What are the attributes of a winning proposal? Responding to a RFP is an art and typically, I have noticed that winning proposals have following attributes
- Proposal writer has read and understood the RFP document well.
- Offers a solution that addresses all key issues raised.
- Proposal teams invest time and effort to create real application like material that highlights eagerness and confidence.
Of these 3 points, the third one proves to be challenging for the proposal teams for reasons such as:
- Tight proposal submission schedules often make it impossible to create an application simulation, or even a simple screenshot.
- Sharing and installation of clickable prototypes including hosting, requirements of custom software/plugins, and a host of preparatory actions before a demo.
- Where mockups are used, they are limited in demonstrating richer interactivity such as drop down values that relates to the client business context.
Illustrated below is a comparison of typical proposals that do not demonstrate the above 3 points to make them win.
Using application simulation tools is a sure fire way to ensure a proposal communicates new ideas and expertise in a credible manner. What’s your opinion?
[Guest article contributed by team at 10screens.]
