TArticles tagged with: scores

50 Words and Phrases that Support Past Performance Development

Your past performance could be the difference between a win and second place

There is a saying that either your past performance is an “A or an F” because your competition only provides grade A past performance. In a close competition your past performance could be the difference between a win and second place. Help customers recognize your outstanding performance by providing metrics, proof points, and facts that are critical to earning the top grade. Consider using any of the following 50 words or phrases to call attention to your exceptional performance. Words Ability Accomplish Achieve Additional Advance Award Best Capability Capacity Certified Competence Decrease Earn Enhance Exceed Excel Experience Expertise Gain Groundbreaking Improved Increase Innovate Led Measure Metric Modernize More than Qualifications Reach back Realize Reduce Retain Skill Transform Phrases (Before using one of the words listed above, qualify your statement with a proof point from your experience related to a customer requirement, as demonstrated below.) Customer ABC reduced their Cloud costs … Continue reading 50 Words and Phrases that Support Past Performance Development →

50 Words and phrases that call attention to your benefits, strengths, and discriminators

Helps the customer recognize them and can help raise your proposal score

Calling out your benefits, Strengths, and discriminators helps the customer recognize them and can help raise your proposal score. You can call out benefits, Strengths, and discriminators using icons, graphics, tables, words, and phrases. Consider using any of the following 50 words or phrases to call attention to the benefits, Strengths, and discriminators in your proposal. Words Advantage Benefit Differentiator Discriminator Eclipse Exceed (requirements, service levels, acceptable quality levels) Excel Exclusive Go beyond Greater than High (confidence, marks, recruitment, retention, value) Low (risk, cost) Master More than Only Outclass (outdo, outshine, outstrip, outweigh) Over Pass Significant Singular Strength Surpass Top Transcend Unique Phrases Before using one of these phrases, connect it to a user requirement, quantify or qualify the phrase, and follow it with a proof point from your experience. A benefit of our approach is [fill in the blank] A differentiator of our approach is [fill in the blank] … Continue reading 50 Words and phrases that call attention to your benefits, strengths, and discriminators →

Meritorious Strength

DOD procurements have changed their standard definition of a proposal “Strength”

Have you noticed in recent DOD procurements that their standard definition of a “Strength” has changed, however slightly? I first noticed it when an active major RFP amended its Section M definition as part of an amendment. The change summary said that the government was adding the words “has merit or” to the definition. In context: Strength is an aspect of an Offeror’s proposal that has merit or exceeds specified performance or capability requirements in a way that will be advantageous to the government during contract performance. Our client was thrilled! The client is an industry leader in a highly regulated industry, and the government’s requirements read like a best practices list for the industry. It had been difficult figuring out how our solution exceeded requirements in a way that would be advantageous to the government in contract performance. As we began to consider what this meant to our solution, … Continue reading Meritorious Strength →

Turn that losing streak around now (or avoid a losing streak in the first place!)

Our 10 tips to help you

Nothing is more frustrating than a string of losing proposals. It demoralizes the bid and proposal (B&P) team, wastes B&P funds, and results in operations personnel losing their jobs. Despite observing some impressive losing streaks, Lohfeld Consulting Group has seen many companies turn losing streaks around. We consolidated some of our observations into the following 10 tips to help you turn around (or avoid!) a losing streak. Tip #1: Reflect Conduct lessons-learned reviews to evaluate your proposals’ strengths, weaknesses, and costs. Analyze the customers’ debriefs to assess your scores against all evaluated criteria. Contract with an unbiased third-party to assess your proposals and recommend improvements. Tip #2: Formulate your game plan Create a step-by-step plan and schedule for converting your lessons learned into actionable tasks. Implement milestone reviews and metrics to measure and assess your progress. Tip #3: Re-evaluate your pipeline Evaluate your business pipeline to verify you are bidding … Continue reading Turn that losing streak around now (or avoid a losing streak in the first place!) →