How to Write Proposal Themes That Stick

Once you understand how themes can make your proposal stand out, you'll kick yourself several times for not doing so earlier. The ability to use themes in business proposals is one way to highlight the unique strengths of your bid. However there is some confusion as regards what it means to … [Read more...]

Are you making these 7 proposal writing mistakes

It’s easy to become snow-blind when writing a business proposal, especially if you are performing more than one role in the team. And if you're new to proposal development, bidding, and grant applications that are many pitfalls to avoid. Some are predictable, others less so. 7 Proposal Writing … [Read more...]

How To Create a Proposal Evaluation Scoring System

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 … [Read more...]

Writing the Risk Analysis section for Business Proposals

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 … [Read more...]

RFP Checklist For Describing Functionality

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 … [Read more...]

RFP Checklist for Content, User Interface & Design Needs

If you’re writing an RFP for a website, you need to describe the content types and graphic. This enables the bidder to create a prototype that will manage the different content assets and present it in an attractive manner to your customers.   Download Request For Proposal Template for only … [Read more...]

RFP Checklist For Describing Website Technical Needs

How do you describe the website’s technical needs in your RFP? The next section in your Website RFP is to describe how it works from a technical standpoint. For instance, this helps bidders understand if it can be integrate with MS, Oracle, or WebSphere. Without this technical details, they will … [Read more...]

The Secret Lives of… Proposal Evaluators

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 … [Read more...]

What is a Bid Manager?

What are the roles and responsibilities of the Bid Manager during the proposal development process? The Bid Manager’s role is like that of the Project Manager on an IT project. Their role is to coordinate the team members, analyze the Request For Proposal, allocate resources, define the schedule, … [Read more...]

Defining Objectives in Your Website RFP

If you’re writing an RFP for a website or content management solution, you need to outline your online objectives and how the new site will drive your web site's content, design, functionality, and technology.   Download Request For Proposal Template for only $14.99 Website RFP Checklist - … [Read more...]