Six Fundamental Tips for Compliant Proposals

Volume 24 - Issue 2 January 18, 2024

Competition for upcoming Government contracts is even more intense now than ever.? Organizations are being more proactive to gain a better understanding of opportunities and requirements EARLIER in the bidding process than they have in the past. Over 80% of the companies note this has emerged as their focus to get a better foothold on their business development efforts. ?Early pricing is one of the main messages of Secrets of Strategic Pricing for Government Contractors. Get coffee, read this focus article, and more on our website.

Six Fundamental Tips for Compliant Proposals by Courtney Fairchild

Proposals are complex and time-consuming. However, writing a compliant proposal is critically important. As Fiscal Year 2024 kicks off, many companies are reviewing how to improve their proposal development for this new year. Here are 6 fundamental areas proposals tend to fail.

1. NONCOMPLIANT PROPOSALS

Proposals are packed with very discrete instructions that must be followed precisely. There are strict rules on a compliant proposal. Many contractors overlook the importance of checking the boxes. Even though some instructions might seem benign, to a contracting officer, these instructions are just the first step in evaluating successful bids. Many contractors get the big instructions, but omit or don’t include the smaller ones. For instance, the difference between font size for the text versus font size for graphics might not be the same. The whole document might be set to Times New Roman 11 point font as required—except for some graphics in Arial 9 point. It’s a small, easy-to-overlook noncompliance—and it’s enough to get your proposal rejected. To avoid this issue, make sure you have a process to track requirements and have multiple detail-oriented people review the document for any noncompliance, no matter how small.

Read Courtney's full article

Courtney Fairchild is the Co-Founder, President, and CEO at Global Services. For twenty-five (25) years, Courtney has led her team in obtaining over 3,000 contract awards in excess of $20B in value.

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