The ABCs of Proposals: Part 1
This article started as a joke between a good friend of mine
and me. This friend—who is also in the proposal industry—recently had a baby.
At first we joked that the poor child would fall asleep to her mama reading
RFPs aloud to her. Then we thought, how cute would it be if we made an ABC Book
for our future little proposal manager? And that turned into, well wouldn’t
that just be a unique and fun format for a proposal blog?
So here it is, in its final form, Part 1 of 3: The ABCs of Proposals.
A is for Attachment
Request for Proposal (RFP) Attachments contain useful
solicitation response information. This may include relevant drawings,
statement of works (SOWs), and other pertinent contract documentation. Be sure
to review all RFP Attachments thoroughly before responding.
B is for Best Value
Tradeoff
As the name suggests, best value tradeoff allows the
Government to balance the tradeoff between quality (technical competency and/or
past performance) and price/cost. In comparison to Low Price Technically
Acceptable (LPTA) type contracts, best-value tradeoff contract types better
enable industry to offer stronger solutions at price points that are favorable
for government customers.
C is for Cost Volume
In government proposals, perhaps the most neglected volume
is the Cost Volume. Because cost is often the most important driver for the
customer, it is critical to present the most advantageous cost proposal. In
comparison to LPTA environments, in a best value tradeoff competition, it becomes
even more critical to articulate why your price and technical solution tradeoff
is the most beneficial to the Government.
D is for Diagram
Diagrams and graphics help reinforce your story visually. In
deciding the kind of graphic to use, you should consider what type of
information is being depicting and use the appropriate visual. For example:
charts are useful for showing relationships; flow diagrams are great for
showing processes; pie charts are best for depicting relative size; tables are
best for precise data; and Gantt Charts are great for presenting schedules and
sequence of events. It is critical to make sure your visual best suits the
information you are presenting.
E is for Evaluator
As bidders looking to win work, we should aim to make the
evaluators’ jobs as painless as possible. To make our proposal narrative more
evaluator-friendly, we should use headings to guide evaluators, employ theme
statements strategically, leverage feature and benefit tables consistently, and
highlight proof points using callout boxes. These four simple components can go
a long way in facilitating the evaluation process and increasing your overall
score.
F is for Firm Fixed
Price (FFP)
An FFP contract calls for a price that cannot be adjusted based
on the contractor's actual cost of performing the work. This contract type
places a higher burden of risk on the contractor, with any resulting profit or
loss impacting the contractor and not the Government. FFP contracts incentivize
contractors to control costs and perform effectively while reducing
administrative burden on the Government.
G is for General and
Administrative (G&A) Costs
Rules for government contractors require you to distinguish
and segregate direct costs from indirect costs. Companies typically categorize indirect
costs into three subgroups: fringe benefits, overhead, and G&A. G&A
expenses are the residual costs necessary to run a business. Common examples of
G&A costs include labor for strategic planning, business development
efforts, and administrative functions; professional fees, such as legal,
accounting, payroll processing fees, and IT services; business insurance
(general liability); and state and local taxes.
H is for HUBZone
To promote opportunities for small businesses, many
contracts are set aside exclusively for small businesses. The Small Business
Administration (SBA) has a size standard for all private sector industries in
the U.S. economy. The SBA uses the North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) to identify the industries. Size standards represent the largest
size that a business may be to remain classified as a small business for
federal contracting programs. There are several types of small businesses eligible
for small business set-aside work: small business (SB), veteran-owned small
business (VOSB), service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB),
historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) small business, small
disadvantaged business (SDB), and woman-owned small business (WOSB) concerns.
I is for Instructions
You will typically find the proposal instructions in Section L Instruction, Conditions, and
Notices to Offerors. This section provides instructions for proposal
preparation, format, organization, content, and length. Unless the RFP
indicates otherwise, bidders should follow the proposal instructions when
creating their proposal outline, mapping in the other requirements as
applicable.
Final Words and Part
2 Preview
Even though this started out as a joke between friends, this
has definitely turned into a fun little article series jam packed with some
useful tips and advice for proposal professionals. Next week we will cover J –
Q. Can you guess which topics might be included?
Written by Ashley Kayes, CP APMP
Senior Proposal Consultant, AOC Key Solutions, Inc. (KSI)
Fun read :) Enjoyed reading this!
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting, Martin! So glad you enjoyed the read!
Delete