Proposal Writing Tips

How Request For Proposals are Evaluated for Government agencies

Jane Ripley — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:38:00 +0000

How much do you know about how government agencies evaluate request for proposals? If your business depends on government contracts, funding, or grant-giving, then it helps to understand how bids are:

Reviewed
Assessed
Scored and
Awarded

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In this series of tutorials, I will first look at how government bodies uses the services of external proposal evaluators to evaluate bids. While this process may change across different departments, it’s the one I’m most familiar with.

How Request For Proposals are Evaluated: Defining the Scope

This article describes the rules and procedures for evaluating Request For Proposals.

First, identify who will perform the evaluation, e.g.,

The evaluation shall be carried out by the Department in conjunction with [consultant 1] and [consultant 2].

The evaluation process consists of two phases:

Phase 1 – Assess the proposed solution against the requirements of the Request For Proposal.
Phase 2- Concerns the financial assessment, i.e. which bid offers the best value for money.

Defining the Request For Proposal Evaluation Process

Phase 1 of the evaluation works as follows:

Appoint the evaluation team
Identify lead evaluator for each tender.
Review the Invitation to Tender (ITT) and Supporting Documentation including the Q&A responses.
Identify any issues or risks in the ITT and Q&A documents.
Develop a scoring scheme; agree the marking scheme, with specific references to the criteria stated in the Invitation to Tender and any risks or issues identified.
Evaluators agree a threshold mark for each section.
Evaluators agree a weighting system.
Each evaluator performs the evaluation for each Tender Submission
Each evaluator attributes marks as per the marking scheme: note that the rules and guidelines described in this document should be applied in all aspects of the evaluation of bids.
Consensus meeting is held at the end of the individual evaluations.
Prepare Phase 1 Evaluation Report draft and final versions

Assumptions

It is assumed that any bids provided to the evaluating team by the government agency are valid bids (i.e. received on time and accepted as a bona-fide bid).

Defining the Evaluation Team Roles and Responsibilities

In general, at least two independent evaluators are used on any bid.

You need to appoint one lead evaluator and other evaluators to coordinate the assessment.

Their roles are summarised as follows:

Lead Evaluator

Co-ordinates the bid evaluation process
Chairs any moderation/consensus meetings
Prepares Phase 1 report
Co-ordinates/facilitates Phase 2 [providing organisation and management of the process, such as organising meetings, minute taking, and scheduling interviews]

Other Evaluators

In Phase 1, scores the tender submissions according to an agreed marking scheme.
Participates in evaluation and consensus meetings.
Attends meetings providing input as required.

Rules and Guidelines

Apply the following rules, guidelines and procedures during the Phase 1 evaluation.

The appointing of the evaluation team
The team to evaluate any bid is approved by the project leader.

Participation

Any individuals involved in evaluating tenders must be consistently involved in reviewing all competing bids on a project.

If someone becomes unavailable before they have fully reviewed all competing bids, their replacement must review all proposals including those already covered by the initial evaluator.

Conflict of Interest

The evaluation team must be objective and free from any conflict of interest.

It is essential that all companies and evaluators are objective.

If any company or individual has any financial or personal interest (e.g. competitor, business partner, shareholder, relative, employee etc) in any of the companies presenting tender bids, then they must make their interest known to the coordinating evaluator.

This will be discussed with the client; if necessary, the evaluator may have to step aside and be replaced.

Confidentiality

All documentation that relates to the tender bids – and their evaluation – is subject to restricted access and should not shared wit any persons outside the evaluation team.

Each evaluator is responsible for ensuring that the information provided to them is kept secure and confidential.
Reports and Communications

During the assessment, there will be many reports and communications between the teams.

Adhere to the following guidelines as follows:

Communication with prospective contractors (i.e. bidders) should occur in writing only and should be coordinated through the lead evaluator.
Retain copies of all communication (including emails) with prospective contractors; submit these with the evaluation report.
Communication with the government agency regarding project specifics and clarifications should also be in writing and preferably coordinated through the lead evaluator.
Communication between evaluators regarding bid assessment should be avoided before consensus meetings. This ensures that evaluations are objective and independent.
Communications regarding procedure or clarifications may take place if required.
Use the Evaluators Report to communication the result of evaluations.

Achieving Consensus

It would be very strange if both evaluators awarded the same score to the same bid. In general, there is a difference of opinion, which is always a good sign.

The question is how to discuss these scores and work towards consensus, i.e. a common score.

Differences are likely to occur in individual scores in different sections of the bid; to explore this setup consensus meeting.
Its objective is to address these points and, if possible, achieve an agreed evaluation score.
If there are significant differences in the scores – which cannot be reconciled at a consensus meeting – you need to use an additional evaluation team (for instance, members of the government agency) to assess the bids.

The final deliverable from a consensus meeting is a list of scored bids.

Scores, rankings and recommendation(s) may be qualified with commentaries and notes.

Note any anticipated risks associated with the bids based on the information available to the evaluation team.

Evaluation Report

This includes the administrative documentation involved in the evaluation of bids, such as:

Declaration from the team members of their capacity to evaluate the bids objectively and independently
Individual evaluators’ sheets on each bid.
Consensus report.
Appendix with all written communications of any significance during the bid.
Final evaluation report signed by the evaluators.

Conclusion

In the next tutorial, we will look at how to create a scoring system for the bids. This is usually based on
Understanding of the Project; Quality of the Proposed Solution; Approach to Project Management; Proven; Completeness of the Proposal.

Do you have any questions about how to evaluate a Request For Proposal? Please share them below and we can discuss it together.

How To Create a Scoring System When Evaluating Request For Proposals

Jane Ripley — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:46:25 +0000

How do you create a scoring system so that business proposals are scored fairly? One way to do this is to develop a scoring system and award points for each part of the bid. You can further refine this by adding ‘weights’ to the scores, i.e. as some parts of the bid are more important that others.

Evaluating Proposals

Yesterday, we looked at how to setup the proposal assessment team. This team is responsible for evaluating bids, scoring the proposals, and making recommendations.

The next step is to decide how to evaluate the actual bid. Here’s a suggested approach:

During the Request For Proposal evaluation, evaluate the bids under the following five headings:

Project Understanding – The prospective contractor must have a deep understanding of what the government agency is trying to achieve and how it wants to achieve the solution. It is critical that the proposal demonstrates an appreciation of the business needs and technical requirements.
Quality of the Proposed Solution – The evaluation team will assess the fit between the proposed solution and the requirements of the ITT. This is the main part in the evaluation; bids should present how the system will be implemented at the business level and technical levels, with regard to the preferred technical environment and procedures.
Project Management – This covers aspects of the project including scheduling, resource allocation, risk management, issue management, quality assurance, and reporting.
Proven Ability – It is essential that prospective contractors have proven track records with the type of technical solution proposed; projects of this size; clients similar to government agency and ideally in the business area. The assessment of capability may require references and referees.
Completeness of the Proposal – The least significant (and lowest score), this ensures that areas that fall outside those listed above are evaluated and help score the overall completeness of the bid.

In evaluating each bid under these headings, create different forms and templates.

Guidelines For Scoring Bids

The score given to each section will depend to a certain extent on the project under evaluation, its size, the technology involved, the business division and timelines.

However as a general guideline it is proposed that the total Phase 1 evaluation is marked out of 1,000 marks, and that the weights of each of the five criteria are chosen to achieve this overall total. In addition, a threshold mark for each criteria should be agreed by the evaluators. It is important to note that should a proposal fail to achieve the threshold mark in any one criteria, then the proposal will fail overall.

For example, the marking scheme could adopt the following weights and thresholds:

Criteria – for example, Understanding of the Project
Threshold – for example, 40, 50 or 60
Weight – for example, .5, 1, 2 or 3
Max Possible (Weighted Score) – this is the total combined scored when all factors have been combined

For example:

1. Project Understanding   40   1.5   150
2. Proposed Solution 60   3   300
3. Project Management 40   3   300
4. Proven Capability 60   2   200
5. Completeness 0   0.5   50

Make sure to add notes and comments when submitting these marks, i.e. to explain why you awarded these scores.

You may also want to reference any perceived risks not addressed in the proposals.

How to: Writing Risk Analysis for Business Proposals

Editor — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:09:22 +0000

Risk assessment creates problems for proposal writers. When responding to a Request For Proposal (RFP), you need to identify all known risks but also flag how these will impact other projects and deliverables. Your response also needs to discuss how you will mitigate against this; in other words, if you were awarded the contract, what measures would you take to reduce the risks.

Outline the Costs. Provide line item details and daily rates

It’s a challenging area for bidders as you don’t want to seem too negative but… you need to demonstrate that you understand the risks and have the expertise to control them.

Risk Assessment in RFPs

You can discuss the risks by breaking them down as follows:

Risk Number – provide a unique number to each risk. This helps track it across all procurement documentation.
Category – identify a set of categories and place each risk into its own category.
Detail – use this section to describe the risk in detail and how it relates to the requirements as identified in the Request For Proposal.
Impact – highlight where it impacts the solution and what other issues need to be addressed.
Mitigation Actions – finally, include a section that discusses the steps you will take to reduce this and minimize disruption to services.

Risk Analysis: Number

Use a numbering system that it easy to track in both Microsoft Word and Excel. Avoid complicated numbering systems as these take time to manage and update. If possible, cross reference the risks to the requirements.

Risk Analysis: Category

Examples of categories include:

Mobilization
Project Management
Client Input
Organisation
Functionality
Acceptance
Schedule
Budgets

Restrict the number of categories to keep it manageable.

Risk Analysis: Level of Detail

Discuss the risk in detail so the reader understands your concerns and later the mitigating actions you’re going to take. Here are some examples from a previous project:

Number of people that will join the project. Risk that there will not be space or facilities for them.
Deadlines are aggressive. The solution needs to be in place by September 2012.
Client’s resources are either not available to participate from the start or participate at different stages throughout the project.
Unclear contractor responsibilities result in less effective project management.
Change is not managed in a controlled manner.
Security audit requirements; may take several weeks.
Parallel project (which we are dependent on) is delayed.
Scope changes.
Client is not prepared for acceptance on completion of User Acceptance Test (UAT).
Client does not deliver test environments before start of the Technical Design phase.

Risks Analysis: Impact

The next step is to discuss how these may impact the project’s success.

Lack of preparation may result in delays.
Delays will result in negative perceptions in staff.
Delays will impact timelines and costs.
Scope creep results in delays and unanticipated complexity.
Security audit may impact the project’s timelines and thus project costs.
Project team does not have the required information before technical design begins.
Impacts to project timelines
Impacts to costs.
Impact delivery timelines.

Risk Analysis: Mitigation Actions

So, how do you mitigate against this? Here are some examples:

We have successfully delivered projects for Government clients, such as [project name]
We have the experience of meeting tight deadlines. We can ensure that each stage is managed tightly and produces the right inputs for the next stage.
We have will work with you to ensure that there is adequate notice of when all client resources are required.
We have the experience to provide the cohesive project management capability that you require.
We have has experience of working with and managing third parties to work together as a coherent and productive team and to successfully deliver projects.
Monitor scope in order to ensure successful delivery.
Baseline and agree the scope of the project during the Scope Definition phase.
We are accustomed to planning audits and designing solutions that meet these security audit requirements.
We have has taken into account your readiness date when planning.
We can work with you to manage any issues relating to project overlap.
We are accustomed to building solutions that need to interface with third party solutions.
We have can work with you to monitor any impact on parallel projects.
We will help prepare the UAT user group for conducting UAT with a view to acceptance on behalf of the organisation.
We will ensure that you are aware of the timelines by which environments are required.

Conclusion

When writing the risks section of the proposal, it’s best to present the information in a table format. Creating a table (possibly in landscape format) will help the evaluation team examine the risks and, if necessary cross reference them back to the Request For Proposal’s requirements.

What else would you add?

How do you identify risks? Do you use a specific numbering system? How do you discuss the mitigating actions?

11 Guidelines For Scoring Business Proposals

Jane Ripley — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:42:50 +0000

Ever wonder how your business proposal gets evaluated?

One of the problems when responding to Request For Proposals is that, unless you know how proposals are scored, you might focus your efforts on areas that have less value and win less contract awards as a result.

With that in mind, here are some guidelines on how bids are evaluated. Once you flip these around, you can write your proposal to meet these criteria.

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Request For Proposal: Scoring Objectives

The objectives of the RFP scoring guidelines are to:

Ensure consistent
Provide an unbiased score
Remove subjectivity
Achieve consensus
Ensure value for money

How proposals are scored

The evaluation team will score all items that influence the vendor’s proposal, such as:

Requirements
Project Management
Training
Maintenance
Costs
Expertise
References

How costs are calculated

The evaluation team tries not to let the fixed cost price determine the contract award.

It looks for other areas where the vendor adds value or… could be hiding costs that need to be factored in.

The factors include:

Software presentations, prototypes, and demonstrations
Bidder’s responsiveness to queries
Bidder’s values and culture
Payment schedule
Discounts
Guarantees
References

They will usually exclude prior experience with the software/vendor when scoring the proposal to ensure objectivity.

Proposal Evaluation – How to setup Scoring Guidelines

How are proposals scored?

In order to score a bid, you need to setup the evaluation teams, create scoring guidelines, and develop a process to manage the contract award.

Here’s how it works:

Setup an RFP team – The team includes members of the project from the client’s site, such as software, testing, and business units. It reports to the Evaluation Committee.

RFP team duties – The team does most of the RFP proposal evaluation. It is not allowed to communicate in private with vendors until the evaluation process has ended. State this in the Request For Proposal so vendors know it in advance. However, after the evaluation process, the team can meet vendors to resolve queries, clarify items or view presentations.

Setup an Evaluation Committee – This committee reviews the team’s evaluations, findings and recommendations. It approves decisions and choice of vendor.

Setup RFP scoring guidelines – Arrange this before contacting vendors. When you receive the bids, score them as per the guidelines.

Setup scoring and weighting schemes to evaluate your Request For Proposal. Ensure it is objective and used consistently across all bids.

Review & Score – Review each proposal, award scores, resolve queries, seek clarifications, meet bidders and achieve consensus.

Evaluation – The RFP team evaluates and score proposals individually. Once completed, they meet, discuss and compare findings. They agree a consensus score for each point and for the proposal.

Resolution – During evaluation, there will be differences in scores. These must be resolved to reach consensus.

Reaching consensus – Team members should be willing to compromise and adjust their preliminary scores if there are compelling reasons.

Vendor Recommendation – Once queries have been resolved, items clarified, and consensus agreed, the assessment team prepares the results and presents these to the Evaluation Committee for discussion and agreement.

Progress Reports – Team members must attend progress review/evaluation meetings.

Scoring Sheets

How do you calculate the (true) cost of the bid?

Use scoring sheets to calculate the award and totaling of points. Scoring sheets usually include the following information:

Preliminary scores for each criteria/proposal
Average scores
Above or below scores
Total scores
Variances
Weighted scores
Consensus scores
Strengths and weaknesses
Lists of issues and queries
Recommendations

Conclusion

The team members reviews and evaluates all proposals and their contents. Each member contributes to the final consensus scores for each proposal.

To ensure transparency, setup the evaluation guidelines before you publish the Request For Proposal. This streamlines the award process and allows you to evaluate and award the contract as quickly as possible.

15 Business Proposal Writing Tactics

Editor — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:08:54 +0000

How does psychology affect your business proposal’s success rate?

While most proposal writers focus on ‘hard’ data and ‘fixed’ costs, before you start your next tender document, consider other areas that typically get overlooked.

For example?

Look at underlying issues, pain points, and ‘emotional triggers’ that influence the proposal evaluation team.

Business Proposal Writing Tactics

With this in mind, if this is your first time writing a business proposal, use these guidelines to improve the writing style, format, and success rate of your bid.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Emotional Needs – Does your proposal identify a specific problem or set of needs? If so, how effectively does your solution address this?
Commitments – List the activities you commit to performing so the solution will succeed.
People – Identify the people (not ‘human resources’) that will be used to design, develop and implement your solution?
Results – What are the intended outcomes of your solution? How does this reduce the pain points currently experienced by the contract provider? Build themes around these points.
Assumptions – Make sure you understand the funder’s guidelines and that there are no assumptions. If you’ve read their guidelines and are still unsure, make a call, speak with their proposal officer and ask for clarification. Don’t leave it too late.
Proof – It’s not enough to say that your solution will be a ‘model’ for other programs; demonstrate how this will be achieved. Use case studies and white papers to build your credibility.
Framework – One of the limitations of the word ‘solution’ is that it implies the other person has a problem. While this may be true, other more complimentary terms can be more effective. Choose words carefully. Framework can serve as an alternative to the clichéd solution, providing you can demonstrate it is a framework.
Executive Summary – Develop an Executive Summary in plain English. Avoid the trap of resorting to clichés, jargon and industry speak. Remember, there’s a person on the other side of the document and they hate marketese as much as you. Write for people!
Where’s the beef? – In the conclusion section, dovetail all the main points into a single message that your reader can relate to. And, include a Call to Action, if possible. What does this mean? It means that after they’ve read the final section, they feel compelled to take some action, such as read more about you, download your white papers, check your statistics, or some other action. But, if they read to the end, put it down, and then move on to the next… you’ve left no real impression.
Footnotes – Instead of burying information in the appendix, learn how to create footnotes in Microsoft Word and add these to your document. This allows the reader to continue reading or scan the footnotes on the same page. Don’t make them dig around to find the answer. Use footnotes to explain line items in your budget, for example.
Transparency – If the funder asks you to identify contributors, include it directly after the budget.
Cultivate a relationship – Nobody likes to buy from strangers. Allow time to build a relationship with the grant-maker. Find ways to share information, whether through visits, phone, or email; accept that you may not win on the first application but by cultivating a relationship, you put yourself on the grid for the next set of contract awards.
Give Hope – As a dentist once said to me, ‘I try to remember there’s a person attached to the tooth.’ In the same way, develop themes in your proposal that touch the reader’s heart and evokes positive emotions. Don’t go overboard with positivity as this may feel insincere; instead find subtle ways to build trust and convey hope.
Create a Bridge – Once you have defined the problem or underlying needs, make a ‘bridge statement’ that shows how your project will help them overcome their problems.
Storytelling – Stories are powerful in ways that statistics, figures, and data are not. Use stories to illustrate your themes. Give examples of people you’ve helped and how their lives were improved as a result of your efforts. Highlight your story by using indentations to separate it from the rest of the text.

Proposal Writing Tactics

Psychology plays a key role in how business proposals are won and lost.

Even if you don’t use these fifteen guidelines, remember to write for one person.

While many people may read it, each one will read it one at a time. Keep this person in mind as you type… and you’ll see the results.

What else would you add? How do you try to influence proposal evaluators?

How to demonstrate Value For Money in Business Proposals

Editor — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:37:57 +0000

You can increase your business proposal’s success rate if you understand how evaluators determine Value For Money. Most proposal writers focus on the solution or cost. While both of these are valid, you need to examine your bid from the evaluator’s standpoint, in particular how they assess the ‘true’ cost.

For example, the lowest bid does not always mean Value For Money.

Value For Money in Business Proposals

So, how do you determine Value For Money? There are two ways to examine this:

Financial considerations
Non-Financial considerations

Let’s look at each of these and see where and how this will affect our proposal development.

Financial Considerations – Value For Money

When evaluators look at your proposal, they’ll be assessing it with consideration to:

Fixed price of the proposal
Discounts on offer
Conditions of these discounts
Daily rates and if they may change
Amount subcontracted to nominated subcontractors
Financial capacity of subcontractors
Total amount being tendered for

Non-Financial Considerations – Value For Money

The other area to consider is the non-financial considerations. This means that when I assess bids for clients, I’m going to:

Check the assumptions upon which the price is based
Assess if these assumptions are reasonable (especially where there are assumptions placed on my client)
Review the expected resources and mandays required by my client
Assess if we can provide this within the project timeframe

While these are not directly related to the total cost, you can see how they’d influence the agency awarding the contract.

For example, if the project goes over schedule – and daily rates increase – the project becomes very expensive.

Value For Money: How to Check

To protect the agency, I will then take a deeper look at the items in the bid; for example, clauses in the appendix which if executed could prove very costly.

For example:

Check if bidders quantify needs, schedule, and dependencies.
Check if resources are required on an “ongoing” basis.
Review the proposed project program
Assess if business units can keep up with the plan being proposed
Will resource be available as required at the given dates in the plan?
Identify project risks identified by the bidders.
Consider the quality of their presentations, their team, and their responses raised to questions at presentations.

Value For Money: Final Assessment

The final step is to consider the following:

Upfront payments requires before starting.
Payment schedule i.e. do they invoice every month, deliverable or per input/output.
Approach to change control, e.g. if the project goes over schedule how do they propose to manage this, their approach to costing, and the daily rates will they charge.
How they will charge (penalize) if the agency cannot deliver at any point.
Charges for attending meetings and/or travel expenses etc
Charged for late delivery i.e. if they run over schedule and this impacts the parallel projects.
Penalty points they may impose.
Warranties in relation to support contracts.
Change control requirements.
Daily rates changes, i.e. will they revise their rates if additional work is required?

Conclusion

As you can see, from the agency’s point of view (i.e. the firm awarding the contract), there are many ways they can be exploited.

What this means for you, as the bidder, is to write your proposal so that you repeatedly demonstrate value for money. To do this, remove ambiguity from your bid – strive for transparency – and reduce the agency’s anxiety wherever possible.

The more you can demonstrate this, the more likely you are to be shortlisted.

What else would you add? How do you demonstrate Value For Money in your proposals?

Free Checklist – Responding to Request For Proposals (RFPs)

Editor — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:24:10 +0000

Want to avoid last minute mistakes when submitting your business proposal? It’s easy to forget something when responding to an Request For Proposal (RFP) as there are so many activities to coordinate. One way to ensure your proposal gets delivered on time – and with all requirements covered – is to create a checklist. Here’s a sample checklist to get you started.

Click here to download the RFP Submission Checklist template

Checklist – Submitting Business Proposals

You can use this checklist when responding to RFPs, ITTs and RFIs. Please note that this checklist does not cover all areas (ie non-exhaustive) but will ensure that all information required by the Request For Proposal is provided in accordance with it provisions.

Key Deadlines

ASAP – Confirm receipt of RFT document
Date – First deadline for sending queries
Date – Final deadline for sending queries
Date – Deadline for receipt of Tenders

Tender Documents

X printed, signed and executed copies and one electronic copy of Tender Documents.
Tender documents in envelope marked “Formal Title of Bid – Response to Request for Tender”
Tender documents delivered to the offices of [conform that this is the correct address] by the Closing Date for Receipt of Tenders (see paragraph X).

Confirmations and Certificates

Confirmation that Response complies with National law (see paragraph X).
Certificate there is no economic, legal, commercial or financial relationship with another Respondent (paragraph X).

Information

Furnished full details and identified licences, permits, permissions, including planning permission, authorizations etc required and have been obtained.
Provisions of details of ownership and group structures of Respondent or if joint venture or consortium, the members thereof and, the commercial and legal relationship among the members thereof and other agreements with required confirmations.

Compliance

Compliance with the provision of Section X.
Compliance with the minimum qualification requirements (paragraph X)

Response

Response completed in required format (paragraph X).

Tender Documents for Lot X must include the following:

Completed Specifications Template (ref Appendix 1)
Completed Costs Template (ref Appendix 2)

Tender Documents for Lot Y must include the following:

Completed Specifications Template (ref Appendix 3)
Completed Costs Template (ref Appendix 4)

ALL Tender Documents must include:

Signed Confirmation and Compliance Statement (ref Appendix 5)

Document RFP Submission Template

Click here to download the RFP Submission Checklist template

Conclusion

Every proposal writer has different ways of organizing their bids. One thing to watch is you are responsible for delivering the response – and if you’re working with a team of writers – is to assume the something is missing.
If you have this attitude, you are more likely to spot an omission, error, or discrepancy in the final document.

Sometimes it looks trivial, for example, the footers may be different. Create checklists to capture before the leave your office.

So, if you’re working later, under pressure, and coordinating many documents, use checklists to assemble the proposal correctly and make sure it gets submitted with all the relevant information.

9 Ways To Improve Your Business Proposal’s Executive Summary

Editor — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:58:46 +0000

Here are nine guidelines to help you write a better Executive Summary for your next business proposal.

The Executive Summary creates difficulties for many proposal writers. Is it part of the business proposal or is it a separate document? How long should it be? Should it include costs?

1. Define the purpose of the Executive Summary

If you’re new to proposal writing, it’s easy to confuse the Executive Summary and the Introduction. After all, both seem to be doing the same thing. And they are, to a degree.

However, the Executive Summary is really the ‘elevator pitch’ for your Business Proposal.

If we see it in these terms, then we need to change the tone, structure and ‘hooks’ to capture the reader’s attention.

2. Write it as a Separate Document

One way to write the Executive Summary is to think of it as a standalone document.

In other words, if you took it out of the Business Proposal… it would still make sense to the reader.

When you look at it like this, you realize that you don’t need to write it before the proposal is finished. Instead, you can set it aside and develop it after you’ve completed the rest of the bid.

3. Develop Themes

Themes are an interesting way to develop the Executive Summary. What this means is that you choose a theme, for example, reputation, and then develop the bid around this theme.

Why create themes?

It adds a human element to your proposal. Instead of responding only to the requirements, you go deeper and explore the underlying pain points and needs of the customer.

This makes the document much more interesting to read as it speaks to the reader on an emotional level.

4. Problem Statement

What you’re doing here is three things:

Identifying the underlying problem or need that exists
Confirming how you’ve recognized this and
Why you’re expertise will address this

In this section, try to connect with the deeper underlying issues.

For example, why does the client need a content management system? Do they feel threatened or risk getting left behind.

These issues may not be identified in the Request For Proposal, but you as a proposal writer need to tease them out – and then weave these into the fabric of the proposal.

5. Proposed Solution

Remember that you may be writing for more than one reader.

In other words, your Executive Summary may be read by the:

CEO
Finance Manager
IT Manager
Quality Manager
Procurement Officer

…and so on.

For this reason, keep the text light, focused but not too technical. Avoid using jargon, three letter acronyms, and other buzzwords.

Give a short description of the proposed solution. Identify:

How it will be managed
Who will benefit from the solution
Where it will be implemented
How long it will take to develop
Who will maintain it

6. Costs

You don’t need to break down costs by line item; however, the evaluators will expect to see the total cost required for the project.

Don’t try to fudge it and bury the costs in the document. This sends out the wrong message. If you’re confident in your figures, show it in the summary.

If you want, you can also discuss the payment structure. For example, state that the client is expected to pay 15% upfront and the balance at different intervals.

7. Expertise

You need to demonstrate your expertise – but how?

One way to do this is include an endorsement from a respected industry figure. This works for two reasons:

It shows that another person (or company) is willing to vouch for you, which reduces anxiety in the reader.
It shows that you have a track record in the industry and aren’t another ‘fly by night’ company.

You can also look for ways to highlight your qualifications, industry recognition, and other prestigious projects you’ve worked on. Social proof is very important.

8. Length

There are different schools of thought on this.

I prefer to keep it to one page.

In this way, if it’s printed out, the reader doesn’t have to keep the pages together. They can scan it and absorb the key points in one go.

Whereas, when you add a second page, you break the momentum. You don’t want them flicking back and forth checking what you’ve said.

Remember to use a large, easy to read font. Don’t make the decision-maker strain to read your text. The may not have the same excellent eye-sight you possess.

9. Proofreading

The last step is the hardest – proofreading.

Try to avoid proofing your own document. Instead, ask a colleague to check it for you. If this is not possible, take a look at these twenty proofreading guidelines.

The key to effective proofreading is to assume there are mistakes. Check facts, dates, figures and numbers. Print it out and read the document from the End to the Start.

Why?

This technique forces you to pay attention; you can’t get into a momentum. Another tactic is to read the Executive Summary aloud and check if the tone sounds right.

Conclusion

Writing an Executive Summary takes dedication. Instead of writing it first to get out of the way – so you can get into the real document – see it as a separate piece of work.

Identify the core messages you want to convey, emotional triggers you want to evoke, and create a sense of urgency.

Over to you.

How do you write Executive Summaries? Do you write them before or after the proposal?

4 Smart Ways to Write Business Proposals That Win Contracts

Editor — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:24:02 +0000

“For your own good” is a persuasive argument that will eventually make a man agree to his own destruction. Janet Frame

Why do you write business proposals? Same reason we do! We write proposals to win more business, pay our bills and send the kids to college.

Same as you, I guess! Right?

I’ve been in the proposal development game for eleven years. I don’t call myself an ‘expert’ but I have learnt a few things that might interest you. Especially if you want to avoid the mistakes I made…

What’s the best way to write a proposal?

There is no ‘one way’ that works every time. But here are some pointers to consider.

To make your proposal work, you need to persuade your client that your solution is significantly better than your competitors. Not slightly better, but so much better that is would be foolish not to accept it. What makes this happen? As you write your proposal, look at where and how you can persuade the reader to buy your product.

Business Proposals: Four Steps

Your can persuade the reader to consider (and hopefully award) the contract to your if you use the follow four tactics:

1. Understand Your Client’s Needs

How do you do this? You get the reader’s attention by highlighting a specific need or problem they have and then explain how you can solve this.

You need to show that you understand their need and approach this from many angles throughout the proposal.

Demonstrate to the client that you recognize their need. State it clearly.

2. Show The Benefits

Next, discuss the benefits they can expect to gain by accepting your proposal. Discuss the solution at a later stage.

Focus on explaining how the client can improve their:

Productivity
Profitability and
Success

with the solution you’re offering.

To support your argument, explain the consequences of inaction or selecting inferior products. You’ll establish credibility not so much by demonstrating your expertise, but by showing your understanding of their business needs.

3. Discuss Your Solution In Plain Language

Make sure that the reader clearly understands what you are proposing. Ask yourself – can they summarize in one sentence what you are proposing.

Make a firm, clear recommendation accompanied by specific action steps. Avoid vague statements.

Recommend a specific approach or application: “We recommend that the Client use our company to design, write and produce its corporate marketing brochure.”

Present it so well that the client believes that your solution will meet their needs.

4. Give Details, Recommendations and Endorsements

Provide the reader with sufficient details. Demonstrate your qualifications and competence to deliver the solution:

On Time
Within Budget
To Specification

This effort will show that you understand the costs involved, particularly the Return On Investment to the client.

Also, discuss related issues, costs, management issues, schedules, risks, future implications. Always return to your key selling point and recommendation presented in terms of a quantifiable benefit. Wrap up by give convincing reasons that the client should choose you over all others.

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a recovering technical writer who now writes business proposals for clients coast-to-coast. He shares business writing tips for smart people like you at Klariti.

18 Ways to Improve Your Case Studies

Editor — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:22:56 +0000

You’ve never written a case study before, right? You wish there was some nice, easy way to get a handle on this. So, wouldn’t it be very nice if someone –guess who! – put together fifteen of the best articles on case study writing? Well, you’re in luck, we have!

1. How to Write a Case Study

Case studies and white papers are very effective tool to promote the benefit of a product or services. Case studies are the first most popular device used to promote the business.

How to Write a Case Study

2. Case Study: Focus To Be More Effective

As mentioned earlier, a case study is a soft-sell sales document. Its role is to highlight your abilities without resorting to market-speak and sales clichés.

3. Using Case Study in Your Marketing Plans

Case Studies are one of the most effective tools you can use to promote your products and services, especially if you are on a limited marketing budget.

4. What is a Case Study?

In general, case studies are made up of four sections: 1. Situation, 2. Problem, 3. Solution, and 4. Evaluation.

5. 5 Reasons To Write a Case Study About Your Business

There are several reasons you should publish a case study, for example to generate market awareness, raise your profile, or demonstrate thought leadership. Here’s how to do it.

Case Study – Sample Templates

6. How to Construct your Case Study

In the opening section of your case study, Situation, you describe the rationale for the case study, your background, current market position, areas of expertise, and what makes your company different from the competition.

7. Case Study: Length, Format, Style, and Presentation

Most case studies are between two-or-three pages and in the range of 500-900 words, although some tend to run longer. Try to aim for three pages, and include one large graphic per page.

Case Study – Sample Templates

8. Transform Case Studies into Success Studies

A case study should start with a powerful headline highlighting the major result or benefit of the project.

9. Writing Case Studies for Medical Products

These medical case studies are 500 to 800 words and describe how the device improves the diagnosis or treatment of patients.

10. How to Prepare Case Studies

A case study can be described as the study of an object, person or situation in its natural habitat in an uncontrolled and observational manner.

11. Writing Case Studies That Convert Prospects into Customers

Case studies are a very effective promotional tool, especially when your products and services are intangible, expensive, technical or provide benefits that are not instantaneously derived upon purchase.

12. Making the Business Case for Case Studies

Case studies are much more effective because they offer quantifiable success stories told from the perspective of current satisfied customers.

13. Trade Show & Case Studies

Trade show case studies can only benefit your company. Learning from past companies’ efforts and strategies adds to your own experience, almost as if you lived through their successes and failures with them.

14. How Freelance Writers Can Make Money from Case Studies

I remember the first time a client offered me a case study writing assignment. “What the heck is a case study?” “How long is it?” “What is the format?” “How much do I charge?”

15. Case Study for Market Research

There is another method of gathering information which is relevant and must be described. It is called case studies and it is the most adjustable of all research designs.

16. Case Studies as a Marketing Tool

An effective case study highlights how a specific situation was originally identified, what solution was selected for the problem.

17. How to Market your Business with Case Studies

A great way to increase the credibility of your marketing is to let your satisfied customers sell your service or product for you. Case studies are a wonderful way to do this.

18. Case Studies Research and Writing

The problem section of your case study has to have a ‘punch’. It has to signify something to the reader, something that can relate to, something that makes them take action.

Case Study – Sample Templates

If you have any questions about case studies, please contact me here or visit our blog.

Posted via web from Small Business Strategies

RFP Checklist For Describing Functionality

Editor — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:09:17 +0000

How do you describe the website’s functionality in your RFP? The next section in your Website RFP is to describe how it works, i.e. functions.

The functionality section of your RFP can be distilled to a few pages. Share sample sites that illustrate functionality you’d like to see on your site.

Download Request For Proposal Template for only $14.99

To describe the website’s functionality in your RFP, create a table with a listing of all potential functionality.

Indicate which functionality is:

Implemented,
Planned, or
Under consideration

Website RFP Checklist – How to Write Functional Requirements

Write the functionality from the customer’s perspective. This helps the bidder to visualize how the website will work as they can see it as the user would.

To do this, describe:

Examples – Sites that approximate the desired functionality
Database – Outline if your site involves database development or integration
Components – Describe which (if any) software components that have already been installed, such as chat, project management, multimedia, e-mail, other…
Ecommerce – Describe how transactions will need to be managed. Include details of payment, fulfillment, verification, and order tracking

Takeaway

When describing the functionality, create a matrix and list what’s currently installed, what needs to be developed, and what would be nice to have, i.e. useful but not urgent.

This helps the bidder when preparing the cost section.

How?

They can provide a bandwidth of costs depending on which functionality is developed and which is ignored or postponed to a future date.

You can then choose which suits your budge and which you feel if good value for money.

37 Business Proposal Writing Tips

Editor — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:24:00 +0000

This short course on proposal writing reminds us that our business proposal does not stand alone. It is process of a larger process that involves planning, research, writing, editing, proofing, submission and acceptance.

This list gives 37 ways to improve your next proposal. Scroll through it and tell me what I missed.

Show that your response is logical and organized

Make the information easy to find. Cross reference against the Request For Proposal
Include a table of contents for proposals over 10 pages in length
Ensure that your Proposal is in compliance with the RFP
Arrange material in order of priority
Arrange everything in the order that’s most important to the client
Arrange the response in accordance with their requirements
Number pages and sections consecutively; do not re-number each section
Use headings
Each section title should stresses the main benefits
Each section title should help readers orient themselves
If possible, express the key point of the section in the headline, or immediately after it.
Highlight important points
You can emphasize the most positive points by using bold, underlining, different fonts, spacing, titles, bullets and summaries
Content – Sell the Message
Respond completely
Answer every question in the RFP. Failure to respond correctly to the RFP may disqualify your proposal. The client put these questions in for a reason, and expect an answer.
Avoid banal headings and titles
Rather than say “Development Section,” say “Ten Ways to Improve Your Processes”
Use action verbs in heads, especially verbs that stress a benefit for the client
Avoid boilerplate
Don’t recycle resumes and corporate profiles from previous proposals; modify them in accordance for the proposal at hand. Using old, tired resumes will be perceived by the reader, and will count against you when they can making the final judgments.
Avoid hype, padding and other self-congratulatory drivel. Remember that the proposal is a legal document that becomes part of the contract if you win
Support your recommendations
By giving specific details and quantifying the benefits whenever possible
Don’t just say that you will comply with a requirement — say how we’ll do so
Don’t attack competitors. Refer to rival products if you must.
Point out the weaknesses of alternative solutions.
Use a strong closing statement
Ask for their business; tell the reader exactly what you want him or her to do
Remind the reader of the benefits of taking action
Avoid business cliché’s
Avoid hackneyed openings and closings that clients have read a thousand times. Avoid “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for considering the enclosed . . .” Get to the point: “Here is your proposal.” Avoid “If you have any questions, please feel free to call.” That closing has been done to death, so avoid it and write something more genuine.
Make your proposal easy to understand
Use the same terms and jargon that appear in the RFP. Don’t try to impress the client with your own special brand of buzzwords or TLA (three-letter acronyms)
Use simple, direct language
Wrap up the Proposal with confidence

What did I miss?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a left-handed technical writer who writes business proposals for clients. He also shares business writing tips for smart people at Klariti.

Proposal Writing: How To Increase Your Success Rate

Editor — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:45:47 +0000

What’s your success ratio with proposals? 25% is average. Very few get 50%. I help government agencies evaluate proposals. Most bids that come across my desk make the same errors, use the same flawed strategies and are never accepted. And the next time, they repeat the same mistake. Here are some ways to avoid this. It’s not painful, it just requires effort.

What does a Proposal Evaluator Do?

My job is to reject your proposal. I fail proposals if they miss a requirement, avoid a clause or get the figures wrong. We received 36 proposals for the last RFP. Some were over 300 pages. The less I have to review, the better.

Tip: make sure the proposals are well-bound. We scribble all over them, book-marking pages, and adding comments. Don’t use cheap papers and poor ring-binders. If they fall apart, I’m not going to re-assemble your document.

I eliminate proposals that don’t measure up. This means they fail on a technicality, are over budget, don’t agree to the deadline or have omitted to include some document.
Then I review what’s left and make a short list.
For me, evaluating a proposal is a process of elimination, not a process of selection. That happens later.
When you start your proposal, don’t focus on getting selected, instead WRITE A PROPOSAL THAT CANNOT BE ELIMINATED!

Here’s how you can do this:

Write your proposal so that the evaluator cannot reject it on a technicality.
Respond to every requirement in the Request For Proposal (RFP). This means you cannot be dis-qualified on the grounds that you were "non-responsive to the RFP."
Identify the solution. If it’s a product, name it & give the version number.
Don’t be vague. State clearly how you will do this. If possible, describe the solution in a single sentience.
Demonstrate that you have provided this expertise in a similar project.
Support you claims with case studies, white papers and other reports where you are given credit.
Provide pen portraits of your team. CVs go in the appendix.
List the benefits that your solution provides. Cross-reference these against the requirements. Itemize and prioritize each benefit.

Remember, the evaluators are looking for ways to disqualify you.

Check your proposal once, twice and three times.
Each time check for a different weakness or error. For example, once for writing errors, then for flaws in the solution and finally in the costs. You can make errors elsewhere but NEVER in the costs.

Conclusion

Write the Proposal and the Expression of Interest so that they cannot be eliminated.

Once you have this established, then drill-down into each requirements and respond from the perspective of the reader. Regardless of how good you think your proposal is, if you overlook a technicality, you’re out.

What have I missed? Let me know what you think below.

RFP Checklist For Website Implementation and Support

Editor — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 22:17:44 +0000

The final checklist in the Website RFP is for the Implementation and Support requirements.

The implementation chapter of your website RFP needs to cover:

Timelines
Budgets
Resources

Website RFP Checklist – Implementation and Support

Describe the following:

Constraints – What timing, budget, and resource constraints exist?
Project Management – Who and How will the project be managed (e.g. Is there be a dedicated project manager for both the client and vendor)?
Critical Success Factors – What will define success?
Measurements – What are the key measures for success? What tracking mechanisms are currently in place?
IT Manager – Do you have a dedicated IT Manager for this project?
Resources – Identify the resources that will be available to implement and maintain your site

Takeaway

As well as capturing the implementation and support requirements, outline future projections, for example, what you’d like to see in the next development phase.

RFP Checklist For Describing Website Technical Needs

How to Improve Your Case Study

Editor — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:33:06 +0000

Case studies and white papers are very effective marketing tools if you want to promote the benefits of your product or services. Case studies are the first most popular device used to promote the business. If you plan to write a case study, this article will give you a better understanding about this type of business writing.

What is a Case Study?

Case studies demonstrate how a business condition was identified, how you identified the main issues, and the summarized your results.

How to write a Case Study

Case studies tend to be short – between 500-1000 words.

In general, aim for three to five pages, and use one image per page at most. Case studies adopt a soft-sell approach.

How to Structure your Case Study

There are three sections to a case study.

1. Problem
2. Implementation
3. Results

The ‘problem’ section has to have a punch. In other words, it has to signify something to the person who reads it, something that they are able to relate to.
Focus on how the topic impacts the reader.

Demonstrate how your product resolved the business problem. The more explicit the case study, the more successful it will be.

Highlight the Benefits

Answer: how the solution, or service, addresses an issue.

Be careful here, as the whole case study is built in the region of this single issue.

Don’t dilute the case study by addressing more than the single issue – stick to one area and show how you can resolve the issue in measurable and proven terms.

Reduce Barriers

Case study writers need to demonstrate how their solution improves the situation. For example, how does it improve a business process?

This is an excellent area to state how your product integrates into other applications. You must use your conclusion when compile the last case study document. Avoid make it too technical or using too much statistics.

Case Study – Sample Templates

Compose the statistics set out so that the person who reads be able to easily grasp them and then memorize them later on.

About the Author: www.outsourcingresearchwriting.com

Posted via email from Small Business Strategies

How to Write Better Case Study Documents