A blank page can be intimidating. You have a blank page at the start of each proposal. And then another at the start of each section. Most people go through a "warm up" process while they try to figure out what to say.
It's not the flow chart that makes a process successful. It's not even the process manual (that sits on a shelf) that makes a process successful. What makes a process successful are the tools that people use to execute the process.
The biggest problem with the transition from business development to proposal is that there is any "transition" at all. A proposal is nothing more than the closing of the sales process. It is not a separate process, but the completion of a single process.
Budget Approval through Notice to Proceed
This is the fourth and final in a series of articles on the advantages of starting early in the procurement process. In previous months, I showed the advantages of starting early in procurement cycle to maximize the probability of a win for your company.
This is the third in a series of articles on the advantages of starting early in the procurement process. In June, I showed the advantages of starting early in procurement cycle to maximize the probability of a win for your company.
Here is a set of principals that can help guide the design of a successful proposal process. They provide a set of standards that you can assess your proposal against. After all, if you don't know your goals, it's difficult to achieve them.
Must Win opportunities are important. A Must Win opportunity demands an even more heroic effort than all the other pursuits that people pour their hearts and souls into trying to win. Nobody really knows what the extra "something" should be, but if it's a Must Win opportunity, it's got to have it.
Last month, I wrote on the advantages of starting early in procurement cycle to maximize the probability of a win for your company. I promised to discuss, in a later paper, the seven important steps in the procurement process, and how your company can legally and ethically influence the selection process.
Most companies just try to do "the best job they can" at collecting intelligence and preparing for an RFP release. If they have any structure to their process at all, usually it emphasizes collecting intelligence to justify a bid decision.
Business development may be more of an art than a science, and we don't know how to measure art. However, bidders still need a means to validate readiness to pursue a bid and their progress toward being ready to submit a winning proposal response.