Installment 55: Proposal Organization and Management
*** SELLING TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ***
Welcome to our new "back to basics" series called "SELLING TO
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT." In some cases we touch on issues already
addressed in our popular series "DOING BUSINESS WITH GOVERNMENT," but
with new angles and insights.
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Winning Government Business Seminar, a one-day event coming to Indianapolis,
IN on June 10, 2004 and to Minneapolis, MN on June 24,2004
"Winning Government Business" has evolved into a very exciting class with one
specific goal in mind: To keep you from wasting your time spinning your wheels
and bidding on opportunities which are already written for someone else. We
have all heard the objection: "I already have someone who supplies me with your
product/service." Our seminar will help you interpret that objection and find
a way to work around it. We will then help you SELL to these individuals and
build strong relationships on the local and national level.
For more information and other seminar dates and locations visit
http://www.fedmarket.com/productTour/seminar/index.php
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Installment 55 - Proposal Organization and Management
In a previous installment of this proposal writing series, we strongly
suggested you should only write those proposals you believe your company
can win. This advice may seem trite, but that's exactly what you must do.
Select carefully and write the proposals for only those procurements that
you have pre-sold. Management should focus on making the best possible
bidding. The decision as to whether to bid on an opportunity should be
based on the information you learned about the customer and the competition
during the sales process. If the decision is to go ahead and submit a bid,
your company should make a one hundred percent commitment to writing the
very best proposal.
The bidding decision should be made as early as possible. If your business
decides to go forward, you must start the proposal writing immediately. If
you and your colleagues wait until the last possible moment, you will
probably lose to those competitors who got a head start.
Choose your proposal leader carefully. The leader should ideally be an
experienced proposal writer/manager and should know the most about the
customer. If you can't find this all-in-one superstar, go with your most
experienced proposal writer and support this person with the people who
know the customer best.
Have the proposal leader prepare a proposal outline in the greatest possible
detail. Not enough can be said about the importance of a detailed proposal
outline. It will become the guiding framework for managing the project and
for the writing process itself.
Selecting the best possible staff (technical/scientific/operational) to
write the solutions' section of the proposal is critical to success. If
the staff assigned to draft the proposal's solutions' section doesn't
already know the customer, you must quickly and thoroughly educate them.
It goes without saying that the section of the proposal outlining your
company's solutions must fully address and solve the customer's needs.
Chances are good that your technical/scientific/operational personnel
will not be experienced writers. Use the detailed proposal outline to
guide their efforts and to show them exactly what is expected of them in
terms of organizational structure, content, and format.
You must spend ample time on planning the proposal-writing project.
Preparing a complex and large proposal will involve a large portion
of your staff. Management of the proposal's preparation involves
organizing project tasks, assignments and proposal content in as much
detail as possible. In fact, company management should be involved in
all aspects of the proposal-writing project. Management personnel should
be fully prepared to continually monitor the status of the proposal and
personally review the content and quality of the results.
In summary, management must make a commitment to each and every proposal
the company writes. Assign the best people to write the proposal and
support them in every way possible. Give the proposal leader the
authority and resources to produce a winning proposal.
Learn How to Write Winning Proposals:
http://www.fedmarket.com/productTour/seminar/writingProposals.php
Learn How GSA Schedules Can Be Used to Avoid Expensive Proposals:
http://www.fedmarket.com/productTour/seminar/GSA.php
/-------------------------advertisement---------------------------
Winning Government Business Seminar, a one-day event coming to Indianapolis,
IN on June 10, 2004 and to Minneapolis, MN on June 24,2004
"Winning Government Business" has evolved into a very exciting class with one
specific goal in mind: To keep you from wasting your time spinning your wheels
and bidding on opportunities which are already written for someone else. We
have all heard the objection: "I already have someone who supplies me with your
product/service." Our seminar will help you interpret that objection and find
a way to work around it. We will then help you SELL to these individuals and
build strong relationships on the local and national level.
For more information and other seminar dates and locations visit
http://www.fedmarket.com/productTour/seminar/index.php
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Thanks for reading and, as always, best of luck in your business.
Feel free to contact me with thoughts or suggestions. If you need help
with product sales, call or write as follows: (888) 661-4094 x8,
sales@fedmarket.com.
Regards,
Richard White, President
Fedmarket.com
rwhite@fedmarket.com
(208) 726-5553 X18
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