Some thoughts on proposal schedules

Let’s start with a high-level outline of a schedule for a proposal:

• Prepare for and hold kickoff meeting
• Storyboarding, outlining, and section planning
• Proposal plan review
• Draft production
• Review preparation
• Review
• Recovery and production of final draft
• Final production
• Submission

Now, here are some thoughts in each phase to help you with scheduling:

You want to hold the kick-off meeting as quickly as possible, but you also want to take the time to prepare. I like to go into a kick-off meeting not only having read the RFP, but with at least a high-level outline and a schedule and I like to come out with assignments having been given. This typically takes me 2-4 days.

When giving assignments, it is better to make them short and quick. For example, turn around a draft in two days rather than a completed section in a week. If you don’t do this you are likely to have them come back with something incomplete or wrong and a week gone from the schedule.

I am a firm advocate of planning a section before writing it. It is your best bet for ensuring a complete, compliant, and effective proposal early. Without planning before writing, all you can do is review after the fact. It also gives you a benchmark for the review, did they include everything that was planned as opposed to “is it a good proposal.” It is far more important to have some kind of planning methodology in place than whether you choose storyboard, annotated outlines or some other planning methodology.

I almost always schedule reviews over a weekend. If the proposal team is going to have to work long hours and sacrifice weekends, it’s only fair that others should share their misery. It also preserves the week days for proposal development, and gives the authors a weekend break before the final stretch.

A formal review of the draft proposal is an important asset, if you make the most of it. This requires preparation. First, don’t take volunteers or hand-me-downs --- pick your reviewers. Second, give the reviewers specific assignments, guidance, and the tools to do the job. If possible, have certain reviewers look for specific things (technical merit, RFP compliance, themes, storyboard/plan compliance, value, risk, etc.). Give them forms with instructions and scoring sheets. If all you do is give them the proposal and ask them for comments, you get what you deserve…

Don’t forget to allow time for recovery from the review. You want to have time to incorporate the comments that can improve the proposal.

As you prepare for and enter into final production, it is time to pace yourself. The clock is ticking, and any change has to be considered against the amount of schedule risk it represents. If you are the proposal manager, one thing to get clear before you start any proposal, is whether you have the authority to refuse changes in final production. If you don’t you are not a manager, but a facilitator. And while it may be a decision “above your paygrade” the company you work for needs to be clear on which it wants.

Finally, allow time for submission disasters. Either send two copies by different routes, or allow time to re-send if it is not received.