As much as we wish it were possible, you can’t just call the government and ask it to buy from you. Instead, you have to “compete” with other companies for a contract by writing a proposal. The process is time-consuming and daunting, but if you win a contract, it can be very lucrative. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, in fiscal year 2020 spent more than $665 billion on federal contracts. That’s big money!
The average government buyer is busy and has limited time to read proposals. In fact, the average amount of time it takes to review a proposal is 30 minutes according to a new survey conducted by the Professional Services Council (PSC). This means you have only 30 minutes to get your message across before the buyer moves on to the next proposal. It is essential that you are able to quickly capture their attention and demonstrate how you can help them solve their problem or achieve their objective.
In short: You need to know how to write a winning proposal. You don’t need to be a professional writer to write a successful proposal, but there are a few things to keep in mind when pitching yourself to the government. Writing a strong business proposal, whether it is for landing a government contract or funding, is essential to your business’s success. This document should be well-written and clearly address the needs of your potential client. A strong bid could help you beat out other competitors for the same project. Here are some tips for writing effective proposals:
1. Understand the requirements. Before you do anything else, make sure you understand what your potential customer, such as the Department of Defense, needs. If you’re going to propose something they didn’t ask for, it’s not going to work out well for either of you. Check out each federal agency’s Broad Agency Announcement schedules to get more details on the kinds of solutions they are looking for each cycle. If there is an Open Topic opportunity, take it!
2. Before you begin writing your proposal, review the projects that you have completed in the past. Look at what services you provided and what results were yielded from those services. Make notes as to what made each project a success so that you can use these points later in your proposal. To stand out and win more federal contracts, you need to present your company’s unique value proposition in a clear and compelling way.
3. Use the right language. A federal proposal is part sales letter and part legal document, so you need to make sure your language is correct and appropriate for your audience. Know whether or not this customer uses “allowable” or “reasonable” expenses as a standard term in their contracts. Use terms like these rather than slang or industry jargon that might confuse a government customer.
4. Know your competition (and yourself). Your proposal should be consistent with what others in your industry are offering — but also be aware of what makes you stand out from the rest.
5. You should also look at your own credentials and experience to understand why you are the best person for this particular project. How does your experience prepare you for this project? What knowledge do you have of this industry? How can you provide value to clients? Consider who will be reading your proposal, and make sure that the most important information is easy to find.
6. Be specific about what you can do. The government needs to know exactly what you’re promising to do, so make sure your proposal leaves nothing to doubt. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends using tables or spreadsheets with specific information on every element of the contract — quantities, prices and so on.
7. Speak with the potential government end-user before writing your proposal. Ask them questions about their needs and concerns so that these matters may be addressed when writing your proposal. This conversation will also help you get a better idea of how much time will be involved in completing the project and thus how much money it will cost.
8. Check for errors and omissions before submitting your proposal. Make sure you have signed all forms, written “void” in any blank lines, answered all questions and included all forms required by the solicitation package.
9. Don’t oversell yourself. Make sure you can deliver what you have outlined in your proposal and do not overpromise.
They say the first impression is important. With that in mind, when you’re pitching yourself to the government, you want to make sure you’re creating the impression of an agency/organization that makes winning easy. Every time.
