In order to raise your probability of winning a proposal, you have to prepare before an RFP hits the street. It is virtually impossible to develop a solution in the mere 30 days or less you get for most proposals, unless the subject is your core expertise or you are an incumbent. Even then, you may not develop as mature of a solution as you otherwise could. You should, therefore, develop proposal content ahead of time.
Your advance preparation should include flowcharts, notes, graphics, and bullet points that describe every aspect of your solution, proposal section by proposal section. Ideally, this information will enable you to go straight to drafting your proposal, without much additional brainstorming, once the RFP is issued.
Having a few spelling errors or a rough-around-the-edges look certainly does not invalidate all the great content in a proposal. Or does it? After all, you should be graded based on the virtues of your approach and price. Most of the time, the evaluation criteria don’t mention grammar and spelling, and many Requests for Proposal specifically ask to avoid elaborate presentation.
The U.S. Government is all about transparency: it posts bids publicly. Yet, just because most opportunities are posted for the world to see, that doesn’t mean a level playing field.
In order to increase your win_rate, during capture, you have to learn how to take advantage of other open sources of information, in addition to gathering intelligence directly from your customers (or instead of it, if you missed the window of opportunity to talk to the customer).
In the task of relationship building with the Government, you need to know that the Government actually wants industry to approach Government customers. FAR part 15.201, “Exchanges with industry before receipt of proposals,” states: “Exchanges of information among all interested parties, from the earliest identification of a requirement through receipt of proposals, are encouraged.”
The FAR then states that the purpose of exchanging information is to improve the understanding of Government requirements and industry capabilities, thereby allowing potential offerors to judge whether or how they can satisfy the Government’s requirements, and enhancing the Government’s ability to obtain quality supplies and services at reasonable prices. The FAR goes on to express the Government’s desire to further increase efficiency in proposal preparation, proposal evaluation, negotiation, and contract award. The same law encourages one-on-one meetings with potential offerors.
You will find that despite this law, the govies are often worried about breaking the procurement integrity rules—so you will have to learn when to talk to them, and when not to. Generally speaking, you can talk to the Government freely before they have developed an acquisition strategy (or the way they are going to run the competition) for a specific pursuit, and then the communications become increasingly limited and formal. Therefore, you want to start as early as possible before their doors shut.
All successful capture pursuits have to have a sound strategy, just like sports competitions or military campaigns. Win strategies help you run a pursuit in a way that separates you from the pack of your competitors. Essentially, you have to be able to articulate what will enable you to win. Your win strategy has to be written in a succinct set of statements, reviewed regularly to make sure it is still accurate, and adjusted as necessary.
