Planning before writing saves more time than it takes. In parallel with ongoing capture planning activities, plan and validate your proposal plan before you begin writing new material or tailoring reuse material.
If you lack a capture plan, capture strategy, solutions, and price to win, winning will be difficult with too much to do in too little time. Before the bid request arrives, proactively assemble and task a proposal core team to prepare a proposal management plan focused on the primary proposal planning activities.
When there is no draft RFP, proposal planning begins well in advance of receiving the bid request. Begin making assignments and developing win themes based on capture/opportunity planning activities.
Follow these steps during your proposal planning activities:
- Develop proposal strategy
- Define proposal tasks, detailed budget, and schedule
- Prepare program schedule
- Prepare and update storyboard
- Develop initial proposal outline
- Draft Proposal Management Plan
- Identify proposal team members and assignments
- Hold proposal kickoff meeting
Much more goes into planning a proposal, but to ensure a smoother process be sure to include these things in your planning.
Want to know more? Learn more about Phase 4: Proposal Planning in the Shipley Business Development Lifecycle Guide.