Doing this requires solid information concerning your company's strengths and weaknesses as well as those of your competitors. Many organizations use the RFP's evaluation criteria as a template to identify their strengths and weaknesses compared to the likely competition. Other organizations develop strategies for competing against specific firms and incorporate those strategies into all appropriate proposals. Few proposals are created from scratch. It takes too long and ignores the investment that has been made in old proposals.
Many firms maintain a library, either real or virtual, of their old proposals.
Some regularly review their marketplace and the competition and modify their marketing and sales approach. Others develop proposal writing software to assist in managing and producing proposals. Winning proposals reflect competence, usually based on closely-related experience. Including seasoned management, technical and legal staff in a review capacity can often mean the difference between winning and placing second. Effective Communication Implementing these techniques, especially adopting quality control reviews and checkpoints, will help ensure that your proposal is sound.