1. Reward Wins – Set up a system to reward proposal wins.  This could be verbal recognition. One company did it this way:  They established a pool of 1% of contract profit.  The successful capture manager could distribute the cash to team members based on contribution.

2. Price to Win (PTW) – Give your proposal group the budget to carry out a PTW study proportional to the importance on every bid.  This will keep you from preparing a stellar technical prop and then losing on price.

3. Executive Commitment – Get solid backing from your Executive in advance of the proposal.  Your executive demonstrates commitment by attending the kickoff and key meetings.  This also lets you get a quick response for added resources if needed.

4. Reusable Pieces – Establish a library / archive where you can routinely store and retrieve proposal sections frequently needed from bid to bid.  A few companies have proposals so similar from one to the next they can semi-automate the capability to generate some sections.

5. Provide Real Customer Insight – Never submit a proposal unless:  Your BD people have established enough customer intimacy to know the winning details that will never appear in an RFP.

6. Hire Performers – When you hire your personnel, do enough testing and reference checking to verify you are getting staff who bring the level of dedication you want.

7. Train Ops Personnel – Establish the capability to train ops personnel who will assist with the proposals, so you will not have team members lacking the necessary skills.

8. Hire Good Consultants – Establish a relationship with proposal consultant groups that have a strong reputation and a compatible character.

9. Responsive Partners – Select teammates who are both favored by the customer and will commit to provide strong support to the proposal.