February 28, 2005
The Dreaded "P" Word
My client from Europe is here, and we've been working at the office of one of his subcontractors in the Washington, DC area. We're trying to get the proposal in shape before he returns home on Wednesday or Thursday. It's been a lot of work for him, me and the representatives of two subs who are working with us on finalizing the document. But it is beginning to shape up. We've made a lot of revisions to the technical section, and my client is now re-working the Management Plan. I am scheduled to go back down there today, but they are calling for a lot of snow here, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. My car, which doesn't have front-wheel drive, doesn't go in snow and thus neither do I.
So last Friday, we are all sitting around discussing the proposal and the remaining things that need to be done. All of a sudden, someone says, "maybe Deborah should go to Europe with [the client] so that she can help with proposal production." Oh no, I can't believe what I am hearing -- the dreaded "P" word -- Production! I look around to see if there is somewhere that I can escape, but we are in a big conference room and there's nowhere to go. So I shuffle through my papers, pretending I didn't hear, and I keep my mouth shut. The discussion wanders off to another topic.
I can only hope that this subject doesn't arise again, or at least if it arises, that my name isn't part of it. Right now, I can't think of anything much worse than getting on a plane to Europe, working on production tasks where a zillion things are bound to go wrong, and then flying back here, probably with the proposal in hand.
Please, please, please, spare me from the "P" word.
Posted by Deborah at 5:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 24, 2005
Subcontractor Checklists
When developing a proposal with the assistance of one or more subcontractors, it's important to make sure that all organizations participating in the proposal effort have a clear understanding of their proposal-related responsibilities. All subcontractors should be provided with a copy of the proposal outline, formatting instructions, templates, and other information/materials that will help them complete their assignments.
To further assist your subcontractors, you might also want to provide them with a checklist that lays out their specific responsibilities for each section of the proposal. Your checklist might look something like this:
You could also incorporate additional columns to indicate the person(s) responsible for each item, and or due dates for various drafts.
Posted by Deborah at 8:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 23, 2005
Hey, I'm a Guest Blogger!
If you're a consultant, you may have heard of a book called "Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants" written by Jay Conrad Levinson and Michael W. McLaughlin. I had certainly heard about it, but had never gotten around to reading it.
But a couple of weeks ago, Mike McLaughlin e-mailed me to ask if I would like to contribute a post to their Guerrilla Marketing Consulting Blog. I agreed, and in return Mike was kind enough to send me a copy of his book. I just received it yesterday and am anxious to begin reading. Since I'm taking the subway into DC today, I've packed it in my briefcase. There's even a chapter on proposal writing -- maybe I'll start there.
Mike asked me to write something on proposals, so my post for his blog is entitled "Make Your Proposal a Winner." To read it, just head over to the Guerrilla Marketing Blog.
Posted by Deborah at 5:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 22, 2005
New Week, New Client, New Project
Not long ago, I got a call from one of my clients asking if it would be OK for him to send my resume to a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Europe that is bidding on a USAID RFA. This NGO, my client said, had never done such a bid and needed some help. My client's organization here in the US is a subcontractor on the bid, but doesn't have the time to assist the NGO in putting the proposal together.
After receiving my resume, the European NGO called and asked if I could come out there for a couple of weeks to help them out. Not really wanting another 2-week overseas trip, I suggested going there for a week and working here for a week. That got them to thinking that maybe they should come to Washington, DC instead. So long story short, they are arriving here tomorrow and I don't have to go back overseas. Fine with me.
They have sent me the first draft of the proposal, and I'll be reading that today along with the RFA. Then tomorrow, I will truck down to DC and meet with them to get more info on what they want me to do. On the phone they mentioned things like checking for compliance with RFA requirements, checking for consistency with USAID terminology, editing, formatting, and the like. So, we'll see.
More details to come.
Posted by Deborah at 5:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 21, 2005
Site Update - February 21
I've gotten way behind in updating my main site at Proposalwriter.com, but finally got around to it this weekend. I think you'll find some interesting new additions.
One addition in particular will be useful for those involved in government contracts. It's a glossary of Contract Management Definitions, which has been compiled by a firm called Abacus Contract Management. The glossary is alphabetical. Each term in the glossary is defined and is then linked to the source of the definition in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and/or US Code or other resource.
For example, if you want to look up the term "Service Contract Act," you go to "S" at the top of the page and then scroll down the list until you come to the definition for that term. At the end of the definition, you'll find a link to FAR 22.10, which gives you the entire description of the Service Contract Act. Very handy.
To see the other new additions to my site, just transport yourself over to my What's New Page.
Posted by Deborah at 6:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 18, 2005
How Government Grant Applications Are Reviewed
In case you haven't noticed, Deborah's Proposal Writing Blog has moved! Please note the new URL and change your bookmarks.
Many organizations and people think that once they submit a grant application/proposal to a federal agency, they will receive their money quickly (assuming, of course, that their application is a winning one). Not so! Many months may pass before you actually receive a chunk of money.
In an article written for Charity Channel's Grants and Foundations Review, Sarah Brophy explains how the review process works at a number of federal agencies, and what it's like to be a reviewer.
While the process isn't the same for all agencies (and indeed, some grants may be awarded very quickly), Sarah's article provides some good insight for those who may have unrealistic expections of when the money will arrive.
As you've probably heard before, the wheels of government can often turn verrrry slowly!
Posted by Deborah at 5:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 17, 2005
After the Outline: The Storyboard
I've finally taken the leap and converted my blog to Movable Type. If you had bookmaked this site, please change your bookmark to the new URL. If you subscribe to my RSS feed, please re-subscribe using one of the syndication methods shown on the left (RSS, Atom, Feedburner). I still have some tweaking to do, so if you notice anything that isn't working properly, please let me know.
You've developed your proposal outline and schedule, and you've assigned all the writing sections to the various members of your proposal team. So now you're ready to begin writing the proposal -- right? Not so fast. There's another step to take before the writing begins. It involves doing some in-depth brainstorming and planning about what will actually be written in each section. This step is often referred to as developing a storyboard.
As its name implies, a storyboard is the "story" of your proposal from beginning to end. It serves as a script or guide for the proposal writers by specifying what should be addressed in each section and subsection of the proposal. It also helps all members of the proposal team get a better understanding of the proposal as a whole, as well as the relationships among the various sections and subsections.
Depending on the length and complexity of your proposal, the storyboarding process can take several hours or several days. But it is time well-spent. To develop a storyboard, all members of the team should be convened for a proposal strategy meeting. The proposal manager or other designated person facilitates the process by going step-by-step through the outline, using a large whiteboard or chart paper.
For each section/subsection of the proposal, the facilitator asks:
- What is our theme for this section?
- What are we going to write about here?
- How does this section relate to Section XYZ?
- Is what we are saying in this section consistent with what we said earlier/later?
- And so on...
Through a brainstorming process, proposal team members arrive at agreed-upon answers (as well as bringing up other important points and issues), all of which are written down so that they can be referred to during the course of the meeting and later typed up and distributed.
Try using this method to tell your story.
Posted by Deborah at 5:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 10, 2005
Be Careful With That Boilerplate
Most everyone uses boilerplate to some extent in their proposals. Boilerplate, if you don't know, is written material that can be used over and over again -- recycled, if you will. Boilerplate often consists of things like resumes, descriptions of current and past projects including past performance information, background information on your company or organization, management plans, and the like.
It's often tempting to just stick some boilerplate material in your proposal without giving much thought to it, especially when you're running out of time. But this can be dangerous because the boilerplate you're using may not really fit the project you are bidding on. So it ends up looking like boilerplate -- filler -- to the reviewers, who can spot boilerplate a mile away.
Boilerplate is fine for really, really standard stuff that rarely ever needs to be changed. But for most proposals, you will want to tailor your boilerplate. The resumes you include, for example, should show that the people you're proposing have experience in performing functions that are similar to those they will need to perform for the project you are bidding on. Your examples of current and past projects should likewise emphasize the similarities between those projects and the project you are bidding. While you might have some standard boilerplate language in your Management Plan, this too will probably require modifications. And so forth.
So be careful how you use your boilerplate. Make sure it really reflects what is needed for your current effort. A little tailoring can go a long way.
Posted by Deborah at 5:27 AM | Comments (0)
February 8, 2005
The Rule of Two
I recently received an e-mail from someone who is looking to hire a consultant to do some proposal writing. In the message, she said "we need someone who is good and cheap." I couldn't help but think of the Rule of Two.
The rule is this:
- You can have it Cheap and Good, but it won't be Fast.
- You can have it Fast and Cheap, but it won't be Good.
- You can have it Good and Fast, but it won't be Cheap.
Posted by Deborah at 5:35 AM | Comments (1)
February 7, 2005
It's a Funny Thing
I've just finished preparing a response to a Request for Information (RFI) for one of my clients. It wasn't very lengthy -- only about 25 pages plus a couple of Appendices. It was also pretty straightforward, requiring answers to 15 questions.
I e-mailed the finished document to my client earlier this morning so that they would have time to review it before sending it off to their client tomorrow. A few hours later, they called and asked if I could make some small corrections. Sure, no problem. The corrections consisted of the following:
This happens a lot with clients. By "this," I mean that they ask me to make very minor changes -- changes that they could easily make themselves. After all, how difficult is it to change a period to a comma, put in a dash, add a few words to a sentence, and cut and paste a couple of paragraphs? When I make these small revisions, the clock is running: they are paying for my time.
It's a funny thing because I think that a lot of people are simply afraid to touch the documents. I could understand it if we were talking about more complex corrections (like bullets or numbers which are notorious for not working correctly in Word). But a comma?
Don't be afraid to touch the document! You can always fix it. Use the "undo" command on the Word toolbar. Or, if you are really afraid you'll mess it up, save the document under a different name and try making your changes. If they don't come out right, you can always go back to the original.
Why pay someone to fix these small things? Save your $$$.
Posted by Deborah at 1:01 PM | Comments (0)
February 3, 2005
Proposal Compliance Matrix
Some RFPs require you to submit a compliance matrix as part of your proposal. In other instances, you may want to include one even if it's not required.
Basically, a compliance matrix is a cross-reference table that tells the evaluators where they can find your responses to specific RFP requirements. It looks something like this:
In this example, the RFP requirements are listed in the 2nd column. The next four columns -- SOW, Section L, Section M, and Other RFP Sections -- indicate where the requirement is mentioned in the RFP. So, for example, the RFP requirement for "Construction Services" in the last row of the table, can be found in Section 4.0 of the RFP's Scope-of-Work, as well as in clauses L21.A and M4.1.A of the RFP.
The first and last columns of the table show the evaluators where they can find where you have addressed each RFP requirement. For "Construction Services," they can turn to your numbered paragraph 1.A.2.4 in your proposal and find your response there. They can also find it by proposal section (A-6) and/or by page number (page 13 and 15).
In addition to showing evaluators where to find things, compliance matrices demonstrate to them that you have paid careful attention to the RFP and have taken the time to identify the requirements. They are also useful as internal checklists, which you can use to make sure that you have addressed everything that the RFP asks for.
P.S. Have you voted for my blog yet? If so, they've apparently changed the voting program and are starting all over again with a new poll in which you can only vote once (much more fair, in my opinion). So whether you've already voted or haven't voted yet, please go here and vote for me under the "Best New Blogs" category. And, thank you!!
Posted by Deborah at 8:44 AM | Comments (1)
February 2, 2005
Fax Machine Blues
I hate my fax machine. Don't get me wrong -- it's a nice one that has all sorts of functions that I don't know how to use. But I have to keep it unplugged all the time because of FAX SPAM.
It's funny -- e-mail spam doesn't bother me, even though I get tons of it. I just press the delete key and it's gone. But fax spam, that's another story. Every day when I get up and periodically throughout the day, I find new faxes in the machine. They seem to fall into three categories: (1) fabulously low mortgage rates that I can get just by picking up the phone; (2) penny and over-the-counter stocks that will make me a millionaire in just a few days; and (3) incredibly low prices for week-long trips to Disneyworld, Mexico and other exotic places.
Many of the faxes provide a number you can call if you want to get off the fax list. I used to call these numbers until I realized that this is the way that the fax-sending companies can verify your fax number. You can also try to sue them for sending unsolicited faxes. But who has time to deal with that?
The only thing that I really use the fax machine for is to send and receive business-related documents that require an actual signature. I have an electronic signature, but some of my clients will not accept it for invoices and such. I e-mail my electronically signed contracts to clients, but most of them want to fax them back to me because they have signed them manually. So I am stuck with the fax machine until my clients enter the age of technology.
I'm paying about $15 a month for a dedicated line for this machine which I no longer keep connected to the phone line. When someone wants to send me a fax, I ask them to let me know beforehand so I can reconnect it. To me, this seems like an unprofessional way of doing business, but I can't figure out how to stop the fax spam from coming all day long. It drives me nuts and uses up my paper.
Posted by Deborah at 5:01 AM | Comments (1)
February 1, 2005
B2B Proposal
Last week I took on a quick-turnaround assignment -- helping a new client with a commercial (B2B) proposal. I don't often do these, but I had some extra time on my hands so I agreed to work on it.
My client had apparently given this assignment initially to another writer, although I'm not sure if this was someone on his staff or someone he hired. At any rate, he didn't really like what this writer had given him. So he wanted me to fix it up. He also wanted me to use a proposal template that he had purchased a while back, and which had cost a pretty penny. It's unclear to me why he hadn't given this template to the original writer.
At first I didn't like the template, but as I started working with it, I found that it was really a jazzed up version of one of my favorite free guides from the Edward Lowe Foundation entitled How to Write a Sales Proposal. This guide, which is basically a template for creating a business proposal, takes you step-by-step through the major components of the proposal. It uses examples and incorporates workspace for you to write your own verbage.
The difference between the free template and the one I received from my client is that the latter is already formatted so that when you are done filling in the details of your proposal, you basically have a finished product. And it's quite nice looking. But it's a MS Word template based on styles. And if you don't know how to use styles, you could waste a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with all that formatting, particularly if you don't follow the template exactly.
In this case, what I did was to take what had already been written and chop it up into discrete chunks of information under some new subheadings I created in the template. I then did a lot of editing and reorganizing of the material so that it flowed in a logical fashion. I also created some new major sections and incorporated some additional information that my client had sent to me. I'm basically done with it, with the exception of a few small things that I need to address this morning. Then I'll e-mail it off to my client for his review.
Posted by Deborah at 5:29 AM | Comments (0)
