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What is wrong with the following list of reasons why the customer should select you in a proposal?

Imagine that you have a full time job as a professional person in the federal government. And someone dumps 30 proposals in four large boxes in your office and says: "Remember the boss put you on the evaluation committee for the big XYZ project? We need evaluation results by next Monday."

Must Win opportunities are important. A Must Win opportunity demands an even more heroic effort than all the other pursuits that people pour their hearts and souls into trying to win. Nobody really knows what the extra "something" should be, but if it's a Must Win opportunity, it's got to have it.

Most companies just try to do "the best job they can" at collecting intelligence and preparing for an RFP release. If they have any structure to their process at all, usually it emphasizes collecting intelligence to justify a bid decision.

As a part of Government solicitations, the customer will occasionally offer the option for offerors to submit an Alternate Proposal. My experience as a Proposal Manager tells me that this is rarely, if ever, a good idea, for the following five reasons:

During the proposal creation process, there are several key roles. Among these are the Capture Manager (Top Management's representative to the proposal team), the Proposal Manager (has two responsibilities: discover the best case, and do the best job of communicating that case), and the Program Manager-Designate (the individual to lead the program during program execution).

As a contract proposal Manager, I’m often asked to evaluate proposals that my customer has already submitted. In response, I provide this list of things they’ve probably done wrong.

During the proposal creation process whether for a, one of the key documents available to the Proposal Manager is the Government Proposal Capture Plan. Typically, the Capture Plan has been written by the Marketing Manager, in conjunction with the Capture Manager, well before the formal proposal effort begins.

The single most important element of a winning proposal is a clear set of direct benefits the customer will receive by selecting you. Nothing is more important than that. Your proposal will win or lose on that alone.