| Baloney! - Balderdash! | | | | expensive rework. |
| Nope. It's wrong nonetheless, and I'll tell you why. | | | | 4. A complete and posted FOIA Contract - this is |
| The reason is that everything you learned about | | | | the "real work" mentioned earlier. By making use |
| "capturing" a government contract makes a good | | | | of the FOIA data, we can learn what the |
| slide presentation to management, but it doesn't | | | | government has given the current contractor in |
| translate well into winning the contract itself. | | | | award or incentive fees, (and scores), what the |
| The reason for that is what we are taught is how | | | | funding of various functions is, the contract values |
| to do processes that can't be directly related to | | | | (by CLIN/ELIN/etc), what functions have been |
| the questions demanded by Section L and Section | | | | added or subtracted from the scope, IDIQ |
| M of the RFP. We are taught to do SWOT, Key | | | | funding, and a myriad of other bits of information |
| Issue Analysis, develop our themes, discriminators | | | | that lets us know if our bid is on track, if the |
| and features, ghost our competition, maybe put | | | | customer is happy with the incumbent (and where |
| together a storyboard, and to generally have lots | | | | or where not), how the Contracting officer is |
| of "selling" of the various wonderments of our | | | | funding the contract, and much, much more. |
| company's performance and how happy the | | | | Timing of the request is critical - too early and |
| customer will be if they ultimately pick us. | | | | there will be a gap near the end; too late and you |
| Corporate "color" teams (Pink, Red, Gold, Blue) | | | | may not receive it in time. |
| then methodically look for those things in the | | | | 5. Continuous Real Time Configuration Control - |
| proposal as it's being developed, and punish any of | | | | Not an IT solution, this is best done using the walls |
| the authors who do not comply. That approach | | | | surrounding the working proposal team. Placing the |
| works great if the proposal is being written to the | | | | entire proposal (with the exception of cost |
| company, but not so well if it's being addressed to | | | | volume, plans, etc) on the wall does a number of |
| the solicitation. | | | | things; it keeps the information in view and |
| Companies who sell proposal how-to or know-how | | | | available for review and use by the rest of the |
| (at least none I've found) don't teach the | | | | team, provides a method to display to the team |
| fundamentals of what really needs to happen, due | | | | who is responsible for each section (plus the page |
| in part that none of it makes for a good | | | | count - evaluation score, etc), provides a common |
| presentation, or because most of it requires real | | | | platform for discussions in the group, and a place |
| work. Not "hard" work, mind you, but the | | | | where internal company personnel can come for |
| unglamorous work of slogging through vast | | | | instant status and to integrate their ideas into the |
| amounts of data to learn details about the project | | | | proposal - simply by writing them on the pages. |
| contract, and to be able to translate and address | | | | Ironically, IT solutions such as SharePoint, Lotus |
| these in their proposal. | | | | Notes or Documentum have the complete |
| Secondly, some companies are in the business of | | | | OPPOSITE effect. They are a place to hide |
| selling the "voodoo" of processes. But processes | | | | documents. I have seen many proposals crash or |
| don't prepare proposals, people do, and those | | | | produce worthless paper due to last minute cries |
| people need to have more than a SWOT or a | | | | of "I put it in SharePoint" claims by authors that |
| pretty storyboard, or the magic IT package from | | | | were allowed to work elsewhere. |
| the solutions department for a contract in order | | | | 6. "Guy on the Ground" - Simple in concept, but |
| to win. | | | | difficult to implement, it is one of the most |
| So. Having said that - just what DOES the team | | | | important of any things you can do to improve |
| need? Here is a list of what I have found to be | | | | your chances. NOTE! Do NOT violate any Conflict |
| successful, from doing this for more than 30 | | | | of Interest here. Read the FAR - know the rules. |
| years (of course, none of these are glamorous, | | | | You want to find someone with detailed |
| but when they are added together, they are | | | | information that is not too dated, that has |
| proven to work): | | | | knowledge of the broadest contract scope with |
| | | | knowledge on internal processes in effect, staffing |
| 1. A REAL Proposal Manager - Not just any | | | | levels, and the work that is NOT specifically called |
| Proposal Manager. NOT just a person designated | | | | out in the solicitation. These will be issues for |
| as a proposal manager. Anyone can hold a | | | | strategy sessions during the proposal. Performing |
| meeting twice a week. You need a professional | | | | a bottoms-up estimate on RFP-provided workload |
| Proposal Manager who understands win strategy, | | | | and then finding that the incumbent has twice, or |
| pricing strategy, estimating, proposal evaluation | | | | half that many people is where the guy on the |
| techniques by agency, contract and solicitation | | | | ground becomes invaluable. Not knowing why is |
| types, the FAR, one who is familiar with all of the | | | | pure risk, and customers don't always care about |
| operational functions within the targeted project, | | | | your detailed explanation of the mathematics. |
| and who will be completely accountable for the | | | | Their perception IS reality. |
| completed proposal and everything in it. This is | | | | 7. A clear division of responsibility during the |
| not a job done by a coordinator, committee, or | | | | capture - There are five distinct phases to the |
| with a matrixed organization. There can be only | | | | government business development lifecycle: the |
| one person in charge of a proposal. If you're not | | | | Positioning Phase, the Pursuit Phase, the Proposal |
| willing to turn the entire effort over to that one | | | | Phase, the Post Submission Phase and the |
| single person once the RFP is released, you have | | | | Operations Phase. One critical aspect to this |
| the wrong person, and you need to hire someone | | | | phased approach is the concept of ownership, |
| more qualified. | | | | where a single person is assigned responsibility for |
| 2. A Qualified proposal team - Not people collected | | | | all of the targets or work within that segment of |
| from within the company who are trying to do | | | | the pipeline. For the entire pipeline to function |
| this proposal in addition to their regular jobs, not | | | | successfully, each phase must have a clear |
| operations people taken from other sites, not | | | | handoff to the next owner, and then that person |
| lower level consultants (trust me, that last one | | | | returns to the beginning for the next target. |
| does not save you money. If you use | | | | Because of the long lead-times involved with |
| consultants, buy the best...it will save in the end). | | | | government contracts, these small closed-loop |
| These people should be highly proficient, and | | | | processes for each phase ensure that the entire |
| should form a core proposal team and should | | | | pipeline stays full. Staying with a target from |
| work all proposals as a team. This is the only way | | | | identification through to submission can be a |
| for lessons learned to be applied, and shortens the | | | | yearlong effort and result in a fatal gap in the |
| communication time during a proposal for | | | | pipeline. |
| conveying critical ideas ("let's do it like we did | | | | The first six of these relate directly to the |
| in......."). The core team should be small, made up of | | | | proposal phase. Regardless of how your company |
| people who can act as authors, SMEs, and | | | | operates internally, if all you do is these, you |
| Volume Managers etc. The team can be | | | | WILL win more work. I (and others I work with) |
| supplemented with additional authors or SMEs as | | | | have won numerous contracts doing nothing but |
| needed, and then reduced to the core team once | | | | these steps. NO upfront marketing, and nothing |
| raw material has been generated. | | | | but the RFP to start with and those six items |
| 3. A suitable place to work - For the ENTIRE | | | | listed above. I will also add that when we did, we |
| proposal team to work - estimators, authors, and | | | | were working in an environment of items 1 and 7, |
| SMEs. Not some here, some offsite, some | | | | where either myself or another person was the |
| working from their own office of the 6th floor, | | | | single person in charge of the entire proposal, |
| etc. Another of those small things that seem | | | | from start to finish. |
| unimportant but have great power. When the | | | | Granted, some of these do seem rather harsh, |
| whole team is present, they can hear | | | | and some seem to oversimplify the problem. Not |
| conversations taking place, and can help keep the | | | | true. The fact of the matter is that: 1) Bid and |
| entire team on course. People who are not | | | | Proposal dollars are precious, and wasting them on |
| present do not have the benefit of hearing the | | | | processes that don't produce, or on people who |
| conversations and so cannot integrate their ideas, | | | | cannot be effective due to lack of training or |
| or avert disaster by telling the team to do or not | | | | experience is a shame; and 2), a problem doesn't |
| do something, and only receive new ideas or | | | | have to be complicated to stop you (and your |
| important course corrections at formal proposal | | | | win rate) in your tracks. If you need help with |
| meetings. Depending on the frequency, this could | | | | any of these, or how to implement them within |
| have a serious effect on the proposal in general, | | | | your organization, please feel free contact me. |
| and also leads to completely unnecessary and | | | | |