Proposal instruction packages

You would be surprised how many companies have well thought out proposal processes that are known only to the proposal specialists, and if you quizzed the non-specialists you would find process awareness only at the highest level.

Once you have developed your processes, the next hurdle to cross is education. Stand-up instruction only has limited usefulness (where people are physically co-located, and where the timing of instruction can be coordinated with the proposal effort). Manuals are often necessary and even more often unread.

The trick to educating people participating in proposals is to have multiple vehicles of instruction that deliver only what is needed at the exact moment of need. This is more of an art than a science. At key milestones, you can provide tips, guides, forms, and process summaries that help them with the task at hand. They should only have to read and retain what they need to get the job done.

Making the information available at the moment of need can be tricky and requires good communication. If they don't know that information is available, they won't ask for it. And if they're not familiar with the process, they may not even know that they need something, let alone ask for it.

There are several triggers that you can use as triggers to make sure the necessary information arrives at the moment of need. One approach is to time it to key milestones (kickoff, color team reviews, assignment start/completion, etc.). Another approach is to package it according to the roles that participants play (author, subject matter expert, book boss, coordinator, production, etc.).

Another consideration should be how are you going to deliver the information. You can package it as a book (that won't get read) or as handouts (that will get lost). Making it available via the web or an intranet can greatly improve its accessibility, but only if everyone knows where to find it online and remembers to go there.

If you give participants a package, consisting of a binder for written material with pockets for handouts, you give them something to put the material in so that it doesn't get lost and a place to find the information. You can structure your packages according to the roles the participants play and then organize it by milestone. Another approach is to hand out the binders at the beginning and make people bring them to meetings where you can pass out additions. This (at least) ensures that everyone knows where their binder is and haven't lost it.

Here are a couple of examples of things that you can put into packages to ensure that participants have the information they need to carry out their tasks:

The Writer's Package

• The RFP
• Proposal outline
• Annotated outline, and/or storyboards
• List of themes, discriminators, competitive issues/ghosting
• List of Assignments
• Schedule
• Proposal Contacts Directory
• Formatting instructions
• File access/configuration management instructions
• Graphics production instructions
• Proposal process summary
• Forms (storyboard, graphics production, etc.)
• Template files/instructions

The Reviewer's Package

• The RFP
• Review process summary
• Scoring methodology
• Review comment forms
• Format for presentation of findings
• Proposal outline
• Exception report (itemizes what is intentionally not included for review)
• Attention report (items called out for review/validation)
• Summary of Proposal Goals (what are you trying to achieve in the proposal in terms of themes/discriminators, points of emphasis, ghosting, etc.)
• Schedule

Other useful instruction packages

• Resume preparation
• Past performance preparation
• Cost data submission
• Subcontractor instructions