Going
through the process of creating a proposal can be an arduous task that often
can be very time-consuming. In order to
alleviate unnecessary stress, try and plan out a “lifecycle” documenting each
phase of the proposal-writing process.
This schedule will vary in length depending upon how long you have to
prepare your proposal, which again varies upon how long you have until the deadline. Deadlines on RFPs granted from the federal
government very seldom have flexibility, so having a thorough and meticulous
timeline in place is important to ensure you don’t have to play beat-the-clock
in order to send out your proposal on time.
- Discovery: Proposal-writing process begins immediately after the opportunity is discovered.
- Qualification: After finding an RFP you may be interested in, it is important to examine whether or not your organization is qualified to meet the requirements. In order to make this judgment, some preliminary research should be employed.
- Begin: Now is the time to decide whether or not to go after the RFP. Do or die.
- Plan: Once you’ve decided this is an opportunity you want to have a stab at, don’t immediately start writing your proposal. You have to thoroughly examine the RFP and determine what you need to write, and how you will go about doing it. Simply having exceptional writing isn’t enough–without proper planning your proposal will almost certainly
- Write: Build upon your planning and begin writing your proposal. If you feel like you’re having trouble communicating your case, do more
- Review: You may have all the confidence in the world that your proposal is extraordinary, but this is seldom the case. Proper review is necessary for all proposals to ensure that your document not only meets expectations, but exceeds Produce: Finalize your documents format. Ensure everything in your proposal is well-
- Submit: Step away from the computer. Your proposal is complete, reviewed, and finalized. Now it is time to send it on its way to your client. Ensure you have enough time for
- Award: Stop fretting and view the results. If you’ve won, congratulations! Now it’s time for to put the language to action. If you didn’t win, take solace in the fact that you gave it your best, and you learned from the experience. There’s always next
- Post-Award: Begin negotiations (if necessary); determine how you’re going to set your proposal in motion.
