Proposal writing and management for government bids worth winning.
An experienced proposal manager writing or running your RFP response, from kickoff to submission. Your experts bring the substance. We make sure it’s compliant, clear and built to score.
The deadline does not care that your best people are busy delivering the work.
In most small and mid-sized firms, the person who knows the technical work best is the person who is already stretched. So the response gets written in the evenings, by whoever has a gap, and assembled the night before.
Evaluators then score what is on the page, against a fixed set of criteria. They do not see the quality of your work. They see the quality of your answer. This is the part we take off your plate.
How strong companies lose on the page
The work was good. The response did not show it.
- A mandatory requirement is missed. One missing certificate, signature or form can disqualify a response before anyone reads it.
- The answer describes what you do, not what is scored. Evaluators award points against criteria. If the answer is not shaped around them, the points are not there to give.
- Five sections, five different voices. Contradictory numbers, a different name for the same service, and claims that do not match the résumés.
- The best answer is buried. Your strongest technical point sits on page 40 where nobody scoring section 2 will find it.
- The last hour goes wrong. Portal upload limits, a file that will not open, a missing attachment, at five to four with a four o’clock close.
Who does what
You keep the expertise. We take the project and the page.
Your team brings
- The technical substance and how you would do the work
- Pricing decisions and sign-off
- References, résumés, certificates and past projects
- A few hours at kickoff and at review
We bring
- The RFP broken down into every requirement and scoring point
- The plan and the schedule, worked back from the deadline
- Drafting and editing, or managing your writers
- A compliance check, and the submission itself
What the last ten days can look like
A typical shape, not a promise. Every RFP is different.
The first days go to the breakdown, the plan and the questions for the buyer. The middle goes to drafts, your experts’ input and a review round. The last days go to fixes, a final check against every requirement, and submitting a day early so that a portal problem is an inconvenience and not a disqualification.
If a Bid Economics Assessment says no-bid, we will tell you that first. We would rather not write a proposal that should not be submitted.
What proposal support covers
What we do
- Break the RFP down into every requirement and scoring criterion
- Build the response plan and the schedule back from the deadline
- Write and edit sections, or manage the writing your team does
- Keep the response compliant, consistent and easy to evaluate
You walk away with
- Nothing mandatory missed
- A response built around the scoring
- A calm, on-time submission
How it works
Kickoff
We review the RFP with you and agree who provides what and by when.
Plan
A response plan and schedule, worked back from the deadline.
Draft and review
Sections written and edited, with your experts supplying the technical substance.
Submit
Final compliance check and submission support.
Is this the right fit?
Best for
Companies that have decided to bid, ideally after a Bid Economics Assessment, and need someone to write or run the response. Also teams whose technical people are strong but stretched thin.
Not the right fit if
You are still deciding whether to bid (start with the assessment first), or you want a guaranteed win. We can make a response compliant and clear. We cannot make a poor fit a good one.
Questions
Do you write proposals?
Yes. We write and manage RFP responses, after a Bid Economics Assessment or on their own when capacity allows. Starting with an assessment usually gets you more, because it tells you whether the proposal is worth writing, and the assessment fee is credited if you go ahead.
What do you need from our team?
The RFP package, access to the people who know the technical work, and your usual supporting material such as past proposals, résumés, references and certifications. We agree the details at kickoff.
How is it priced?
A fixed fee agreed before work starts, not hourly. Pricing depends on the size and complexity of the response.
Can you start close to the deadline?
Sometimes, depending on capacity and how much is left to do. Send the opportunity as early as you can and we will tell you straight whether it is workable.
Do you work in both Canada and the US?
Yes. Canadian clients are billed in CAD, US clients in USD.
Related
- Bid Economics Assessment: the decision and the price, before you commit to writing.
- Win/Loss Review: why past proposals won or lost.
- Fractional Bid Manager: ongoing support on every bid.
- All services
Bidding, and need a hand with the response?
Send the RFP in front of you. You’ll get a straight answer on whether we can help and what it would take.