Author: wordmaven58

When Being a Control Freak Is a Good Thing

Writing a proposal is relatively simple (which is not the same as easy!) if you’re the only one involved. You don’t have to keep track of anyone else; you just need to keep track of yourself.

On most proposals, though, you won’t be the only one involved. Typically there will be multiple writers contributing to the final product. On large proposals, there can be dozens of different contributors working on the document simultaneously.

When that happens, it introduces a special kind of risk to the proposal effort: There may be multiple versions of the document in existence at the same time. Which one is the “right” one? Which one is the most current?

This is where version control is essential. If you lose control, you run the risk of having one or more contributors working on the wrong version–which can cost lost time or effort to correct or, in the worst case, result in submitting a proposal that is less than your best effort.

You can attempt to maintain version control “manually,” of course–only allowing one person to work on the document at a time, for example, or implementing a file naming convention that incorporates dates, times, and authors’ names. However, the more contributors are involved, the more challenging this will become. Technology can help. There are many document management tools available to address this critical need. Some, such as Microsoft’s Sharepoint, are more generic products that can be adapted for use on proposals. Others–such as Privia or Virtual Proposal Center–are designed specifically for the proposal environment.

Whatever method or tool you use, make version control a central element of every proposal. Lose control, and you just might lose the contract.

Panic and Freak Out!

Proposals are inherently stressful. We work under tight deadlines, with millions (or even billions) of dollars at stake. We often work long hours–well into the night, as well as on weekends and holidays. It’s enough to make us crazy–if we’re not already crazy for being in this business in the first place!

No wonder, then, that almost invariably, during every proposal effort, members of the proposal team may experience a “PANIC AND FREAK OUT” moment–a feeling that nothing is going right, that “we’re never going to make the deadline,” that the proposal is dangerously off track. It just makes us want to scream, or cry, or give up and walk out.

Of course, we can’t do that. This is our job, our responsibility. So how do we handle those moments?

Most RFPs contain a requirement–implicit or explicit–to address risk management. When we talk about risk management, we typically identify three ways of handling risk: Avoid, Mitigate, Accept. We can use those same three strategies to deal with those “Panic and Freak Out” moments during the proposal effort.

Avoid. Obviously, the best way to deal with “panic” (as with risk) is to avoid it entirely, if possible. You can do this by starting with a robust, well-designed proposal plan that identifies the most likely and impactful problems and puts the pieces in place to prevent them. Establishing a schedule with clearly defined milestones can help you avoid missed deadlines. Creating a proposal outline that is fully compliant with the RFP requirements can help avoid a last-second rush to fill gaps. Developing a clear, well-articulated strategy can help avoid “what am I supposed to write?” syndrome. Supporting writers with  the resources, tools, and data they need can help avoid a constant stream of calls for “Help!”  If you have these elements in place from the beginning, you have a much better chance of avoiding moments of panic later on.

Mitigate. Even if you have a solid proposal plan, and you follow it meticulously, you may still encounter roadblocks or potholes that can take things off track. RFP amendments, personnel issues, or technology challenges (among other things) can throw a monkey wrench into even the most well-prepared and smoothly functioning proposal team. One way to mitigate those issues is to anticipate them and incorporate appropriate response approaches into the proposal plan. For example, backing up proposal files on a frequent, regular basis can mitigate the impact of a computer crash.

Accept. When you can’t avoid the problem, and you can’t mitigate it, then you just have to accept the situation and make the best of it. Of course, in these situations you may feel angry, frustrated, afraid, confused–or some combination. What can you do then? First, take a deep breath, and a step back. Give yourself some perspective. Remind yourself that you have a plan, tools, and resources to draw on. Remember that you are not alone–you are part of a team, and your teammates can help you when you feel stuck. Finally, if you do just need a good cry or scream, don’t do it in the proposal room, where it may throw everyone else on the team into panic themselves. Hold on to that feeling of panic until you can find an appropriate place to let it go. Take another deep breath, and get back to business. Once you do, you may find that things aren’t as bad as they had seemed.

Moments of panic are nearly inevitable in proposal work. If you adopt the strategies described above, you will be more confident, and more able to “keep calm and carry on.”

Mind the Gap

How do you decide which opportunities to pursue? Do you just chase everything? Do you wait for the “perfect” opportunity?

Let’s face it: Not all opportunities are created equal. Some are better than others. The key is to focus attention on the best ones.

But which ones are “best”? Three main factors should be key to your consideration:

– Can you do it?

– Can you win it?

– Can you make money doing it?

Let’s focus on the first of these questions: Can you do it? Rather than just making a gut-level decision, I recommend you use a structured approach called a Gap Analysis.

Working from a draft Statement of Work/Performance Work Statement, make a list of every required task, function, or activity that will be part of the contract. Then, for each line item, make an honest assessment of your capabilities and experience in that particular area. If you have experience doing it–with successful recent past performance–give yourself a check mark. If not, you have a “gap.”

Bear in mind, a single gap–or even a series of them–does not necessarily mean you shouldn’t pursue the opportunity. This is just the beginning of your analysis. Each gap is simply a clue to the next step in your strategy. That strategy may entail teaming with another company–as a prime, a sub, or in a joint venture. It may entail taking another look at your past performance; perhaps you haven’t given yourself adequate credit. Or, if the gaps are too large or numerous, it may be a clue that the opportunity really isn’t for you.

Regardless, conducting a simple Gap Analysis is a crucial early step in making a sound decision about whether an opportunity is right for you. Always “mind the gap”!

Easy Does It

Proposals are hard. We spend long hours struggling to make the proposal compliant, make sure it answers the mail, fits into the page limits, and (by the way) persuasive enough to win. Everyone who works in the proposal field is very familiar with this difficult challenge.

Do you ever consider, however, that it can be hard on the people who read our proposals as well? The contracting officer may be used to it–after all, it’s their job. But other evaluators often are dragged kicking and screaming into the process. Technical SMEs have their “real” jobs and may feel like reading proposals is at best a necessary evil. Other evaluators may feel out of their depth, reading proposals about something they don’t really understand. And all of the evaluators, including the contracting officer, are just trying to get through the process as quickly and (relatively) painlessly as possible.

So, as you develop your proposals, be thinking about how you can make things easier for the evaluators. Keep the writing simple and straightforward; use short sentences, avoid jargon, be specific. Keep the graphics simple, too: If evaluators can’t get the gist of a figure within a few seconds, they will give up and move on, and you will have lost an opportunity to make an impact. Make the layout simple and clean, and use a very readable font type and size.

It’s also important to make sure your outline follows the order of requirements in the RFP. In most cases, the evaluators will be working with a checklist provided by the contracting officer that maps precisely to the RFP requirements, so any deviation from the order of required elements prescribed in the RFP will make it harder for them to find what they’re looking for. That is likely to annoy the evaluators and make them less likely to score your proposal highly.

Ultimately, making things easy for the evaluators will give your proposal a better chance of winning. And that’s one way to make things easy on yourself, too.

Price is Not the Same as Cost

When a company is looking for consultant proposal support, it faces the question: How much is this going to cost? Typically, therefore, when the company makes contact with a proposal consultant, the first question often is: What’s your hourly price?

That’s a fair question, of course, but it’s only part of the answer to the first question (How much is this going to cost?). To calculate the cost, it’s necessary to multiply the hourly price by the estimated (or actual) number of hours involved: C = P x H.

Why is this important? Well, some consultants whose price appears to be lower may actually generate a higher cost because–by virtue of inexperience, inefficiency, or other reasons–they will spend more hours to accomplish the same amount of work.

For example: a typical U.S. Government acquisition allows for 30 calendar days between RFP release and proposal submission. A less-experienced or efficient consultant may need to spend 300 hours over that 30-day period to complete the proposal. If this consultant’s price is $120/hour, the total cost to the client will be $36,000. A more experienced, efficient consultant may spend only 200 hours over the same period to complete the proposal. So, even if this consultant’s price is $150/hour (25% higher), this more experienced consultant will generate a total cost to the client of only $30,000 (20% lower).

When you consider that the more experienced consultant is also likely to produce a better quality proposal, there’s obviously a good reason to hire the second consultant rather than the first one.

All of this is just by way of reminder that price is only one part of the cost equation. So remember to “do the math” before you choose a consultant. You’ll be glad you did.

Prior planning prevents…

In the military, there’s a familiar saying: Prior planning prevents poor performance. With that principle in mind, military operations are carefully planned and rehearsed to maximize their chances of success.

Unfortunately, in the proposal world, we sometimes tend to forget that principle. As another saying goes, we don’t plan to fail, but we do fail to plan.

Too often, we wait too long to begin our proposal efforts. In fact, companies often do no proposal planning until an RFP comes out. That’s almost always too late. Competitors have probably been planning and preparing for weeks, months, even years before then. A late-starting offeror is going to be at a severe disadvantage. And that’s why proposal experts often say, “If you don’t know who the winner is by the time the RFP comes out, it probably isn’t you.”

Starting early is a key to success in developing winning proposals. Identify target opportunities well in advance, put time and effort into positioning yourself for them, and develop a strategy and begin to execute it before the RFP comes out. You’ll almost surely see better results.

Show, don’t tell

Novel-writing, at its best, typically follows a simple guideline: Show, don’t tell. The best writing paints a picture in the reader’s imagination, rather than just telling the reader what to think. That kind of writing tends to be more evocative and engaging.

The same principle applies in proposal writing. Instead of just telling the customer what to think–“We’re the best at X”–we need to SHOW them. That means we need to describe WHAT we do and HOW we do it. Perhaps most important, we need to provide some kind of PROOF that we CAN DO what we say we WILL DO.

That’ll show ’em!