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Responding to a request for a proposal is a daunting challenge: not only is it a ton of work, but it is commonly done flying blind 鈥� relying on a tersely worded document rather than a two-way dialogue. There鈥檚 pressure, too. A tremendous amount is riding on the proposal: You鈥檙e either in or out. So, how do you produce a winning proposal that will get you to the next round?

Respect the process
Let鈥檚 start with the obvious deal-breaker: Rules must be followed. If the RFP states a limit of one page per response, a specific format for fees to be stated separately, or numbered tabs, then do it. Reviewers are often looking for easy ways to exclude rule-breakers. Look through the entire proposal scrupulously before it goes out with only that filter: Did we follow the stated directions? Doing so indicates that you can be trusted with the contract. Failure to follow directions suggests that you will not listen.

Get to the heart
Most RFPs don鈥檛 give many clues as to the real business situation at stake. In order to write a strong proposal, you have to know what keeps the decision makers up at night. What will define success or failure on this job? A data center for a bank can鈥檛 afford any downtime. Cost and schedule are certainly important, but what鈥檚 really at stake is the quality of the work, redundancies of processes, and minimization of risks.

For retail development or tenant improvements, schedule is king. Every minute a tenant is not inside the building is lost revenue. These days, the main driving force behind most projects is revenue: lower operating costs, lower construction budget, or shorter time frame. There are projects out there that want to make an architectural statement or showcase a client鈥檚 environmental commitment, but the economy has shifted the focus almost entirely to money in some form or another, and it鈥檚 not just about how to do it cheapest.

Clearly restate their concerns early in your proposal, and continually relate back to them so your focus is on them and not you.

Some RFPs are very clear about what鈥檚 most important, but more commonly they play the politically safe route of listing a variety of objectives. The most critical factors can be spotted by focusing on what鈥檚 stated first, repeated often, bolded or underlined. Talk to insiders and those close to the project to try to understand what鈥檚 really driving the final decision. Review the company鈥檚 Web site, and search online for news about the company. Use your network to get at the heart of the firm鈥檚 business challenges and objectives. Is the company downsizing and planning to consolidate as soon as possible? What鈥檚 the single most important thing that will drive its decision?

Speak to the owner鈥檚 concerns
Once you鈥檝e identified which one or two key factors drive the decision-making process, zero in on them. How well do you feel you stack up against the probable or known competitors? If your portfolio is light for the proposed project, illustrate capabilities in your process or on past projects. Show, but don鈥檛 tell. Point to an example of where you have done exactly what鈥檚 needed on this project. Connect the dots between past jobs and the prospective project: Describe enough about the process without going down a worm-hole, focus on verifiable results, and relate the success of past jobs to their project objectives. Telling the owners you can make this project LEED gold is not as convincing as showing them you have taken 10 projects planned to be LEED gold, several of which received awards. Telling the owners you can meet the budget is not as convincing as including a testimonial from a past client that you came in under $100,000 on a project.

Evaluate your assets
Honestly look at your strengths and weaknesses, primarily as they relate to the assumed or known competition. Create a simple matrix that evaluates how you stack up against each competitor on specific measurements, such as portfolio, experienced people, geographic reach, past experience with client/partners, budget, technical, etc. Play up your strengths but understand where you are most vulnerable.

Rather than hide it, address it up front and describe your strategy to become stronger in that area. If your solution is to form a partnership to make up for a weakness, then spend time on that section to clearly convince the decision makers that: 1, you understand it鈥檚 a weakness, and 2, you have made it a major priority. The reality is that your weaknesses will become more of a focus than your strengths. Spend equal time to offset that brutal reality.

Most people know to proof for grammar and spelling before a proposal goes out the door. But prior to this step, review the entire proposal with separate filters. In addition to checking specifically whether directions were followed, look for consistency in facts, descriptions and terminology. Do you call someone a project manager in the organization chart, but a project director under the team section? Is the square footage of a project 45,000 on page 2 but 42,000 on page 34? Assign different people to serve as these filters to expedite the process.

That leaves writing well 鈥� the topic of next month鈥檚 column.

Leo MacLeod is a strategic marketing and new business consultant. He writes a regular blog at www.mainspringmarketing.com/blog. Contact him at [email protected].