learn by doing” approach rather than the classroom, where team members gain experience and knowledge from working with one another on real assignments under the guidance of a seasoned professional.