Contents
PART 1 The Foundations of Winning Proposals
CHAPTER 1 Winning New Business from the Federal Government
Why Is Proposal Preparation So Difficult?
Puzzling RFP Structure and Content
Inconsistent or Confusing RFP Requirements
Lack of Proposal Skills and Experience
Key Characteristics Of Winning Bids
Gaining The Competitive Advantage
CHAPTER 2 Anatomy of a Government RFP
Section A: Solicitation/Contract Form
Section B: Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs
Section C: Description/Specifications/Statement of Work
Section D: Packaging and Marking
Section E: Inspection and Acceptance
Section F: Deliveries or Performance
Section G: Contract Administration Data
Section H: Special Contract Requirements
Clauses Incorporated By Reference
Part III—List Of Documents, Exhibits, And Other Attachments
Section J: List of Attachments
Part IV—Representations And Instructions
Section K: Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors or Respondents
Section L: Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors or Respondents
Section M: Evaluation Factors for Award
CHAPTER 3 Federal Government Source Selection
The Federal Acquisition Regulation
The Federal Government Acquisition Process
Acquisition Strategy and Methodology
Development of RFP Evaluation Factors, Subfactors, and Criteria
Overview of the Source Selection Process
Technical Strength, Weakness, Uncertainty, and Deficiency
Proposal Risk versus Technical Weaknesses
Summary of Technical Evaluation
Winning the Technical Evaluation War
Sources of Past Performance Information
Tips for Maximizing Past Performance Scores
Comparative Analysis of Proposals
CHAPTER 4 Strategic Business Planning
Strategic Planning as Part of the Business Acquisition Process
Strategic Planning as a Competitive Advantage
Developing a Mission Statement
Value of the Mission Statement
Organizational Performance Assessment
Developing and Implementing Action Plans
CHAPTER 5 Long-Term Positioning
Developing Customer Relationships
Annual Briefing of Your Company Capabilities
Identifying Your Customer’s Long-Range Needs
Helping Your Customer Articulate Program Needs and Sell a Program
Becoming Familiar with Your Customer’s Procurement Practices
Building and Maintaining a Long-Range Schedule of Upcoming Procurements
Identifying Potential Competitors and Building Competitor Profiles
Tapping Sources of Competitor Information
Building a Strategic Marketing Database
Establishing A Bid And Proposal Library
Past and Current Performance Database
Marketing Information Database
CHAPTER 6 Building and Organizing the Capture Team
Capture Team Roles and Responsibilities
Production Manager/Proposal Administrator
Required Qualifications for Capture Team Leaders
Production Manager/Proposal Administrator
Assessing Your Need for Consultants
CHAPTER 7 Pre-Proposal Phase Activities
Writing Proposal Sections against the Draft RFP
The When and Who of Developing Bid Strategies
Past Performance with Customer
Program Requirements Assessment
Summary of Program Requirements
Technical Disciplines Required
Penalties and Other Special Requirements
Developing Specific Bid Strategies
A Methodology for Developing Specific Bid Strategies
Cost as a Specific Bid Strategy
Reviewing Specific Bid Strategies after Final RFP Release
Risk/Opportunity Components of Bid Strategy
Developing Bid Strategies For Service-Type Contracts
PART 3 The Proposal Development Phase
CHAPTER 9 Analyzing Customer Requirements
Using RFP Ambiguity as a Competitive Advantage
Key Proposal Preparation Documents
Proposal Requirements Document
Dissecting Evaluation Criteria
Document Configuration Management
CHAPTER 10 Developing a Proposal Preparation Plan
Creating an Overall Proposal Outline
Creating the Proposal Requirements Matrix
CHAPTER 11 Effective Proposal Management
Proposal Responsibility Matrix
Managing Daily Proposal Progress
Ready Access to Proposal Information
Co-location of the Proposal Team
CHAPTER 12 Writing the Winning Proposal
Clear and Effective Communications
CHAPTER 13 Tips for Effective Proposal Writing
CHAPTER 14 Preparing the Winning Cost Volume
Understanding the Relationships among Cost Categories
Managing Indirect Costs Effectively
Scrubbing Initial Cost Estimates
Explanation of Costing Approach
Maintaining Good Cost Performance Records
Formal Versus Informal Reviews
Conducting the Red Team Review
Debriefing of Red Team Results
CHAPTER 16 Proposal Production
Production Organization and Management
Proposal Configuration Management
Configuration Management of Graphics
Internal Documentation Standards
Hard Copy and Electronic Proposal Submittal
PART 4 Post-Proposal Submittal Phase
CHAPTER 17 Post-Proposal Submittal Phase
Oral Presentations as Part of Formal Source Selection
The Relative Importance of Oral Presentations
Responding To Post-Proposal Customer Inquiries
Developing Written Responses to Customer Inquiries
Preparing a Final Proposal Revision
Making a Good First Impression
CHAPTER 18 Contract Award and Performance
Making the Most of a Debriefing
Proper Behavior at a Government Debriefing
APPENDIX A Sample Capture Plan
Customer Key Evaluation Requirements (CKERs)
APPENDIX B Acronyms and Abbreviations
List of Figures
Figure 1-1. Ten Characteristics of Winning Bids
Figure 2-1. Uniform Contract Format
Figure 2-4. Sample Section L, Listing of Proposal Volumes
Figure 3-2. Representative Source Selection Organization for a Major Acquisition
Figure 3-3. Representative Source Selection Organization for a Non-Major Acquisition
Figure 3-4. Air Force Evaluation Scoring System
Figure 3-5. Different Scoring Systems and the Relationship between Them
Figure 3-6. Combining Subfactor Scores
Figure 3-7. Sample Summary Evaluation Sheet
Figure 4-1. Sample Strategic Success Indicators
Figure 4-2. Sample Form to Record Results of SWOT Analysis
Figure 6-1. Capture Team Organization
Figure 7-1. Bid Decision Evaluation Form
Figure 8-1. Competitive Assessment Using CKERs for the JTW Program
Figure 8-2. Sample Competitive Assessment Using Final RFP Evaluation Criteria
Figure 8-3. Forms—Customer Information and Contact Plan
Figure 8-4. General Advantages and Disadvantages of Incumbents
Figure 8-5. General Advantages and Disadvantages of Non-Incumbents
Figure 9-1. Program Requirements Document for the JTW Program
Figure 9-2. Proposal Requirements Document for the JTW Program
Figure 9-3. Sample Evaluation Factor Document
Figure 10-1. Sample RFP Section L Breakout of Required Proposal Volumes
Figure 10-2. RFP Paragraph Headings for Section 2 of Volume I
Figure 10-3. Section L Instructions for Section 2: Training System Support Center
Figure 10-4. Proposal Outline for Section 2.2 Based on Section L Instructions
Figure 10-5. Section M Evaluation Criteria with Breakout of Criteria for Subfactor 2
Figure 10-6. Proposal Requirements Matrix for a Portion of Section 2.2
Figure 10-7. Sample Proposal Requirements Matrix
Figure 10-8. Sheet 1 of the Author Guide with Sample Information Shown in Italics
Figure 10-9. Typical Section L Verbs and Their Connotations
Figure 10-10. Sheet 2 of the Author Guide
Figure 10-11. Potential Categories to Identify Features and Benefits
Figure 10-12. Common Sources of Perceived Proposal Risk
Figure 10-13. Sample Risk Management Table Entry
Figure 10-14. Ways to Mitigate Perceived Proposal Risk
Figure 11-1. Sample Responsibility Matrix for Section 2.2 of the Proposal Outline
Figure 11-2. Sample Proposal Schedule for 45- and 30-Day Response Times
Figure 11-3. Sample Responsibility Matrix with Due Dates Added
Figure 13-1. Change the Nouns into Usable Verbs
Figure 13-2. Examples of Word Inflation and the Cure
Figure 13-3. Common Vague Words
Figure 14-1. General Characteristics of Different Government Contract Types
Figure 14-2. Sample CLIN Structure for Fixed-Price Incentive Fee Contract
Figure 14-3. Typical Award Fee Rating System
Figure 14-4. Sample Work Breakdown Structure
Figure 14-5. Sample Expansion of WBS Elements 1.1.8.1 and 1.1.8.2…
Figure 14-6. Cost Summary at the CLIN and Program Level for Each Major Cost Category
Figure 14-7. Cost Summary at the Program and Major WBS Level
Figure 14-8. Pricing Data for WBS 1.1.1
Figure 15-2. Sample Red/Pink Team Evaluation Form
Figure 15-3. Sample Evaluation Recording Form for One Subfactor
Figure 15-4. Red Team Summary Evaluation Form