What Do the Evaluators Look For in a Proposal?  

Crafting a Result-Driven and Focused RFP

Communicating, convincing, persuading, and marketing can be seen as alternative words with the same motive, i.e., to make the individual at the receiving side understand correctly and react accordingly. When it comes to procurement, the tone of communication alters, and rightly so, especially when considering RFP consulting services. With the number of services and products being offered increasing, mixing the context with the content has become a prerequisite.

Procurement processes in the late 1990s and early 2000s were different as the policies, technologies utilized, and overall ecosystem were appropriate for that period. The overall population was less, issues to be resolved were comparatively low, and the ones offering to resolve the specific issue were less in number. But in the present time, with alteration in technologies used, policies modified, and increasing competition, the format and structure of proposals have changed, especially in the realm of RFP consulting services. The tone of a proposal varies depending upon whether it is being written for a private or a public organization. It also gets altered with factors like demography and culture, to name a few.

In the following sections, you will get some insights as to how to build a winnable RFP, especially with the assistance of RFP consulting services. Several factors can be considered for the same, but in this article, we will be focusing on the following:

• Market research opportunities 
• Characteristics of a strong goal statement 
• Characteristics of an effective scope of work 
• Ingredients and key measures for achieving the desired result 

The insights shared below will aid you in making the base of your proposal strong and eventually increasing the probability of it getting accepted.

Crafting a Result-Driven and Focused RFP

An RFP can be seen as a trailer, an indication of what’s about to come. If the trailer is intriguing enough for the viewer, there is a good chance that the viewer will like the complete movie as well. Similarly, an RFP is a trailer to what your final project delivery would look like. For a holistic process and result-oriented proposal writing services, be sure to consider the below-mentioned points:

• Internet research: The first step for figuring out the history and demographics of service recipients.
• Interacting with peers: Knowing the prior experiences and hurdles experienced by them. It will assist in figuring out and adjusting the strategy and tactics to be implemented accordingly.
• Focus groups and vendor interviews: Interacting with them will help understand what kind of products or services are available in the market, how they function, and other variables.
• Request for information and concept papers: They assist the scope of work for an RFP.

• Prioritize outcomes over inputs, outputs, or processes: Inputs can be viewed as the ingredients needed for implementation, while outputs measure the completion of activities. Inputs and outputs help monitor vendor progress; however, outcome goals should be the overarching focus of the contract.
• Quantifying the goals: To assist and assess the vendor’s work.
• Focusing and narrowing down potential solution(s): Just like self-poised companies know their strengths and where more attention is required, skimming down focal points will assist in figuring out solutions that will certainly work.
• A strong goal statement must be diverse enough to encompass the “what” and “how”, while focusing more on “how”. What and how aspects can be seen as the theoretical part of an exam while how is seen as the practical part or the implementation part of the solution.

The above section talks about the characteristics of a strong goal statement, while the section below highlights how the above-mentioned goals should be implemented. In a way, the characteristics of a strong goal statement can be perceived as the strategy, while characteristics of an effective scope of work can be viewed as tactics.

There are five steps to be utilized in this case, to achieve the desired outcome:

1. To have an effective scope of work first you need to connect closely to your goals. With the goals for your RFP identified, the scope of work needs to be in sync with your goals and shall provide the context to the vendor for a better understanding of the work.

2. The next trait for an appropriate scope is to have a logical, straightforward structure that will assist the vendor in getting further clarity about what is expected from them.

3. A well-crafted scope of work is design-oriented and encourages innovation.

4. Be inclusive towards collaboration as the scope of work assists in setting the tone for your working relationship with vendors. To do so, it is advisable to build a pro-government impression with a collaborative tone, clearly defining roles and responsibilities, and structuring favorable incentives for the vendor.

5. Finally, be realistic. It is of utmost importance to have appropriate clarity in terms of what you expect from the vendor(s) and what they can provide you with, considering the time and budget of the project.

Most Appropriate Ingredients for a Winnable Proposal

A company becomes successful, profitable, popular, and reputable via several factors. Some of them include each department and employee being in sync with the company’s short-term and long-term priorities. Similarly, for a winnable proposal, the ingredients necessary encompass:

• Holistic impact i.e., how will it affect the consumer’s daily life and funders monetary aid before, during and after the potential solution getting implemented.
• The proposal probable solution to the problem and founder’s perspective should be on the same page of the same book.
• A properly laid out strategy and tactical plan that includes thorough research planning and forecasting.
• Lastly, data and relevant experience should be utilized to back up what is being offered.

A poor structural format, grammatical errors, too technical or too complicated to be understood by a layman are some of the deadly sins that you must avoid in a proposal. To put it simply, while writing an RFP or an RFI, try and wear the user’s shoes and check if the document looks persuasive and simplistic or not.

Key Measures to Achieve the Desired Results

1. Adhering to the rules and regulations.
2. Being receptive and proactive.
3. State your USP and back it with proof.
4. Laying out the strategy and tactics to be utilized.
5. Prioritizing quality over quantity.
6. Taking the aid of infographics and eye-catching captions.

Conclusion

Want a proposal that’s winnable? Get assistance from experts having experience of over a decade in writing winnable proposals.

Our APMP certified experts ensure to capture all aspects of developing a compelling proposal, so it is not only compliant and visually appealing but is customized in a manner that persuades customer effectively, giving a competitive edge over other bids.

Worxwide Consulting (formerly known as BidsandBeyond) offers RFP consulting services to help IT companies find, write, manage, and win more bids. Contact our bid experts for a higher win probability, time-efficient, and cost-effective services with specialized IT sales enablement services. Worxwide is based out of the US, UK, and India, offering bid consulting, sales transformation, user experience, and customer experience design services.

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