Better RFP Responses & Management
 
Proposal Land

About the Manual

Isabel’s book passes along lessons learned about surviving—even thriving—while responding to RFPs.  It is a comprehensive manual for those new to proposals as well as a guide for those who know the environment and want to do better—by their companies and by their people.

Why you need the book

For 25 years Isabel worked in Proposal Land, where companies move heaven and earth to respond to inconsistent and difficult-to-interpret Requests for Proposals (RFPs) against hard deadlines.  It can get kind of ugly…

  • RFP issuers routinely ask for twice as much information as can reasonably be gathered and presented in the time allowed. 
  • Many RFP responders use a cannon-fodder approach to proposal teams, throwing people at the mountain of work with little direction as to what matters and what doesn’t. 
  • Many proposal managers are first-timers, chosen for their technical/business expertise rather than their process management or marketing knowledge. 

The result? A perfect storm of a work environment:

  • The stakes are high.
  • The time is short.
  • The teams are unprepared.

What can companies do?

Companies can’t change the stakes or get more time than other bidders. But they can – and should – fix the one thing they can control: They can be sure their proposal teams are prepared.

This book prepares proposal teams by using a powerful conceptual framework for 33 proposal tasks:

  • Giving essential context for how each task fits into the big picture, the overall effort
  • Allowing those new to proposals to come up to speed quickly
  • Enabling those with some experience to improve their game and contribute their best

Each task description is fleshed out with useful tips, many illustrated with anecdotes from 25 years in responding to RFPs and helping proposal teams win contracts.