Chapter II: 9-Step Proposal Process: An Overview

 This chapter will give you an overview of the 9-step proposal-writing preparation process which will be followed by the detail discussion in the next chapters.

 Step 1: Bid/no-bid analysis and decision  Step 2: The proposal Team  Step 3: RFP analysis  Step 4 and 5: Preparation schedule and assignment of tasks  Step 6: Development of program design  Step 7: Development of front matter and executive summary  Step 8: Producing the proposal  Step 9: Client presentation

 Conduct a bid/no-bid analysis and decision  Bid only if there is a reasonable chance of winning the contract  Two parts: an analysis of the RFP and an economic analysis to determine if the potential return outweighs the cost of preparing the proposal and completing the work  Chapter 3 will discuss in detail the bid/no bid analysis process

 Could be only one person or several dozen, depending on the size of your firm and the importance of the project  Assign an individual (or a leader and team) responsibility for proposal development.  Someone from upper management should be designated as the main client contract throughout the proposal process  Detail is discussed in Chapter 3

 Analyze the RFP to determine what the client may really need in addition to what is stated in the document  Analyze the RFP and develop a checklist  This will also help you to develop a preliminary unique selling point (USP) to address the issues in the RFP and make your firm stand out from the competition  RFP will enable you to develop the proposal preparation  The detail: finding your unique selling points will be discussed in detail in chapter 4

 Develop a schedule for proposal preparation  The manager must make sure the proposal meets its deadline  The schedule should note the task assigned, the individual (or group and coordinator) responsible fro completing the task, due date, and actual dates the work is received  Determine the sophisticated method which develops the proposal at low cost

 The schedule tells the manager quickly whether any part of the team is falling behind the schedule or running into difficulties that may require additional staff or resources to handle.  This early warning system can prevent every manager’s nightmare of discovering way to handle the problems before the first draft is due  The detail is in chapter 4

 Assign and complete research, analysis, program development, and time/cost tasks  Proposal manger coordinates all information to develop the final program design  It indicates what you will do for the client, how you will do it and how much time and money it will take to finish the project  It is the heart of the proposal and it will be covered in detail in chapter 5

 Front matter includes the letter of transmittal, final table of contents and list of illustrations for longer proposals and the executive summary  The executive summary is the key part of the proposal because it briefly describes the major issues and recommended actions developed by your firm  It serves as the potent sales piece for your company

 Manager fathers all proposal sections into one complete document, along with any graphics required  It usually follows a set of format that is generally developed each company (See page 22 and 23 of the text book)  While writing, be sure that the reading level is appropriate to the client audience—neither too technical nor too simplistic.  Review and revision needs to be done several times by the top management and the proposal team. If possible, involve the client’s management in the revision of the proposal.  Text and illustrations need to be attractive and eye-catching to the client

 In some cases you might simply mail your finished proposal to the client, then spend a few nerve wracking days, weeks or even months waiting for an answer.  However, some clients might require you to make a presentation after all hard work you have put into your proposal.  You need to be well prepared if you don’t want to lose out on the final leg by failing to do a quality presentation, and your proposal deserves the best chance for success. (quality and ability to response to all questions and objections)

NOW YOU ARE READY TO TAKE OFF…