SLAC will be hosting a Small Business Awareness Fair on August 14^th, 2012 from 10 am to 2 pm at SLAC.

Those who are interested must be a Certified Small Business.

If interested contact Benjamin Tu, Subcontract Administrator, at SLAC for additional information.

Email: btu@slac.stanford.edu

The following are a few representative wins within the last few years to provide some insight into some of our proposal success stories.

Congratulations goes to our clients for winning:

1. More than $ 13 million in contracts  -  from June 2009 – December 2010 for contracts awarded by:  the World Bank, George Mason University, U.S. State Department, and the Tennessee National Guard.

2. $650 million IDIQ win from US Army Corp of Engineers (2011)

3.  $ 31+ million IDIQs from the IRS (2011)

4.  USPTO IT win (2011) – undisclosed amount

5.  US Army – Natick (2011) – undisclosed amount

We are excited to have been a part of these wins!

We are frequently asked:  Why do companies outsource their proposal support? There are many possible reasons why a company will outsource proposal support; the following are just a few.

The proposal effort requires someone with experience:

·     Managing a large team or RFP. Many times an internal proposal manager will have competing demands on his/her time. An outsourced proposal manager dedicated to a particular opportunity can provide the focus required to ensure problems do not occur.

·     Managing a diverse team of companies. For example – one client hired us to manage a large RFP that required them to partner with five other companies. None of the companies had managed such a large opportunity on their own and it was the first time they had worked together. By bringing us in – they had an independent manager to keep the effort on track.

·     Working with a particular agency or type of service. For some opportunities, having a proposal manager who knows the client or service provided can be a discriminator. This is especially important in the capture and pre-RFP phase where the manager can assist with developing the relationship with the government client.

·     Preparing a proposal that is at a dollar level steps beyond what has been won in the past. For example – one of our clients routinely submitted proposals valued at    $ 1 million. When they were ready to pursue a $ 12 million opportunity, they brought us in to help.

·     Determining ideas/opportunities that might be overlooked. This includes helping to determine discriminators, weaknesses and strengths. Whenever we work with a client – we provide this as a value-added services as part of our regular proposal support.

Two additional reasons for outsourcing are:

·     To cover surge demands. For example, perhaps typically you can handle three proposals in house at any one time – but five opportunities are open with close due dates. Since most procurements are multi-year purchases, missing the opportunity means waiting for 3- 8 years depending on the procurement cycle for that particular opportunity.

·     To provide an outside voice. Many times, this is critical in assessing opportunities and developing the win strategy. An outside source can point out discriminators, strengths, weaknesses, and potential problems that the internal team may not see. They can bring a fresh view and help to develop mitigation strategies.

 Think of Comprehensive Proposal Services when you are ready to bring in outside support!

Privia Partner – As a SpringCM partner, we offer Privia and other SpringCM products as an authorized re-seller, provide technical and implementation support.

For companies just starting out, if funds are limited, choosing tools can be a tricky decision. However, as with any job, choosing the right tools can make a task easier, more efficient and effective. Tracking leads and opportunities is the first step for good management. Tracking can be accomplished through a well-maintained spreadsheet, shared via an online system, or less desirable via email. A more reliable tool is Salesforce.com. Salesforce.com allows a central respository for lead data, allows multiple people to provide input and updates, and provides an effective means to track/report results.

Managing the documents and people pursuing an identified opportunity is the second step. Our company works with different systems depending on our clients requirements. We have organized and established company specific internal systems, using various tools such as eRoom and Sharepoint. But the best system (in our opinion) is Privia by SpringCM (www.privia.com) which is now fully integrated with Salesforce.com. We sort of stumbled across them while working on a client project – and were so impressed – we have become an authorized reseller of the system as well as provide technical and process support for companies who need help in setting up their internal processes. We also offer a special arrangement for companies wishing to test Privia. Through Comprehensive Proposal Services, we can offer month to month arrangements, plus small number access (buying directly from Privia typically requires a 10 seat purchase, with an annual contract).

The key to any successful proposal process is to document your process and have a common area for proposal history (past performance, past proposals, opportunities summaries). A common error is to rely on individual resources (computers, memory etc). If a computer crashes or a person leaves – corporate knowledge and history is lost.

So at the very least – establish and document your processes; establish and update a repository; and capture, document and retain all critical information regarding opportunities considered.

Call for more information, call us at: 877-228-9440

Knowing what is planned for upcoming procurements is an important step in narrowing your strategy. The forecast for GSA can be found at: www.gsa.gov/smbusforecast.

Comprehensive Proposal Services can provide full life cycle proposal support to help you achieve your contracting goals. For more information call us toll-free at   877-228-9440

1.  Pre-Announcement

The first phase, crucial yet often skipped over by inexperienced companies, is the pre-announcement phase.  The pre-announcement phase is defined as that time before there has been a request for information (RFI), request for quotes (RFQ) or request for proposals (RFP). This period is when the government may be simply observing the industry (trade journals, trade shows, networking events) to identify potential products and services which address their particular needs. In this phase, corporate sales and technical staff should be “out there,” on the street, networking and paying attention to what is happening in government and industry to try to discern where opportunities may be forming. Trade shows, conferences, and your own personal network of people are good resources to use to gather this type of information. Reviewing purchasing plans for target agencies is a good starting point in understanding when and how an agency is planning on spending money. Using this information as a guide will help determine where the government might be looking for ideas. For example, if the five year spending plan includes complete replacement of their IT infrastructure, trade show shows and publications which cover these products and services are where government buyers might be looking.

Once these sales and/or technical teams have identified possible opportunities, they then have an advantage – their managers can begin to identify strategic partners, make strategic decisions for marketing and advertising, and position themselves with agency contacts through one on one communications.

2.  RFI and Sources Sought – Pre-RFP Activities

The second phase includes several types of pre-RFP activities.  At this point the government has issued an RFI, or “Request for Information” or a “sources sought” announcement.  These are usually very general announcements, typically a few paragraphs in length, testing the market and availability of targeted products and services. It is usually a wise decision to participate in this phase (there are exceptions though), since this is an opportunity to influence the requirements. Communications are open between the government and companies – so it is an important time to have sales and technical teams talking to the government during this phase. When evaluating what information to submit in response to these types of announcements, remember that responses are open to the public. Companies must use caution in deciding what to submit; too much information can reduce some strategic advantages they may have over competitors.

The people involved in the this stage could vary from a few of your best sales team members and lead technical people to teams of ten to fifteen people, depending on the size of the opportunity.  With larger procurements, it helps also to have some strategic planning staff working on capital investment or incentive issues.  They can begin to lay the groundwork with the sales and technical teams before the RFP is released.  This is a critical step because many RFPs have such rapid turn-around times that having a jump-start on your funding, personnel, materials and other resources could mean the difference between meeting your delivery deadline or missing it, or even worse, submitting a response that does not accurately reflect the costs and resource requirements.

3.  RFP Development – Draft RFP

The third phase is the draft RFP (Request for Proposal) phase.  Companies who have participated in the RFI may be invited to review and provide input to the draft RFP.  This is a chance to provide information that will influence the RFP in the direction that best aligns the technology and/or services to your company’s advantage; however, keep in mind that typically the government cannot write the RFP so narrowly that your company is the only potential provider. By participating in this phase companies:

• Learn what the government is trying to achieve in the solicitation.
• Provide technical and financial guidance to the government (what is available, what are emerging technologies, what services and product must be included, what are industry costs and other considerations).
• Provide input as to how the solicitation is worded to create an even playing field for the competition, a complete solution, and clear requirements.
• Provide input as to the deliverables, including timeline, of the proposal submission as well as products and services.

This is an interactive process which can be very time-consuming. The benefits of participating in this phase make participation a strategically wise investment.

4.  Proposal Response and Submittal

The fourth, and the most aggravating phase for most companies in the proposal process, is responding to the proposal.  Once the proposal has been released, the response time is typically four to eight weeks.  By participating in phases 1-3, your company should be well prepared to proceed. If not, prepare to scramble!

A proposal response usually is comprised of three volumes – pricing, management, and technical. Some RFPs will combine the technical and management responses into one volume. And some RFPs add a separate volume for past performance. The proposal response process should involve all critical teams within the company:  financial management, contracts, legal, sales, technical, management, operations and proposal.

The financial team may consist of one person performing all functions in a small company, or multiple individuals specializing in pricing, procurement, and subcontracts. This team must determine the actual cost of services, mark-ups and price to win. In small companies, this process is usually managed jointly with the senior executives. In larger companies, this process involved several steps including preparing an internal business case for the opportunity where an internal review team evaluates the cost justifications and the proposed price to the customer. The internal evaluation can take as long as the proposal writing process and is conducted concurrently with the response writing effort. Occasionally, in large companies, this process may result in a no-bid decision because the price to win is not approved or other pricing challenges.

The contracts and legal groups may be two separate departments in larger firms or be performed by the same department in smaller companies.  The contracts department monitors the conformity of what is being delivered against what is contractually mandated. The legal department looks at every aspect within the RFP to assure compliance with overriding contracts (such is the case for government-wide area contracts (GWACs) and task orders), government rules and regulations, and internal company policies.  Together, contracts and legal try to narrow what is promised to very specific, quantifiable, definable, and measurable terms.  Always remember:  what is proposed in the response to the RFP becomes a legal obligation once the opportunity is won.

The sales team should provide insight to the customer. They are responsible for knowing the history of the RFP and the agency’s culture. This knowledge is critical for most successful proposals. Knowledge of the agency, and the end-user in particular, will help in determining a winning strategy. The sales team should be involved with reviewing the technical solution, management approach, and pricing, and providing input as to how the customer will potentially receive what is being offered.

The technical team is comprised of all the technical staff required to develop the solution. Their primary responsibility is to review the statement of work (SOW) and make sure that the technical solution addresses each and every requirement specified.    

The management team is comprised of the program manager and his/her support staff. They must address how the company will manage each aspect of delivering the product or service. In addition, the management volume address the interaction between the company program management office and the government program management office. Depending on the complexity of the RFP, there may be other levels of company-government interaction that must be managed and therefore must be addressed in the proposal. Other topics covered in the management volume include: quality control/assurance, security, personnel/staffing, training, risk management/mitigation, and past performance.

If the RFP has an operational component to it, rather than being a simple product delivery, then the operations team will be involved.  This may include people from the management level or SMEs – Subject Matter Experts – who will address particular processes or tools that need to be used.

The proposal effort is led by a proposal manager, who manages the input from all of the other teams, as well as the proposal support staff. The proposal support team may include a proposal coordinator, proposal writers, technical writers, graphic designers, production, and proofreaders. In addition to managing the proposal team and the response documents, the proposal manager leads the gap analysis.

The gap analysis must identify areas where the company may need to acquire a teaming partner, subcontractor, or vendor in order to meet the RFP requirements. The gap analysis process is easily managed by creating a compliance matrix (tracking each requirement against the product or service to be provided that fulfills the requirement). In some cases, the RFP requests that a compliance matrix is submitted that cross-references the government’s questions or requirements to where the answers and solutions are located within the proposal.

It is the proposal manager’s job to prepare the response outline and send it to all staff responsible for writing and developing the solution.  A good proposal manager will facilitate the whole process and make sure that everyone understands the requirements, is working together amiably and on schedule. He or she will also help to define the discriminators – attributes that set your company apart from the competition.

While all aspects of the response process are critical, submitting the proposal on time is perhaps the most absolute. Any proposal submitted past the due date and time is likely not to be considered. Proper logistics planning is the one element for being sure of on-time delivery. Electronic deliveries sound easy – but don’t overlook the possibility of email servers being down, internet connections being down or slow, or for server-based submissions – that the receiving server is down. Hand delivery considerations include traffic, poor weather conditions, and the person who is delivering the submission (that they don’t get sick, hurt, or otherwise delayed). Delivery services, such as express mail, UPS, FedEx, also have risks associated with timely delivery.

No matter how the submission will be delivered, allow time for surprises and have a back-up plan.

5.  Debriefing

Whether you win the contract or not, a debriefing session is a valuable learning tool for your company.  If you win, you want to learn what you did right and what you did wrong, because there is always room for improvement, and the customer is your best source to help you improve.  If you lost, the debriefing is even more important.  The program manager should request a debriefing session from the customer and include a core team of representatives from each of the teams involved in the proposal process – sales, technical, management, operations, pricing, contracts, etc. – to learn what you did wrong in specific areas and how best to improve the processes for the next time.  Here at Comprehensive Proposal Services we have found that what companies do wrong, they tend to do wrong consistently.  So enter these debriefings with an open mind and check your ego at the door.  As with anything else in life, what you learn will benefit you only if you use it.

(c) 2008 Linda Davies

• One-click import of opportunity data from public sources (e.g., FedBizOpps) and subscription services (Centurion, epipeline, FBO, FSI and INPUT®) into a structured format
• Easy download of opportunity data from contract vehicle portals for GWACs and IDIQs
• Management of team members and partners for proposal development
• Automated Team Selection Worksheet, enabling one-click identification of the right bid team across teaming partners
• Pre-built and configurable tools for pipeline evaluation and reporting – from identification to qualification and delivery of the final proposal or task order response
• Workflow automation to support best practice business and proposal development processes
• Pre-developed Shipley-based processes
• Ability to develop unique processes and manage the proposal process through Privia including accountability and reporting.
• Ability to launch standardized workspaces pre-populated with proposal outlines that reflect company best practices
• Document libraries for reusable content, graphics, and logos
• Past performance repository
• Presence detection of internal team members and external partners
• Communication and collaboration tools such as instant messaging, discussion threads and notifications
• Online comment and editing tools with full document version control and audit trails
• Automated project monitoring and reporting on due dates, milestones, tasks and priorities

For more information, call us toll-free at  877-228-9440

In today’s competitive environment, in spite of government assurances of simplified procurement processes, those who respond to government solicitations are witnessing an increased in information requirements and documentation, concurrently with a decreased time to respond. Additionally, with the advent of large procurement vehicles (called Government-wide Acquisition Contracts or GWACs) in the United States (US), positioning your company to participate in GWACs is added to the process of navigating the requirements. These changes in government procurement processes are forcing companies to aggressively development long term strategies, in addition to implementing proven processes, which will allow them to respond completely and accurately with a compliant response. This is easier said than done.

Government solicitations, called a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the US and “Tenders” in most other countries, require careful attention to three stages of the government purchasing process: pre-RFP, RFP, post RFP. Ignoring any of the three stages can be fatal for the long term success of a company interested in doing business with the government. This series of articles will focus on the procurement practices in the US, but other national and international formal procurement processes are similar.

Stage I is the pre-RFP stage. This stage is when the government has identified a need, but has not determined how to fulfill that need. During this stage, there is open discussion between the government and industry. Potential solutions are discussed in detail, to include pricing as a rough order of magnitude (ROM), schedules for implementation, and technical specifications. Sometimes this is accomplished through informal information gathering at conferences. Typically however, the government will begin formal discussions with industry regarding the particular product or service. In the US, for most opportunities the information gathering step is accomplished by a Request for Information (RFI). A RFI is announced through public means, such as the Federal Business Opportunities website. The RFI will provide a summary of the types of products and services being considered, the agency, the application of the product/service, and the schedule of a potential RFP announcement. A RFI may have all, or some, of these components in the announcement. This information, combined with personal interaction with the agency buyers and users, and the agency procurement plan (available through each agency website), will provide industry with valuable guidance as to budget availability, timing, and potential for that particular RFI to become a RFP.

Participating in RFI responses is a crucial and strategic step. It allows companies to position themselves, both from a marketing perspective as well as a technical perspective. The marketing aspect is to increase awareness of the company, product/service, and performance and to develop a relationship with the potential customer. The technical aspect allows the company to provide a foundation from which the government can define their final RFP such to achieve the best solution for the best price.

When participating in the RFI process, each company needs to evaluate the benefits and potential consequences of what types and depth of information they should provide. RFIs are public documents, as are the responses. Therefore, careful consideration of the type of information provided is critical to the strategy and must be evaluated by each company. Typically, however, ignoring a RFI lends itself to a weaker position when the RFP is released, so some level of participation is a good decision.

It is important to note, that during the RFI stage, it is legal for company representatives to meet in person, or correspond by email and phone, with government representatives to discuss the need and the company’s particular solution. The government can not make any type of commitment, but they can have open dialog with industry. Many times, this dialog begins an interactive development of the RFP. This is the ideal opportunity for companies to have input into the content of the RFP. The government will issue a draft RFP to industry for review and comments. This is a critical step to make sure that your own company’s solution can best be represented within the RFP requirements.

For example, if the government’s perspective is that a 95% performance criteria is the standard, but your company’s solution can meet 98% for the same (or less) price, then strategically, you would want to try to convince the government during the pre-RFP stage to include the 98% requirement in the final RFP. This forces the competition to bid something new (more risk) or something more costly, positioning your company in the lead.

This is an oversimplified example, however, as there are other considerations which may impact the government’s decision to increase the performance requirement (such as perceived risk and competition). Therefore, discussions with the government should be evaluated and assessed with the overall company strategy in mind. Wild sales claims are not the best strategy; rather, honest and calculated positioning will result in an increased chance for success.

As government opportunities are constant and abundant, deciding which types of opportunities to pursue is a wise step during the pre-RFP stage. Through discussions and RFI analysis, you can save company resources by eliminating opportunities which do not benefit your corporate goals early in the process. Multiple projects and scarce resources, combined with unique and complex bids, demand that companies make informed and strategic decisions on opportunities to provide a better return on investment.

Our second part of this article series will provide insight into the RFP stage of the procurement process.

(c) 2008 Linda M. Davies