Compliant or Compelling Proposals

ByGeovanny Villegas Hours Updated on

In the Federal Proposal world we all understand that a bidder must be compliant to the proposal requirements under Section L-Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Bidders. Compliance is why you as a winning contractor have a Proposal Professional on staff or have a go to Staff Augmentation firm like OCI on your rolodex. But it never ceases to amaze me that bidders who spend thousand of dollars either internally or externally on bid preparation do so without a compliance matrix or compliance outline and a proposal calendar with due dates to complete the proposal in a compliant manner.

 
Understanding Section L and how Section M-Evaluation of Factors for Award may conflict each other is as important as a complete understanding of Section C-Performance Work Statement / Statement of Work. We all want to know how we will be evaluated at our own job, so it is understandable to want to know how your bid will be evaluated against your peers. I also find it amazing that the RFPs from the government use the term “Capability” and “Experience” when what they really want is “Proof of Experience.”  Which takes me to one of my favorite Poems by Rudyard Kipling

“I Keep Six Honest Serving Men …
Who taught me all I know
Their names are Who, What,
Why, Where, How, and When.”

I KEEP six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.

Those six honest questions of ourselves allows us to move from Compliant to Compelling in our proposals to the government.
Want to find out more how to be Compelling in your Proposal Preparation? Contact  John Cook at 703-689-9600 or jcook@ociwins.com.

Geovanny Villegas

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