Writing to the Evaluation Criteria

My wife is busy watching “Project Runway” and “Dancing with the Stars.”  My TV is broke in my man-cave so I decided it is time for another short blog about proposal writing.  I have been toying for some time now about writing a booklet providing tips to write proposals, specifically responding to Request for Proposals (RFPs), which get high scores and, along with appropriate pricing, win contracts for my clients.

Tonight, my thoughts focus on Evaluation.  I have previously shared thoughts regarding preparing the outline for your proposal; but now I wonder if I have stressed the importance of writing the proposal to satisfy the Evaluation Criteria as listed in a solicitation. Like most of the people in this business, I have had some experience on the government side preparing Requests for Proposals.  In my time, more often than not, the people at the working level who help you prepare the Statement of Work or the Performance Work Statement are the same people who help you evaluate the proposal.  If they are not the same people who helped you prepare the RFP, then they are people with very similar background and experience. 

One thing is very clear to me, if you write a proposal that lauds your own accomplishments without showing how your company can benefit the customer; then, you have lost before you get started.  One way you can display an appreciation of the customer’s needs and desires is to tailor your proposal directly to the Evaluation Criteria.

More simply put, write your proposal to address the evaluation criteria completely.  Your goal is simple and direct: You want to receive the highest score which the evaluator will base on the evaluation criteria.  Nothin’ more, nothin’ less. Think aout it! If you do not get the highest score, you will not win.  Anything that does not focus and address the Evaluation Criteria is extraneous and can be considered hogwash, no matter How Great Thou Art. 

Maybe one approach is to provide statements that an evaluator can use to paste into his / her evaluation to demonstrate how your company had satisfied and / or bettered the specific evaluation criterion you are addressing.    

Ask yourself these questions:

·         Can the evaluator find facts in your proposal quickly which will prove RFP compliance?  If so, you have a good start.

·         Does your proposal use the RFP terminology, terms and keywords?  I would not hesitate to bet the family farm that the individual evaluator will be looking for that terminology, terms, and key phrases from the RFP when he scans your proposal. 

·         Does the proposal address HOW your company will fulfill the Evaluation Criteria?    (See my blog post “The Magic Word for Successful Proposals - "HOW"” posted on May 2, 2011.

I can say much more about the subject of writing to the Evaluation Criteria, but hopefully, this short blog post has given the readers some food for thought.

Thanks for your time.