Conducting effective reviews
Before an SOQ or proposal is submitted to a client, it should undergo a series of peer reviews, including an executive-level, Profit Center review. The executive reviewer has the authority to approve the proposal. For large complex pursuits, it can also be helpful to have someone not directly involved in creating the proposal bring a fresh, unbiased perspective to the process.
Draft 1
Profit Center, OPL, Marketing, Operations Support Staff, Creative
70-85% Content
At this stage, the document should mirror the outline including, content, approach, or intent in every section and initial graphics and tables.
- Emphasis is on content, not on form, style, or grammatical perfection
- If content is missing, the section should contain a description of what will go there and what action has been taken to obtain the information
- Have RFQ/RFP references leading the sections to help during the compliance review
- The document should begin to incorporate consistency
- Is the story correct? Is the information and data current and relevant? Does it speak to the RFQ/RFP requirements and underlying customer needs?
Things to look for include:
- Compliance
- Quality
- Highlighting of win themes
- Clarity of proposal
- Consistency between volumes or major proposal sections
- Effectiveness of graphics and action captions
- Customer focus
- Persuasiveness; and proposal score based on customer evaluation criteria and rating methodology
Draft 2
Profit Center, OPL, Marketing, Operations Support Staff, Creative
90-95% Content
This draft should have all changes, additions, and corrections identified during the first draft review. The document should have final or near-final graphics, tables, data, and resumes. All sections should have complete narratives, and the document should be formatted the same way it will be submitted.
- Conduct an in-person meeting page flip, if possible
- Review the draft from the perspective of the selection committee
- Compliance and clarity are priority
- Does it tell a compelling story? Does it show best value? Does it prove that it is technically acceptable? Are there features and benefits stated and documented?
- The document should be consistent in tense, voice, acronyms
Final Draft
Profit Center, OPL, Marketing, Operations Support Staff, Creative
100% Content
This document is pre-submission quality.
- It should be complete in all sections, including all information and graphics, and be fully compliant.
- It should be formatted and look exactly like it will for submission.
- Identify any fatal flaws (compliance, grammar, typos, photo/graphic quality, signatures)