Writing a Winning Proposal Starts with a Winning Outline

Anyone who has written a proposal for a federal government agency can tell you about some of the challenges involved in writing a proposal that has the potential to win a contract.

Just as an architect creates detailed plans when designing a new building, so should a proposal writer have a plan for developing a proposal.  Architects' drawings provide the details needed for the construction of a complete building - the exterior, interior, and infrastructure - all needed by the builder to construct a completely finished, attractive building.  In order to write an effective proposal, the proposal writer must also have a detailed plan; however, a proposal plan must be based entirely on the instructions and Evaluation Criteria as presented in the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Writing proposals for federal agencies often involve a multitude of challenges that are unique to other types of proposals:

• EVERY detail of the RFP's instructions must be addressed exactly as described
• Particular attention must be paid to the Evaluation Criteria upon which the proposal will be scored
• Stringent guidelines must be met regarding page limits, placement of certain materials within sections, and even the size/type of font and document margins
• There are likely to be multiple forms to be completed and signed
• Special packaging of materials is often required – including detailed tables of contents, indexes, electronic copies, cataloging of files, and shipping instructions
• Failure to respond correctly and adequately to EVERY detail of the RFP's requirements can result in a total rejection of the proposal.

Every proposal is UNIQUE – while many RFPs request similar information, a winning proposal must not only mirror the proposal instructions, but reflect the intent of the Evaluation Criteria and the customer's needs.

So what must a proposal writer do to ensure that the final proposal contains all required information - in the required format - and that it appropriately reflects the customer's needs?

 

The answer is in the development of a detailed Outline of the RFP that not only contains the RFP's instructions and Evaluation Criteria, but that mirrors exactly the requirements of the RFP, down to the smallest detail.

MarkeTrainer has created a process to help every proposal writer - no matter how experienced - to develop a better proposal Outline that functions as a "road map" to writing the proposal. The SIP Process^© is comprised of three (3) main steps that are the basis of its name:  

1. Separate the contents of the RFP

2. Interpret (and integrate) the RFP's instructions and Evaluation Criteria

3. Prepare the outline to mirror the RFP's requirements.

When these three steps are correctly applied, the result is a detailed proposal Outline that not only lists the critical items to be addressed in the proposal, but also includes instructions for proposal author(s) regarding how to present materials in the proposal to match  the RFP's Evaluation Criteria. A thorough, detailed Outline is the first step to writing a complete and responsive proposal with the greatest potential to win a contract!

The SIP Process also teaches how to produce a checklist of all of the items the RFP considers mandatory or essential in the preparation of the proposal, and ensures that every important technical issue is addressed in every section of the proposal.

Use this tool every time you prepare to write a proposal – and you will learn how to write a better proposal to ultimately increase your win rate!

Visit www.MarkeTrainer.com for "Analyzing & Outlining the RFP" in our Training Center.