The holidays are fast approaching and Christmas is almost here!
As a proposal writer who has just completed a long and hard proposal, I got to thinking about what proposal professionals like me might like to receive this holiday season, just in case someone out there with a beard and a red suit wants to know.
We've all heard the phrase there is no such thing as a dumb question. The fact is, even a seemingly obvious question can elicit a helpful and sometimes surprising response by the Government.
As someone who’s rewritten hundreds of resumes for federal proposals, you start to notice patterns in the way people construct their resumes that often make it difficult for evaluators to assess the quality of the candidates.
Resumes are the first chance the Government gets to meet (virtually speaking) your team, especially your key personnel.
According to many contracting officers, there is no such thing as over communicating when it comes to bidding on a contract. The most successful government contractors will ask the contracting officer intelligent and thoughtful questions to gain the most information possible about the Request for Proposal (RFP).
This strategy will help you create a well scored proposal.
Remember 5th grade English Class? Learning to write essays meant being handed a topic you didn't like, being given an impossible deadline, being forced to write, edit and revise multiple times, and getting irrational comments from the teacher who clearly hated you.
Since it's St. Patrick’s Day, I got to thinking about some of the Irish legends, and the first one that came to mind was the legend of the Blarney Stone.
There is a common misconception that developing a compliant proposal is relatively easy — you just follow the instructions in Section L of the Request for Proposal (RFP), the way Dorothy and Toto in The Wizard of Oz followed the yellow brick road.
In Government Proposals, experienced Proposal Managers develop a Proposal Plan to guide them through the proposal effort.
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve heard of The Hunger Games, the dystopian trilogy by Suzanne Collins that has edged out Harry Potter’s seven books as Amazon’s best-selling series of all time. The movies set records, and fans worldwide were hysterical in their enthusiasm.
Your RFP (Request for Proposal) has just been released, and whether you are a single company, teamed with another company, or have multiple teaming partners, you will be required to submit various types of information as part of your proposal. This information typically includes a statement of your corporate capabilities, Section K information (Representations/Certifications and Statements of Offerors), Section H information (Special Contract Requirements), information on past contracts, and resumes of key personnel.
