When you are getting close to the finishing line or to the very last steps in the entire proposal management process it is possible you might not even remember why you were doing some tasks and it is incredibly important that you are aware of every step that you took to get where you are because when you least expect it… You might need to know everything about it!
When you are getting close to the finishing line or to the very last steps in the entire proposal management process it is possible you might not even remember why you were doing some tasks and it is incredibly important that you are aware of every step that you took to get where you are because when you least expect it… You might need to know everything about it!
As part of Step 6, the following will summarize the close-out and the importance of reviewing proposal requirements.
Whether that is hardcopy or electronic, having a formal process here is extremely important if you want to be on top of your game.
For me, closeout means you have submitted the proposal and now we need to go through it thoroughly, but thoughtfully, and clean up all our files:
What are we keeping?
What are we not keeping?
What content did we develop?
Document lesson learned (internally/externally/all teams involved, if possible)
Interview prep materials • Debriefs with the client (win or lose)
Internal team debriefs (win or lose) – this could be part of or combined with “lessons learned”
Do we need to utilize FOIA (Freedom of Information Act – learn about it)
If you ask me, reviewing the proposal requirements, what it involves, and why is it important is critical.
You will want to make sure that the addenda is read through entirely and has been acknowledged.
Make sure you have triple-checked whatever portal you and your client have used to communicate and that you have not missed anything.
Most clients are not revising a new RFP every time they send their addenda. Doing that final quality check and reviewing that you’ve incorporated everything. It can make a difference!
Look at your sections and look out for formatting consistency.
And last but definitely not least, compliance. Compliance occurs in every step of the review process (aka Step 5), here you are making sure that when people are deleting or removing content, we are not affecting compliance with our proposal. Often, I will delegate it to someone who hasn’t been part of the process, a fresh set of eyes.
Getting feedback from these individuals is invaluable.
Would you like to know anything else about the closeout process in the AEC industry?
Feel free to send an email with your questions my way!
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