Businesses looking to grow revenue in the public sector know it takes a lot of time and effort to win a new local government contract. BD teams often invest months in preparing for a government RFP, from conducting in-depth research and consulting with stakeholders to crafting a customized proposal that perfectly aligns with all specified requirements.
How can you ensure that precious business development time is well spent? Consider these tips as you prepare your next proposal.
Bid on the right government opportunities
Focus your business development team on the right government contracts and assess fit before you pitch. Bidding on too many mediocre government opportunities means your BD team is spending too much time on the wrong opportunities, and not enough time on the right ones, resulting in a low win rate.
Gather intel beyond the government RFP
Consider what extra insights on needs or contracting preferences you could use to your advantage. You should also analyze your competitors including any incumbents you’ll be up against.
Review meeting minutes, plans, and budgets and also talk with key stakeholders to understand the government agency and their priorities. By deeply understanding your audience and the market you’re selling into, you’re more likely to submit a proposal that aligns with their needs.
Review the government RFP requirements carefully
Every detail in the government RFP matters. Before you start writing, review the RFP carefully to fully understand the project’s scope, deadlines, evaluation criteria, and submission requirements. Missing even one critical detail can lead to an immediate disqualification. Don’t hesitate to ask clarifying questions to prevent a costly misunderstanding.
Prepare a compelling response
For major government projects, you’ll likely have a whole team involved in preparing your RFP response, including input from marketing, finance, or project management. To ensure you tell a clear and concise story, use plain language, avoid technical jargon, and follow a logical structure with clear headings. Simplify complex information with visual elements such as charts, graphs, or tables.
Beyond clearly addressing each RFP requirement, you’ll also need to highlight your unique value. Your team’s expertise, past project successes, or unique methodologies may help your proposal stand out amongst your competitors. Consider including relevant case studies and testimonials if they can help you build a more persuasive pitch.
Finally, carefully proofread and polish your proposal to ensure it’s well-written and easy to understand. Errors and inconsistencies can detract from your credibility. A common mistake is to paste generic information from other pitches and forget to tailor it. Don’t overlook that polishing.
Early preparation is your biggest competitive advantage
Time is a critical factor in winning major government contracts. That’s why more firms are using government contracting software like Ontopical to detect local government opportunities 6 to 12 months before government RFPs and gather intel to help them win the deal.
By learning about opportunities several months in advance, your business development team has more time to build relationships with key stakeholders and the chance to influence the project.
How Ontopical works
With Ontopical, your BD team doesn’t have to manually dig through government documents or attend meetings to stay ahead of upcoming government projects.
Ontopical’s Al-enabled government market intelligence software mines minutes, budgets, reports, plans and video transcripts of cities, towns and counties across the USA and Canada to notify sales teams of pre-RFP opportunities based on your specific business type, cities of focus, and service areas.
Select the best-fit opportunities, track updates on those projects and keep tabs on your competitors – all in fewer hours than you used to.
Ontopical’s AI Copilot Oliver can even mine for answers you need to build proposals that close business – everything from the stage of a project, through to key contacts, budget, scope details and more.
“There was discussion at city council about getting approval for the staff to put together an RFP. Knowing about that opportunity before the advertisement hit the street… for us, that’s critical.” – Operations & Maintenance Sales Director, International Technical Professional Services & Engineering Firm
Win more government RFPs with Ontopical
More BD teams in engineering, construction, consulting, technology and other industries are discovering the competitive advantage of Ontopical to help them detect the right government opportunities with advanced intel to prepare winning proposals.
Detect quality local government opportunities months ahead of your competitors, with enough time to build relationships and prepare a winning bid. See what Ontopical can do for your business.
Let our team show you early opportunities perfect for your business with intel to prepare proposals that win. Request to see a demo.
