How to Win a Government Request for Proposal (RFP)?

Winning a government Request for Proposal (RFP) is highly competitive and receiving the award can seem like a lot of hard work and money. However, you will learn a few key steps in making your proposal and what you can do standout to reviewers.

When a RFP is issued by a government entity it usually means a big contract is waiting to be awarded to the company that submits the best proposal. For the most part, private companies don't provide enough information within the proposal to standout from all the other companies that respond to the RFP.

Steps to make your proposal standout:

First, when responding to a RFP make sure that you read it from page to page. The RFP will provide the directions you need in the formatting and what you must provide within the proposal such as copies of insurance, business license, etc --

If a RFP asks you to provide something don't ignore it. If you don't have something still make the designated page and state that "insurance will be provided once contract award is made" this way the reviewer will know that you responded to each request even though you don't have the required insurance at the moment.

Second, follow the requested formatting as stated in the RFP. If it says start with a title page with the RFP number listed on the page then provide that. Make sure your proposal is easy to follow just as the RFP is stated.

Third, be prepared to attend any Pre-Proposal conferences or conference calls. This allows the government official to meet you and put a face to a proposal when the time to submit one is required. Also, this is a good time to see your competition and meet other RFP reviewers. Another benefit of attending the meeting is to ask questions and to get clarification on exactly is required in submitting a RFP.

The last step to winning a government RFP contract is to provide a professional looking proposal with a title page, table of contents and other items as listed in the RFP. When writing your RFP make sure you provide enough information in how your company is the best for job and how you can solve the government entities problem. Don't generalize get specific in your response to the RFP.

Once all the proposals are received by the government entity they will usually try to get to a short-list of proposals to ask additional questions and clarifications. Also, you may be requested to do a presentation onsite. When requested to come onsite try to get enough information about who is attending and be prepared to describe your RFP response in detail. This is the time to sell your product, service and company to the government employees that are responsible of awarding a contract.

Following these simple steps will improve your chances in making the shortlist of any RFP submissions and eventually landing a government contract that can make it a successful year for your company. Remember, answer every section in the RFP in full detail and provide or respond to every inquiry from RFP reviewers.

If you don't get awarded a contract make a public records requesting proposal copies of the company awarded, so that you can see their response to the RFP. This will help you with future proposal submissions. RFP's are not awarded just based on pricing, but many factors and combinations take a part in getting your proposal to the top.

Source:
Personal Experience (RFP Reviewer)