PROPOSAL WRITING 402

CH 4: Finding Your Unique Selling Point

April 20, 2023 Lectured by: OR Vitou

To enable the students to effectively analyze the RFP, assign tasks and set schedule for the proposal development process in order to present your proposal in a unique way.


Step III: Detailed RFP Analysis and Your USP

Step IV: Preparation ScheduleStep V: Assignment of Tasks


Done to find out the your unique selling point (USP)

USP is how you stand out from the competition, and your analysis of the RFP, secondary and primary data on the focused areas of your project will help you formulate this strategy, which in turn, will drive the detailed plans for each part of the program design

To effectively analyze the detailed RFP and find out your unique selling points, you might need to pull in staff from several departments and also create a RFP analysis checklist


Three purpose of the RFP analysis Define problems and requirements to be

addressed Determine what resources and

information you will need to write the proposal

Generate the specific tasks that the team groups will be assigned


RFP analysis checklist might include... Client’s problems or requirements RFP page number The work you team need to do Who is assigned the task Date input is due Date it is actually delivered Page number of your final proposal that responds to

the client’s original problem or requirementYour RFP analysis checklist can help you to identify gaps

in your knowledge or database(For more details, see page 50)


Once you have developed a checklist form, the RFP can be analyzed in two stages: an initial quick evaluation and a more detailed analysis


Initial quick Evaluation: might take around five or

ten minutes to complete, and is one way to obtain

an overview of the client’s requirements and what

resources you are likely to need to complete the work The client’s main problems or requirements What special resources the contractor requires What restrictions are placed on who may bid for

the contract How much time you have to complete the work


Detailed Analysis: Key questions What is the customer’s real versus stated

problems? What does the client believe is the solution? What experience do you have to handle the

client’s problems or requirement? Who is your principal competition? How are

they likely to respond to the RFP?


Detailed Analysis: Key questions (Con’t) Will the preparation effort require any demonstrations

benchmark tests, or other preliminary work? Who in the client’s organization is likely to support or

oppose your proposal? What is your unique selling point likely to be? Who will form the project team? What are your company's experience and

qualifications for the job? How much will the proposal effort cost your firm?


Asking the client for information Not all information you need will be in the

RFP; the writer may have been unclear about certain specifications or conditions, or there may be gaps in the RFP you need to fill in

Asking client if all bidders will see each other questions

If so, asking client for a private meeting


A question of value (make your proposal unique and off-value to the client)

Show that you understand the client’s problems better than the client does

Present a detailed, achievable plan showing how you will solve the client’s problem within the constraints of the RFP

Show evidence that your firm is highly qualified to implement the plan

Meet all RFP requirements, including delivering the proposal to the client before the state deadline

Sell the client on the credibility of your plan and your firm. Your proposal must create absolute confidence that your firm can deliver the promised service or product


A question of value (make your proposal unique and off-value to the client) could be proved in the background research which might cover:

The topic of the RFP, background of the project, and the client’s history, organization and the budget for the project

The competition’s strengths and weaknesses regarding the RFP topic and compared with your firm

The target market for the RFP product


Client’s needs and wantsUsing background research, the

proposal team should be able to generate a prioritized list of the client’s needs and wants

See page 59 of the client’s needs/wants analysis form


Value Added Elements While developing your USP strategy, keep

in mind that you may be able to add features as you go along.

This value-added approach enables you to respond to information you gain from the client or from additional research

See Value-Added Elements Form on page 63


Establish specific due dates for each task as well as for the first drafts of the technical, management, and time/cost sections of the proposal, the front matter, and the executive summary

Everyone on the proposal-writing team should know the deadlines for their sections of the proposal, the date the first draft of the complete document is to be assembled, and the date the document is to be turned over to management for review.


To effectively assign tasks, the manager needs to know what tasks to delegate to which people

In some cases, the person who has an ideas is not the best person to develop it or write about it

Making due dates very clear, it’s a good idea to require routine progress reports from your proposal-writing staff

Routine progress reports can allow you to detect quickly if things are going on track and prevents people from the delay on their assignments


END OF CHAPTER 4…


PROPOSAL WRITING 402

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