All glossary terms

Shipley Proposal Process

Customer Focus

A writing and communication approach that is directly organized around the customer's stated needs, issues, and the benefits they will receive, rather than a company's own internal capabilities.

Related terms

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

Ghost the Competition

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.

Kickoff Meeting

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.

Lessons Learned Review

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.

Oral Proposal Planner

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.

Proposal Development Worksheet

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

Qualify Opportunity

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