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.
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