Customer Concerns / Hot Buttons

Structured decision point to assess bid status and determine if a pursuit should continue or be terminated.

Proposal technique where you highlight a competitor's weakness to emphasize your strength, without naming the competitor.

Senior leadership review and authorization to submit. Conducted after Red Team edits.

In-house cost review of pricing against technical, management, and other non-price sections.

The meeting that launches proposal development, typically held once the bid decision is made and the solicitation is released, aligning the team on schedule, compliance approach, and roles.

Also called a White Hat Review: an after-action review of the capture or proposal process, conducted once the effort is complete, to improve future pursuits.

A page-by-page layout of a proposal section, showing page allocations, headings, themes, and visual placement before the section is fully drafted.

A Shipley planning tool proposal managers use to organize an oral presentation or sales briefing so it aligns with the written proposal.

Reviews storyboards, outline, discriminators, and features/benefits before the first draft is written.

Shipley's proprietary writing approach for proposal sections: Plan, Organize, Write, examine, and Revise.

A Microsoft Office-based storyboard tool Shipley uses to map out a proposal section's content and structure before drafting begins.

Process of reviewing an opportunity for fit with strategic plan, capability, resources, and profitability.