Article: Frontload your cost proposal strategy and raise your Price to Win
It’s a given – price is important. However, price proposals are often prepared at the last minute, without much review, customization, or polishing. But what can we do as proposal managers?
Often the best of us resort to continuously checking when the cost proposal will be done, assisting with scheduling cost volume reviews, or simply praying the pricing team somehow comes in low. The likely result of such an approach is a disconnect between price and technical volumes, and lower award probability.
One thing you can do to prevent such a regrettable situation is to stop playing Russian roulette with your proposals and get involved in the cost proposal preparation. Your organization may not have required it from a proposal manager – or even kept you away from it – but times are changing. The Government awards on price now more than ever. Not having any control over the price volume lowers Price to Win (Pwin) – and lowers a proposal manager’s overall effectiveness.
All proposal managers who strive to succeed have to embrace the learning curve of making a difference with the price volume:
- Understand the terminology and the basics of cost volumes.
- Learn where you can make a difference throughout the cost volume development process, and how.
- Learn how to help with key pieces requiring your involvement: WBS, Assumptions, BOEs, Price to Win, and Pricing Strategy to get the price to the number that the Price to Win analysis has yielded.
- Discover how to create a winning cost volume narrative.
Contact us to learn more.
