There are five things to be done before writing any proposal. First, the Return on Investment (ROI) associated with submitting a proposal must be considered. Second, the cost of writing the proposal must be guaranteed acceptable in terms of the potential for new business even if you do not win. Third, review the RFP thoroughly to make sure the objectives of the government agency are clearly understood. Fourth, study the competition and make strategic plans on how to stay on top. Fifth, enhance the technique by writing a draft executive summary defining themes, features, advantages, and discriminators.
It is necessary to know the difference between the two types of offers, which are bids and proposals. Sealed bids and requests for proposals are two types of delivery vehicles that are used to provide the customer with project information and pricing. Bids are employed in sealed bidding purchases. On the other hand, the awards to be made following the negotiation are involved in proposals. During the submission of pricing for projects, there are different ways used by the construction industry. The first step in competitive bidding is writing a response to a request for proposal or RFP. The information included in the sealed bids is about the project, its parameters and pricing.
The tricky part in this stage is that every entity that submits a sealed bid is unaware of what other bidders have. Through the process of procurement request for proposal, bidders can underscore their experience and expertise in an area. It is the RFP response that determines whether or not the potential bidder will be qualified to submit a sealed bid containing the actual pricing linked to the project. The benefit of sealed bids is that they allow every bidder to submit pricing to a prospective customer in a strictly confidential way. Moreover, sealed bids keep bidding results confidential until there is a chosen winner. Successful bidders with an RFP approved for the same project turn in the sealed bids to the project owner.
One advantage of sealed bids over proposals is the minimum amount. With sealed bids, there is the option of establishing a minimum or maximum dollar amount. Through reserve price, there is a guarantee that a bidder does not submit a price that is too low that may cause the contract or bidder to be unable to fulfill the project at the amount awarded. On the other hand, there are no reserve prices attached to request for proposals. A reserve price cannot be set because not all RFP responses are identical. Variations between bids are allowed by RFPs. Bidders are allowed to make changes to the project scope.
Bids and proposals should be always prepared with extreme care. Serious financial loss may occur due to bids or contracts awarded on flawed offers. To guarantee that all requirements can be met, make a close study of the specifications before preparing an offer. Pay specific attention to the instructions to bidders and to conditions of payment, purchase, and delivery. Purchasers must state their intent in the solicitation document if they are going to make an award based on best value. The award factors, the factors aside from price to be considered in making a contract award, and evaluation criteria must be described in the document.
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