Category Results for Proposal Reviews

When to stop last-minute changes

Consider the type of change you are making and how it affects proposal timeliness and quality

One of a proposal team’s biggest frustrations is last-minute changes, which can introduce errors into written proposals or cause synchronization issues with oral proposal slides and scripts. Before making last-minute changes consider the type of change you are making and how it affects proposal timeliness and quality. Table 1 Column 1 lists welcome changes that can make a proposal more compelling or increase its score. Table 1 Column 2 lists unnecessary changes that may cause significant work, burn out team members, and not increase a proposal’s score. Table 1. Types of last-minute changes to consider If you routinely get a lot of last-minute changes: Provide leadership with a schedule and specify how last-minute changes affect delivery. Ask leadership to describe how unnecessary changes can improve the proposal’s score. Explain how the last-minute changes affect quality, timeliness, and team morale. By negotiating last-minute changes and picking your battles, you can gain … Continue reading When to stop last-minute changes →

[Webinar replay available] An insider’s look at government source selection – how it really works and what you need to know: Part 2

Lohfeld Business Winning Webinar

Our free two-part series examines the Federal Government acquisition and source selection life cycle with our experts in DOD, GSA, and civilian agency acquisition and source selection. We discuss: Procurement Planning – How does the government prepare for their procurements? (Part 1) Proposal Evaluations – What is the evaluator’s approach to evaluating and scoring proposals? (Part 1) Bidder Discussions – What is the government’s approach to conducting discussions? (Part 2) Making the Award – What are the government’s approach and considerations in making the source selection? (Part 2) Click to watch webinar replay Part 1 covers procurement planning and proposal evaluations. Part 2 covers government discussions and source selection Who should watch: Listen to experts with first-hand knowledge of source selection and evaluation processes and gain insights to help improve your solicitation responses. Those involved in Executive Management, Business Development, Capture, Pricing, and Bid and Proposal efforts will benefit from … Continue reading [Webinar replay available] An insider’s look at government source selection – how it really works and what you need to know: Part 2 →

[Webinar replay] An insider’s look at government source selection – how it really works and what you need to know: Part 1

Lohfeld Business Winning Webinar

We examine the Federal Government acquisition and source selection life cycle with our experts in DOD, GSA, and civilian agency acquisition and source selections in part one of our two-part series. We discuss: Procurement Planning – How does the government prepare for their procurements? (Part 1) Proposal Evaluations – What is the evaluator’s approach to evaluating and scoring proposals? (Part 1) Bidder Discussions – What is the government’s approach to conducting discussions? (Part 2) Making the Award – What are the government’s approach and considerations in making the source selection? (Part 2) Part 1 covers procurement planning and proposal evaluations. Part 2 covers government discussions and source selection. Click to watch webinar replay and download presentation Who should watch Listen to experts with first-hand knowledge of source selection and evaluation processes and gain insights to help improve your solicitation responses. Those involved in Executive Management, Business Development, Capture, Pricing, and … Continue reading [Webinar replay] An insider’s look at government source selection – how it really works and what you need to know: Part 1 →

How readable is your proposal?

The level of readability affects how well your offer is understood

What does readability mean? Readability is a measure of how easy it is to understand a piece of writing. When writing a proposal, the level of readability affects how well your offer is understood by the reader. Best practices for readable writing include the use of a clear, easy-to-read style, active rather than passive voice, use of common words, and avoiding jargon. The Plain Language Guide recommends simple words and short sentences of no more than 15–20 words, and paragraphs that average 3–5 sentences. Check your readability in MS Word One tool you can use to assess the readability of your writing is the readability scoring feature of Microsoft (MS) Word. To turn it on, go to File > Options > Proofing, and select Show readability statistics under spelling and grammar (Figure 1). After you run a spelling and grammar check, the readability statistics in Figure 2 are produced. … Continue reading How readable is your proposal? →