You have a product that could win you contracts. Do you have an effective process for developing a winning response?
Are you happy that your responses are:
- Complete with what has been asked for
- Compliant with the requirements that have been set
- Compelling to an evaluator
- Responsive to your customer’s needs
If not, we can help!
The Salentis System exists for one purpose: to increase your probability of winning.
- Our system combines three key elements – process, people and discipline.
- Our process delivered by carefully selected and experienced proposal managers, writers and designers, applied with discipline is the secret sauce that will help you win.
The process underpinning the Salentis System is based on industry standard practice but enhanced with bespoke tools and methodology to maximise its effectiveness. Below shows the 9 phases Salentis typically goes through when working with clients – it can be adapted depending on the size and duration of the proposal.
Phase 0: Bid Qualification and Preparations
The proposal development timeline is planned in detail and work begins to ensure conditions are set for efficient and effective proposal development.
Phase 0 support includes blue team and black hat reviews to analyse customer needs and competition, as well as solution design support through our ‘external’ lens.
We also help our clients plan to use the Salentis team in the most productive way possible. We want you to get the most value from your investment in a Salentis-supported solution. This includes maximising prep time to achieve systems access and security onboarding hurdles prior to solicitation release.
Before we start work, Salentis will agree on a weekly battle rhythm that works for both client leadership and the bid team. This brings discipline and focus to the work week—especially important in a remote working environment.
Phase 1: Proposal Planning
Analysis, planning and preparation prior to the kick-off workshop sets up proposal development for success. We have found that investing time in a detailed schedule and compliance outline at this stage, built from every document included in the solicitation, is essential for ensuring that a bid is fully compliant. It saves time, effort and disappointment later on.
- We analyse the solicitation and develop a detailed compliance outline, development schedule and finalise the battle rhythm
- To ensure data security, our processes and procedures are updated continuously with regular cybersecurity assessments
- The Salentis team is fully prepped via a project orientation ahead of the start date so that we can hit the ground running
Phase 2: Confirm Win Strategy Through Kick-off Workshops
We facilitate workshops to help identify and refine the most effective messaging for the proposal. We use group brainstorming sessions to gain a common understanding of the requirements and the competitive landscape. This includes customer gain and pain points, client strengths and value proposition for the customer (tools and systems, innovations, themes/strengths and discriminators).
- Buy-in, test and communication of win strategy
- Writers and design team engaged early
- Evaluator-focused solution confirmed
Phase 3: Develop Response Strategy
Proposal writing team identifies detailed, specific strategies and approaches to meet solicitation requirements.
Salentis writers work with subject matter experts to populate proposal development worksheets and conduct more defined strategy sessions around the client’s offer design.
Our management and coordination team get a start at the Master Data Call and Conventions List.
Meanwhile the design team begins creating templates, conceptual graphics, and other design elements.
Phase 4: Annotated Outline Development
The Salentis team begins to turn worksheet outcomes into outlined text and draft graphics in accordance with the compliance outline.
Salentis writers are the critical thinking interface between our client’s engineers/executives and the procuring authority’s evaluators. They use journalistic techniques to ensure that the proposal fully addresses requirements and backs claims with compelling evidence. This means internal resources are distracted less from their ‘day jobs’. And by leaving the writing to professional Salentis writers, it means better proposal quality and eliminates ‘stove-pipes’.
- Development of the annotated outline provides a clearer picture for space allocation by section and helps identify where they may be holes or weak areas in the solution/offer.
- Salentis designers draft initial graphics including attention-grabbing elements that highlight the strategic messages that were agreed during the kick-off workshops.
Phase 5: Publish First Draft
With the design agreed, the writing and graphics team get to work preparing first drafts with outline graphics and text.
Salentis designers bring our client’s solutions to life using graphics, photography and other visual design elements that will excite evaluators and enable them to easily and immediately interpret messaging as intended rather than having to wade through pages of complex narrative text.
Throughout the process, we use agile techniques to assess and evaluate progress so that no section falls behind.
An end-of-stage Pink Team Review evaluates these drafts to confirm we are on track with the solution and authorises the start of work on the second draft.
Phase 6: Publish Second Draft
Development begins on a second draft, incorporating relevant Pink Team Review feedback and developing all content including graphics and other visual elements.
A tried, tested and continuously improving process, unique to Salentis, brings discipline, focus, and keeps the proposal on track. Then, our Red Team Reviews are very targeted directing reviewers to answer a set of questions based on the solicitation instructions and evaluation criteria. In this way, we gain greater insight into the extent to which the proposal is complete, compliant and compelling. It also mininises the temptation for reviewers to be drawn into editing and avoids completely subjective reviews.
- Best-in-class, Adobe Creative Cloud for illustrations, production design and managing colour reviews
- Kanban functionality is used to allocate responsibility, track progress and identify bottlenecks
- Our ‘virtual wall’ gives the bid team access to the latest drafts of the proposal for commenting and collaboration
Phase 7: Final Production
Salentis writers work to incorporate relevant Red Team Review findings, resolving any conflicting comments with client solution architects. We work to edit and polish the proposal, with particular emphasis on consistency of style and terminology across all documents.
- The final draft is read aloud by a select number of bid team members (the Gold Team) and final edits are made live. Content is locked down and considered final upon Gold Team release to Final Production.
- We lead a professional production process followed by a comprehensive final ‘white glove’ page turn ensuring the proposal is in the required format and in the various versions mandated by the procuring authority.
- After final production, Salentis can oversee the submittal of the proposal via procurement authority portals and supervise any hard copy printing as needed.
Phase 8: Post Submittal
After submittal, focus is given to the orals/presentation phase of the procurement. Salentis can support negotiations, slides and video preparation to augment discussions. Key personnel are trained and prepared in strategic communication, Q&A and presentation techniques.
We conduct a White Team Review to compile lessons learned from capture planning through contract award, ultimately improving future competitiveness.
In many cases, clarifying questions, best and final offer and/or final proposal revisions are required to determine the winning contractor. Salentis offers continued support to our clients to respond to customer questions and revise proposal materials as necessary to address customer needs.
Phase 8: Post Submittal
Make your proposal the evaluator’s obvious choice.
Our People
A key ingredient of our secret sauce is our people.
We have a ‘bench’ of experienced bid directors, writers, editors, desktop publishers and designers across the Americas, Europe and APAC.
But we don’t just take anyone based on a promising CV. These may not always reflect actual ability! All Salentis associates undergo a rigorous selection process that tests their skill, aptitude and ability to work within one of our teams. Before we allow them onto a bid team, we train them in the use of the essential Salentis System tools and processes. They can refer back to that training on our Learning Management System at any time and we conduct revision sessions before kicking off a project.
So even when our clients need us to form a team made up of Salentis resources from across two regions, they can immediately work together efficiently and effectively with common purpose and mutual understanding. We always hit the ground running.
Salentis Team Appraisal and Review (STAR)
Once a project is complete, we review the performance of our people using our patented (is it yet?) Salentis Team Appraisal and Review (STAR) matrix. This ensures that our clients benefit from us:
- Learning from experience – whether excellent or less good
- Recognising and using the talents of our people in the most appropriate way next time.
- Improving how we train and prepare our people
- Rewarding exceptional performance
Discipline
Our discipline means we that we stick to a process that we know works.
No ad-hoc, untried ‘good ideas’. No missed deadlines. No need for panicked, last minute interventions.
This brings calm efficiency and an effort profile that reflects the ‘submarine’ on the top image, rather than what we frequently see in less organized bid teams: the ‘whale’ on the bottom.
Continuous Improvement
How do we make sure we stay on top of all this so that the Salentis System has enduring excellence?
We have made it the core of our ISO9001:2015 Quality Management System. Some of our competitors also have this certification, but we know of no others who have put their bid process at the core of the QMS. It’s how we stay true to our core value to Pursue Excellence.