The Integration of Sales and Proposal Writing
>> BUY NOW
Successful federal sales require focused efforts designed to build trust-based relationships with federal customers. Winning proposals are based on a thorough understanding of the customer's needs, and that information can only be acquired through strong customer relationships.
Proposal writing should not be thought of as separate from sales. Rather, it should be viewed as the critical last step in the sales process-- the step necessary to close the sale. The entire process, from identifying an opportunity, building the customer relationship, and writing a proposal, to final contract award should be considered one integrated process.
An integrated federal sales plan is comprised of ten tasks.
1. Identify an opportunity and build a customer relationship.
2. Manage the opportunity using the Customer Database.
3. Complete the Customer Intelligence Questionnaire (CIQ) as you build the relationship and communicate your solution to the customer.
4. Develop Selling Points based on the CIQ. The CIQ and the Selling Points will show how strong your relationship is with the customer.
5. Make a Bid/No Bid decision based on the strength of the customer relationship.
6. Write a Draft Executive Summary based on the CIQ and the Selling Points.
7. Develop a Proposal Outline and Schedule.
8. Hold a Proposal Kick-off Meeting.
9. Write the proposal based on the CIQ and the Selling Points. Your proposal will then reflect the strength of your customer relationship.
10. Control proposal versions
The market for proposal writing software is saturated with "convince them that you are the best" templates. The templates are designed for one to ten page commercial proposals and are ineffective for federal proposals.
CRMFederal is a new, proprietary product designed specifically for the federal services market. It will increase your federal win rate and reduce your proposal writing costs at the same time.
CRM federal will:
- Track your sales opportunities and customer intelligence in a Customer Database
- Assist you in winning more contracts
- Make your proposed solutions more compelling
- Save thousands of dollars of proposal writing time
- Reduce proposal writing time
Proposal writing is both an art and a science. CRMFederal uses models, templates, and guidelines for the non-technical parts of a proposal (the science). These features save significant amounts of proposal writing time and effort.
The most difficult aspect of proposal development is writing the technical approach (the art). This frequently involves several subject matter specialists who aren't good writers, are billable and not readily available, and abhor involvement in a proposal effort.
CRMFederal uses a table-driven approach to developing a technical solution to a customer's problem. Suggested formats for work breakdown structures are provided and then converted to linked tables of task and subtasks to generate a detailed outline of the technical approach. The table hierarchy points out to technical writers:
- The interrelationship of task and subtasks in the technical approach
- What topics need to be covered?
- Where they need to be covered in the task/subtask hierarchy
- At what level of detail they need to be covered
- Critical points in a subtask that may have been overlooked
The table-driven approach to developing a detailed technical approach outline replaces techniques like story boards for adding content to a high level outline.
CRMFederal uses model text to assist proposal writers in generating a Management Plan. Models for the following Management Plan sections are provided; totaling over 40 pages of model text.
Contract Organization and Management
Contract Management Policies
Subcontractor Management and Relationships
Corporate Support/Project Management Office
Project Management System
Contract Schedule
Staffing Plan
Quality Assurance Plan
Risk Management
Transition Plan
Human Resources Plan
Information Security Plan
Physical Security Plan
Safety Plan
A summary of the features and benefits of CRMFederal is shown below.
| Features |
Benefits |
| Customer Database |
Guides the critical process of establishing and documenting customer relationships and determining the opportunities that have a high probability of success. |
| Customer Intelligence Questionnaire |
Provides the information required for intelligent and strategic sales decisions. Helps you:
- Write proposals for the high probability opportunities
- Identify and eliminate low probability opportunities
- Predict revenue at an opportunity level
- Measure selling progress at an opportunity level
|
| Use of Selling Points distributed throughout the proposal outline |
Distinguishes you from the competition
Makes your proposal customer centric
Adds compelling content throughout the proposal |
| Table-driven approach to developing a technical solution to the customer's problem |
More compelling technical solutions
A better organized and clearer technical approach
More consistency across technical task descriptions
Improved guidance to technical writers
Better consistency of technical material from multiple writers |
| Model Management Plan |
A more compelling Management Plan
A better organized and clearer Management Plan
Person weeks of savings of writer time
Reduce proposal writing time |
| Templates and formats for resumes and corporate experience |
Reduce proposal writing time
Savings in writer time |
| Proposal organization and writing guidelines |
Greater clarity and conciseness of proposal content |
| Request for Proposal decomposition procedure |
A more responsive proposal |
Technical Requirements
| 
