Evaluating your business proposal is easier said than done. However, this step is crucial, and if done properly, it will ensure your proposal gets the contract you and your business associates need. That’s why it’s of utmost importance that you do it thoroughly and impeccably. If you’re not sure what exactly it takes to review your proposal, here are several tried–and–true tips and tricks on how it’s done:
When to Evaluate
When to evaluate a proposal can be difficult to determine. The more you wait, the better the evaluation document is, although, a late evaluation can leave you with a tight time frame to fix things up. Now, the only sensible solution to this is to have several small-scale evaluations prior to having the main evaluation.
Who does the Evaluation?
Evaluation is most effectively done by a group of people usually referred to as the red team. It is essential that you choose your red team wisely; make sure the members are experts, each in their own right, and that they are prepared to take time and properly assess your proposal. However, it’s your job to prepare your proposal for review so the red team could do theirs. Red team should comprise of outside professionals, customer specialists, and other experts depending on the type of business your proposal is based on. It’s advisable to choose red team members who are outsiders. This way they will be able to give you a clear, objective view of the proposal and as well as comments on possible improvements. As in every team, you have a leader, who is the red team manager. This should be the member who has the longest experience in doing the proposal evaluations, and who is able to guide the team through every step of the way.
How does the Red Team Evaluate your Proposal?
The red team members organize the meetings, where they work together and hold discussions so each of the members can make their own recommendations and contribute equally, each in their own field. So, once they’ve received your complete proposal, the red team can begin the evaluation process. Once they’ve done their job, they will provide you with the evaluation of the final assignment, evaluation of the entire proposal in the context of the solicitation requests, detailed review of the each section of your proposal (pros and cons) along with recommendations for improvements where needed, and all the pros and cons put in one place so you can have a look at it any time you want. They will also set up meetings with your proposal team members to sum everything up and to discuss any additional questions that might pop up.
But their job is not done, yet. After the evaluation process, the red team members should help the proposal team fix all that needs fixing. The rest is up to the proposal manager, s/he’s the one who decides whether the recommended fixes will be accepted or not.
