Archive for month: September, 2014

by Sheryl Birsky

When I was supporting a government Source Selection Board years ago, we were preparing for the review of a large influx of proposals. One hour after the government’s deadline for proposal receipt, I was sent in to the repository room and told to do a first culling. “Where do I begin?” The response was to read the Table of Contents and check for compliance:

• Does the proposal follow the organization specified in Section L of the RFP?
• Are all requested elements there?
• Is the information in the requested format?

I scanned each Table of Contents and perused the content, and within a few hours had three stacks of proposals. One stack was to be reviewed by the Board; one stack was to have a notification of loss prepared with the proposal deficiency noted; and, one stack was labeled “Issues” which were proposals that were over the page count and had to have the surplus pages removed prior to Board review.

I was surprised to learn that the Board did not even look at the submitted proposals in the “no-go” stack.  All of the time and effort spent by the contractor were squandered—their proposal eliminated from just a cursory review.  Further, those that were over the page count were immediately labeled as being “an issue” and required extra effort on the government’s part—not a good first impression.

I also learned the value of a well prepared Table of Contents, particularly those that drill down to at least the third outline level.  Other positive attributes include those that reference the relevant RFP Section in the Section titles, and those that had a Table of Figures with descriptive titles that told a story. In fact, a reviewer could glean most of the salient points of the proposal just from reading the graphics titles!

Make sure that your proposal lands on the right pile. Prepare a thorough “shred” of the RFP as the first step in your proposal process and create a checklist or matrix outlining all requirements. Double-check it by doing a global search for the words “’shall” and “will” in the Solicitation. Compliance mapping and a well-crafted outline are vital to ensuring that your proposal even reaches the government evaluator.

An economical way to achieve this is by using SJ&A’s “Shred-to-Red©” Proposal Services. On a fixed-price basis, you receive support at just the beginning of the process—shredding the document, outlining the proposal, and ensuring an effective kickoff with templates and themes—and at the end of the process with a well-run Red Team review. In this way, your technical staff can focus on what they do best, while a fresh eye ensures that your proposal is compliant, well organized, and conveys an effective message. The cost of a Shred-to-Red© Service is generally $4,000—depending on the scope and complexity of the effort.

To learn more about Shred-to-Red© Services, contact Sheryl at 202-785-5811 or e-mail her at Sheryl@sidjaffe.com.