Welcome to 2019—let’s make it a year of better proposals.
Our January 2019 newsletter noted the economic uncertainty we face and the likelihood that the pace of infrastructure and other capital spending may slow, beginning this year. In a climate of fewer projects, it only makes sense to work smarter on winning the attractive opportunities we see. This post is a good place to start.
Bid strategy faves
It’s always a good idea to focus your strategy on value. This post explains how to use value propositions in bids, and how to tailor them for different evaluator types, including the economic buyer, technical buyers and user buyers.
Since 2019 may be a year to pull out all stops, let’s jettison some old taboos, including on talking about service issues, pricing, risk and competitors.
If there are rebids in your 2019 plans, take time to read these posts on starting rebid efforts early, focusing on the future and playing up transition advantages.
Strategy making benefits from insight into how your competition thinks and bids. Consider making a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out.
Proposal management faves
Managing critical points in the proposal process, including pre-RFP discovery, making sound bid/no-bid decisions, developing win strategies, planning and running a successful kick-off and managing productive reviews, will help set the table for success.
Close management of narratives is another must for avoiding the all-too-common last minute rewrites. Start by providing content prompts to guide proposal writers, and then reviewing early drafts within a week of assigning them.
Narrative writing fave
Beyond a solid strategy, simple content prompts and clear expectations, the single most important gift you can give content developers and editors is an understanding of proposal evaluators. Learn why reality may not fit your ideal image—and how to adjust.
Want more?
See our blog index to explore the rest of our 2018 (and earlier) posts. And subscribe to our monthly blog summary (see the form at right) for a steady stream of winning ideas.
