Responding to a Blizzard of RFPs with a Small Team, Part 2
Last week, we covered three tips to stay afloat (and succeed) in the federal "busy season" with a small team. In case you missed it, read more here.
This week, we're covering how to do proposal reviews (highly encouraged for all, if you aren't already doing these...) with a small team. In a recent proposal management training with a client's team, someone asked the question “How can we do a color team review when there’s generally just two of us working on these?”
Experienced government contractors are typically familiar with Shipley’s color team reviews for proposals, e.g. Pink Team, Red Team, Green Team, and Gold Team reviews. But, there’s one issue that impacts small businesses and even many large businesses --
Many companies don’t have a team large enough to have a proposal manager, multiple writers, a compliance person, an editor, and then multiple people who have not written any of the proposal to be unbiased reviewers for all the color team reviews. The majority of companies have 2-4 internal people that handle proposals and everything that goes with them, which can make it really difficult to respond to an influx of RFPs.
So, how do we work within those constraints? First, there’s no perfect system, and you have to figure out what works best for your company. However, there are a few rules of thumb that can help:
Prioritize. We all get excited about a bunch of RFPs dropping during procurement season, but now is the time to be cold eyed about what we have the best chance of winning. Don’t chase bluebirds - sit down with your team and winnow the prospects down to the best targets. A small team can’t afford to not be focused.
Don’t skip compliance. It’s crushing to put hours of work into a proposal and get kicked out for being non-compliant. Have one person on your team (who’s detail-oriented) create the compliance matrix. This is not the step to skip.
Have a system that works for you. Understanding that the Shipley Method is a great tool but modify it to fit your company. I’ve modified it at every company that I’ve worked at to fit the team. You may just be doing a Red Team, Green Team, and Gold Team. And that’s ok as long as you put a good product together in the end.
Have a proposal manager, even if they are also writing. One person needs to keep the process moving and run point.
Leverage an outline. Drop the sections of the RFP that you’re writing to in your proposal outline. It makes it easier to write to and it makes it easier to review. If there’s only two people writing, have them review each other’s sections. It’s easier to do that if they can refer to the RFP section above.
Hopefully, these help. It’s tough having a small team. Procurement season is a really exciting/exhausting time. Make a plan, be selective, and focus on turning out great product. If there's anything that we can support you on, don't hesitate to reach out.