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Corbett shares what he learned in his 35 years of experience in the competitive proposal field. Starting with the strategic Bid-No Bid decision, all the way through to the post submittal activities, the process of organizing and writing proposals is laid out in clear steps.
This is a one of a kind writing that teaches the reader the basics of how Federal Government contracts are won through corporate vision, marketing, and the proposal development process. It is simple to read and prepares you to become a valued member of your firm's proposal development team. For the reader to gain an understanding of what is included in my book, I have inserted the Table of Contents below: TABLE OF CONTENTS SectionTitlePage 1.HOW IT ALL BEGINS 1.1Marketing 1.1.1Marketing Plan 1.1.1.1Working Outside of the Box 1.1.2BASIC EVENTS LEADING TO PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT 1.1.3The Bid/No-Bid Decision Procedure 1.1.3.1Overview 1.1.3.2The Desire to Bid and the Discipline Not to Bid 1.2THE BID/NO-BID DECISION 2 THE BID DECISION IS REACHED 2.1Readiness to Respond 3.GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS - THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 3.1The ABC's of the Request for Proposal 3.2An Approach to Reading the Document 4.PROPOSAL KICK-OFF 4.1Let's Get Started 4.2The Team 4.2.1Business Development Manager 4.2.2Capture Manager 4.2.3Proposal Manager 4.2.4Proposal Coordinator 4.2.5Volume Leaders 4.2.6Proposal Writers 4.2.7Proposal Review Teams 5.THE PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS 5.1THE PROPOSAL SCHEDULE 5.1.1Pre-RFP--Bid/No Bid Decision 5.1.2Proposal Kickoff 5.1.3Proposal Development 5.1.4The Internal Review & Modification Process 5.1.5Gold Team Executive Review 5.1.6Proposal Submittal 6.RFP DISTRIBUTION 7.PROPOSAL OUTLINE AND CROSS- REFERENCE MATRIX 8.STORYBOARDS 9.THEMES 10.DISCRIMINATORS AND OTHER ZINGERS 10.1DISCRIMINATORS 10.2AHA!s 10.3GHOST STORIES (or just GHOSTS) 11.THE PROPOSAL - GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS 11.1Executive Summary 12.TECHNICAL SECTION OR VOLUME 12.1Writing Guidelines 12.2Writing Samples 12.3WIN THEMES AND DISCRIMINATORS 12.3.1Example 1 12.3.2Example 2 13.SAMPLE PROPOSAL SECTIONS 13.1Past Performance 13.2TRANSITION PLAN - Fictitious Sample Proposal Section 13.3On-Going Recruiting and Staffing 14.A MANAGEMENT SECTION OR VOLUME 14.1Program and Task Order Management 14.1.1Program Management 15.TASK ORDER PLANNING 16.RESUMES 16.1Personalize the Resumes 17.REVIEWS 17.1The Yellow Team 17.2The Blue Team 17.3The Pink Team 17.4The Red Team 17.5The Gold Team Review 18.THE COST PROPOSAL 18.1Element Structure 18.1.1Direct Labor 18.1.2Overhead 18.1.3Other Direct Costs 18.1.4General & Administrative 18.1.5Fee 18.2Types of Government Contracts 18.2.1Fixed Price Contracts 18.2.2Cost-Plus Contracts 18.2.3Labor Hour Contracts 18.3The Cost Proposal 19.CONTRACT SET-ASIDES 19.1Small Business Act 19.1.1The 8(a) Business Development Program 9.1.2Small Disadvantaged Business 19.1.3Woman-Owned Small Business 19.1.4Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses 19.1.5HUBZone Procurements 19.2Determining Business Size 19.3Mandatory Registrations 19.3.1DUNS Number 19.3.2The System for Award Management 19.3.3Tax I.D. 19.3.4Cage Code 19.3.5Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) 19.4Helpful Government Contracting Sites 20.THE COVER LETTER 21.COVER ART BINDERS As can be seen from the outline above, my writings cover the entire range of business identification, cultivation and decision to pursue. These elements are explained to the reader because they are vital to the understanding of the entire business acquisition process. The heaviest concentration in my document is the actual development of the proposal. These writings are also of great value to independent consultants and small businesses contractors intent on winning government contracts.
Acquire the necessary skills to win business through proposals, bids, tenders, and presentations—this hands-on guide is your partner for success You have in your hands the collected knowledge and skills of the professional proposal writer. Proposal writing is a profession — a growing and increasingly important one and an essential part of a broader group of business development professionals who plan and execute strategies for businesses who want to obtain new customers. Proposal writers have a professional organization — the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) — and their best practices are the foundation for this book. Proposal writing is a skill you can learn, practice, and master; you can even go through a professional certification process to prove your mastery. Writing Business Bids & Proposals For Dummies is your no-nonsense guide to finding out what professional proposal writers know and for applying it to your own business. If you're a small- to medium-size business owner, a first-time proposal writer in a medium-size company, or a sales representative, you know that a written proposal (printed or electronic) is still a common, personal, and effective way to win business. Written in plain English, Writing Business Bids & Proposals For Dummies will help you to: Know the difference between reactive proposals (the RFP or request for proposal) and proactive proposals Focus on the customer by going beyond their requirements to address their true needs Know your competition through research and analysis Write persuasively to develop a winning business proposal Plan and use a repeatable proposal process Incorporate a lessons learned aspect to your proposal process Use tools and templates to accelerate your proposals Motivate and lead your proposal team to ensure they're on the same page Use graphics to enhance your proposals Learn ways to automate your proposal development process And a whole lot more Additionally, you'll gain access to ten templates for building a proposal, find out ten common misconceptions about bids and proposals, and add a compiled list of online resources to your toolset. Grab a copy of Writing Business Bids & Proposals For Dummies to start sharpening your proposal writing skillset.
How to Get Government Contracts demystifies the process of how a company can enter the government market, win its first and subsequent contracts, and then grow itself into a multi-million-dollar government contractor within a couple of years. It offers an insider’s view into the latest best practices that government contractors use to succeed in an increasingly competitive market, and it shows exactly how your company can apply these techniques to build a strong business. Many companies venture into the government market with a certain naiveté and pay a hefty price to find out that there is much more to winning a contract than writing last-minute proposals in response to publicly posted solicitations. To stop the bleeding of precious resources, they need to step back to learn how professionals win business in the federal arena. This book shows you how to find, for example, the best potential customers and opportunities for your company. It also explains the secret to winning consistently by conducting pre-proposal preparation (also called "capture") and practicing a disciplined, process-based approach to proposal development. This book provides a recipe for winning government contracts over and over again, the way seasoned government contractors do it. After reading this book, you will know exactly what to do to position your company to win a government proposal before a solicitation becomes public, including building customer relationships, gathering intelligence, developing a "win strategy," performing competitive analysis, selecting the best teammates, and developing a solution. As a result, you will apply professional techniques to organizing your proposal effort, outlining a proposal document, and writing RFPs that persuade evaluators to award the contract to you.
Your First Government Contract introduces the small business entrepreneur or new public sector account executive to the world of government contracting. Scott introduces the reader to what to expect with their first opportunity, the government procurement cycle, industry terminology used, and winning strategies for proposal writing. Starting the book with basic vendor registration, Scott quickly transitions to why some companies succeed in government contracting while others do not, marketing to public agencies, types of government customers, contracting vehicles, how offers are evaluated, and how to beat the competition. Scott's method for crafting a simple winning proposal is described in detail, with applicability for any level of government, and designed for maximum collaboration within your company. Over his 15-year government contracting career, Scott has led sales and proposal writing efforts to secure over $125 million of government contracts, specializing in new and developing government contracting business units.
This second edition of Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies provides state-of-the-art tools for best practice in the procurement of services at state and local levels, from initial stages through to completion. Including lively case studies and research conducted with state and local agencies across the United States, this book provides management advice and tips on compliance to reduce costs, select the best-qualified contractors, manage contractors’ performance, and prevent corruption and waste. Utilizing the results of new research in all fifty states, author William Sims Curry offers updated best-practice documents, methodologies, and templates including: a Request for Proposal (RFP), a scorecard for proposals to select the best-qualified contractor, a toolkit for meeting socioeconomic contracting goals without compromising price, quality, or on-time delivery, and a Model Services Contract (MSC). Special consideration is given to obtaining services and products in states of emergency. Several additional resources for practitioners are available online, including sample contracts and a straightforward, inexpensive tool for tracking contractors’ progress and cost management. The roadmap and templates contained in this book and available online to readers will prove essential to state and local government agency contracting professionals and other officials and employees called upon to participate in the drafting of solicitations, writing sole source justifications, writing scopes of work, serving on advance contract planning and source selection teams, recommending award of contracts, or assisting in the management of those contracts.
The Fourth Edition is a thorough update with all new charts, graphs, tables, and figures; as well as new examples and coverage of current topics. Students will come away with a clear understanding of how reviewers function and what they are looking for in proposal sections, in addition to what is needed to maximize every aspect of the proposal.
This new, single-volume resource provides the most complete guidance available for analyzing the cost and pricing aspects of federal government contracts--so you can propose and negotiate appropriate prices and win contracts. The practical Contract Pricing Reference Guide reference combines five manuals into a single source, covering: Price Analysis Quantitative Techniques for Contract Pricing Cost Analysis Advanced Issues in Contract Pricing And Federal Contract Negotiation Techniques Determine the Proper Pricing to Win Government Business Throughout these pages, you will find highly detailed explanations of how the government evaluates proposals, arrives at pricing, chooses contractors, and awards contracts. With Contract Pricing Reference Guide, you can more confidently: Conduct market research for price analysis Employ proven techniques of quantitative price analysis Propose a fair and appropriate price Confidently engage in sealed bidding Include only what's allowable in the price Employ the most effective, competitive pricing strategies And engage in effective contract negotiations The One-of-a-Kind, Time-Saving Pricing Resource The all-new Contract Pricing Reference Guide provides a road-map for how to set correct pricing and engage in the competitive bidding process. It is a practical business tool to help you acquire government contract business--and it brings all the most valuable pricing information together in an easy-access, single-volume resource that puts everything you need literally right in front of you. No other resource delivers all of this together in one place, making it the most convenient way to obtain the most vital information on pricing government contracts.
