How to Write Government Proposals

Before entering the government contracting arena for the first time, it's crucial to take a broad, top-level view of how best to tap into this lucrative new revenue stream.

The government contracting landscape is complex, with numerous agencies, regulations and processes to navigate. The best proposals reflect a thorough understanding of an agency's requirements, demonstrate the highest performance standards, hit their submission deadlines and deliver on price-value fit. Mastering government proposal writing and the pre-award process is a long-tail venture that requires patience and persistence. With practice, contractors can find their competitive edge.

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Here are four steps contractors can use to enhance their government proposal writing and increase their chances of landing a contract:

1. Read the RFP three times before writing: Familiarity breeds success. The more contractors can absorb what the government is looking for in a request for proposal (RFP), the more comfortable they’ll become with how to present their content correctly. It’s essential to look beyond the requirements of service included in the statement of work. Contractors should become familiar with the expectations in the Provisions and Contractual Clauses sections and consider them in their government proposal writing.
2. Prepare an outline of the solicitation requirements: Some RFPs include specifics on proposal length, content, format, areas to address and presentation techniques. Once a contractor creates an outline of these requirements, it can serve as a helpful checklist.
   
   The proposal team should map their writing to this outline at every step of the draft process to ensure they comply with the solicitation's expectations. This structured approach will help them organize the proposal content and minimize the risk of overlooking critical elements that the government agency requested.
3. If there are multiple authors, agree on tasks and timelines: All members of the proposal writing team should come together for a 15-minute standup meeting every other day as they write. Each person should understand their respective role in the government proposal writing process. During the initial meeting, the team can establish schedules to prepare each proposal area. If responsibility areas overlap, the team can adjust assignments as needed. In more complicated government procurements, timelines may last several months. In others, the agency may allow only 30 days for writing—and sometimes less. Proposal deadlines are usually non-negotiable.
4. Have the proposal team’s best writer edit all submissions into one voice: This point may sound trivial, but it's actually the most important rule to follow in this list. Eventually, a proposal needs to read as if one person wrote it. But first, the proposal team should consolidate all writing efforts into one raw draft and distribute it to every team member for feedback. Each person should have a time limit to review all text for persuasiveness, clarity, confidence, accuracy, logic and efficiency. As a last step, the best writer should polish the draft into a single voice—but also take care not to change the meaning of any content with which they are unfamiliar.

Contractors can arrive at a competitive and accurate price by following a disciplined pricing process. Here are six steps for pricing government proposals:

1. Obtain a pricing schedule: A pricing schedule is a valuable tool that helps contractors respond quickly to fixed-price RFPs. It makes smaller procurements more cost-efficient because it reduces contractors' time to bid on fast-turnaround contracts. It also helps ensure that the proposal team's calculations are accurate. For instance, if the team wants to negotiate a cost-reimbursement contract, the pricing schedule can help them avoid trying to barter with an agency over what's allowable because this information is already spelled out in the schedule.
   
   It's important to note that each contractor's cost/price calculation must directly relate to the work described in technical and management volumes. A pricing schedule can help the proposal team keep their numbers consistent with the RFP's factors.
2. Review Section L of the schedule for all pricing volumes: The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) determines how to organize each proposal correctly. These instructions are in Section L of the pricing schedule. Contractors reviewing Section L should pay careful attention to the instructions on proposal structure and format, content requirements, submission, evaluation criteria and pricing.
3. Prepare a compliance matrix for the cost volume: A compliance matrix is a cross-referenceable table that demonstrates to an agency where and how a contractor has responded to specific RFP requirements in the contract submission. It helps confirm that the contractor included all the pricing information required to comply. By creating a comprehensive and well-organized compliance matrix for the cost volume, contractors can significantly enhance their proposal's competitiveness and demonstrate their commitment to meeting the agency's requirements. This tool not only aids in proposal development but also serves as a valuable resource during proposal reviews and any subsequent discussions with the contracting agency.
4. Create a Basis of Estimate (BOE). The BOE is a critical component of a government proposal, serving as a detailed analysis of the RFP’s performance work statement or statement of work. It’s one of the most crucial parts of a proposal because it provides the foundation for accurately determining the total price a contractor wants to submit.
   
   The BOE is often tied to price tables, creating a tight technical estimate and resulting in a more complete pricing model. This integration helps ensure consistency between technical and cost proposals, providing a clear link between the proposed work and its associated costs.
5. Factor in subcontractor rates and sealed bids. When contractors include subcontractor work in their proposal, they should ensure they can back up pricing versus cost data and their subcontractor's ability to execute the job. To assist in this task, contractors should get detailed cost breakdowns from their subcontractors to support their proposed rates. They should also analyze subcontractor pricing to ensure it’s reasonable and competitive.
   
   In a sealed-bid situation, the agency will typically select the bid with the lowest price, but it will also consider the past responsiveness and responsibility levels of each contractor. Here, too, contractors will need to do due diligence on their subcontractors. To ensure they meet all relevant contract requirements and specifications, it's essential to thoroughly assess each subcontractor's technical capabilities and past performance. Price calculations are the key to a profitable contract because there are no pre-bid negotiations in a sealed-bid process.
6. Have colleagues review the pricing draft alongside the RFP: Once the proposal team has completed its first shot at pricing, the contractor's senior management and other knowledgeable co-workers should review the information and assumptions in the proposal response. Colleagues not directly involved in the proposal development can offer an objective viewpoint and often identify issues or opportunities that the core team overlooked. Senior management can verify that the pricing strategy aligns with the organization's overall business objectives and competitive positioning.

With the proposal written and pricing determined, contractors can focus next on formatting their package in ways that make it easy for the government agency to consume. Here are some tips on how to package government proposals:

1. Separate the technical proposal from the pricing proposal: Contractors must submit each part of the proposal individually, according to instructions in Section L of the RFP's cost volume. Further, each proposal type belongs in a separate envelope. On the outside of each envelope, they should include the solicitation number, their firm's name and address, the type of proposal (technical or pricing) and any other identification information required by the RFP.
   
   If the agency requires electronic submission, firms should prepare separate files or use different submission portals as instructed. They should then verify that all components have been uploaded successfully.
2. Realize that packaging requirements from different requesters in the same agency can vary: Within one agency, procurement office requirements often shift from contract to contract regarding how to package a proposal. And even when a contractor is working with the same contracting officials on sequential proposals, it's important not to assume that the requirements they fulfilled for March's RFP will match October's. Each RFP stands alone.
   
   As contractors submit proposals for project after project, they should expect variations in requirements such as volume structure, page limits, submission format, file formats, delivery method, labeling and marking, confidentiality markings and subcontractor information.
3. Know that a separate agency team evaluates each proposal type (this can work to a contractor's advantage): During proposal evaluations, a technical evaluation team will review each technical proposal, and a pricing evaluation team will look at each pricing proposal. Neither team receives a copy of the other proposal, which allows the technical team to focus solely on technical details and not be swayed by knowledge of which contractor came in as the low-cost bidder. Sometimes, a technical proposal winner will be slightly higher in price but will offer a better value by delivering an excellent technical product. This greater value may be enough to sway the pricing proposal judges to award the overall contract to the technical proposal winner.
4. Present the proposal in a format that agencies will be glad to accept: To ensure that the agency will review, negotiate and award the contract efficiently, the contractor's team and agency team should have the same expectations for formatting. The best way to reach this goal is to have both teams use the same proposal platform. This can be achieved with modern pricing tools that synchronize data, generate pricing reports, initiate complex what-if scenarios and standardize the pricing environment.

The final step in preparing a government proposal is to submit the proposal. Here’s how:

1. Submit only what is asked for: Contractors should include everything the government requires in their proposal—nothing less and nothing more. If a firm omits relevant technical details or includes unnecessarily long-winded narratives, its proposal may not be included in the competitive range. This means they won't be eligible for a contract award. Firms should pay particular attention to the agency provisions outlined in Section L of the contract's RFP and follow these instructions to the letter.
2. Mail the proposal well in advance of its deadline: Contractors should never delay submitting proposals in response to a government agency's solicitation. It's best to mail the proposal at least one week before the deadline and send it by certified or registered mail.
   
   Government agencies are typically strict about submission deadlines. Late proposals are often automatically disqualified, regardless of their quality or potential value. Firms that wait until the last minute risk wasting the time, effort and money they've spent preparing their proposal.
3. If hand-delivering the proposal, submit only to the correct office and official. Contractors can hand-carry a proposal to the government, but they should deliver it only to the correct contracting officer in the agency’s acquisition office. The person at the front desk in the lobby of the agency's federal building can show the way to the correct floor, but it's important never to leave envelopes with that receptionist directly. It's also a good idea to ask the contracting officer for a receipt. Of course, these rules only apply to new agency relationships. Once a contractor understands the process and knows the people involved, these steps can be more relaxed.
4. Be prepared to present evidence of the reason for a late submission: Sometimes, in the negotiating process, an agency will accept a late proposal if a contracting officer has made a modification request or asked for a “best and final offer” late in the game. This rarely happens, and it's probably the only time a government agency will let a contractor miss a deadline. If the government has mishandled a firm's proposal such that the contracting officer receives it after the deadline, they will ask the firm to present postmark and tracking evidence that proves they weren't at fault for the delay.

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