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Color Reviews for Successful ProposalsUS Federal Government Contracting
Webinar Series - 2016
Presented By:Jennifer AdeliJUNE 7, 2016
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:(All Webinars are at 12pm EST & Recorded)
JUNE 1 - Maximizing The Value of Your GovCon Business https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/74156936435694851
JUNE 2 - Capture Planning - To Bid Or Not To Bid https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7051206926535220483
JUNE 3 - Teaming Agreements - The Good, The Bad & The Enforceable https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7352313683359938307
JUNE 6 - Teaming With Tribally Owned 8(a) Businesseshttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4324839202604449539
JUNE 7 - Color Reviews For Successful Proposals https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3973323136181419267
JUNE 8 - Preparing The FSO for a DSS Audit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/423786240906737667
JUNE 9 - Life After 8(a) - Best Practices & Case Study https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6473232146721067779
JUNE 10 - The Politics Of Procurement https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3924758807094447107
JUNE 13 - Contract Administration - Best Practices https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2132047978959217667
JUNE 14 - So You Have A Facility Clearance, Now What? https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9028972158695833091
JUNE 15 - Unsolicited Proposals - Why, What & How.https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4729436391901262849
JUNE 17 - SBIR's - The Good, The Bad & The "How"https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6337198369128857857
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
AGENDA
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
AGENDA:
• Introduction – HOST
•Introduction – GUEST
• Presentation
•Conclusions
• Q & A
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
INTRODUCTIONHost
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
Jennifer SchausAbout The Host
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
* Approx 20 Yrs in Gov Contracting
* Career: D&B (Govt Division)
Federal Sales & GSA Scheds
* Frequent Speaker: Chambers, NCMA, AFCEA, etc
* Member: WIPG
* Education: Towson University – B.A.
UC Berkeley - Leadership Accelerator
Cornell University - Exec Leadership
Jennifer SchausJennifer Schaus & Associates
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
* DC Based Consulting Firm
* Over 10 Yrs in Business
* Support Services for Gov Cons
Proposal Writing / Contract Vehicles (GSA)
Sales & Biz Dev
Certifications – SBA 8(a); SDVO; etc.
Events
INTRODUCTIONGuest
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
Jennifer AdeliABOUT OUR SPEAKER
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
20 years of government services Career: •Capitol Hill•Education consulting and lobbying•Big 5 consulting (Arthur Andersen and Booz Allen)•Mid-sized contractor: NetStar-1•Entrepreneur: Launched WinBiz 2011
Education:
•MBA, Georgetown University
•B.A. Political Science UCSB
Jennifer AdeliWinBiz Proposals
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
Northern Virginia-based 100% virtualCustomer profile:•Small and mid-sized federal contractors•Any industry or agencyServices:•Proposal Management•Writing and Editing•Graphics and Desktop Publishing•Pricing•Capture, BD and Orals •SharePoint proposal site development (free hosting for customers)
PRESENTATION
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
Color Reviews for Successful Proposals
WHAT WE ARE GOING TO COVER
• Why we do “color reviews”
• Jargon & Lingo
• Color review best practices
• Process and tools
• Timing Considerations
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
WHAT ARE COLOR REVIEWS?
What are Color Reviews?• Color Reviews are Shipley defined reviews – usually Pink, Red, Gold
What Color Reviews are NOT• Time to say “I told you so”• Real-time solutioning• Opportunities to show off what you know and no one else does
Why should you review?• Stop writing and read (and get some rest!)• Gain outside perspective• Score yourself against the government criteria• Identify holes, risks and opportunities• See the proposal in format and page limits• Get buy-in from team, especially executives
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
JARGON AND LINGO
Color Review
Purpose
Pink Team • 80% written. First draft of proposal response. Annotated outline. Red Team • 90% written. Near final content in all sections. If any holes, they
are known and in process.Gold Team • 100% written. Final proposal, no holes, all sections done.
Executive approval of final proposal response documentWhite Glove • Final proposal review before being boxed/emailed
• Fix nit picksRedline • Markup content using track changes and commentsRecovery • The time period after review to address all the findingsIn-brief • Meeting to kickoff the review and distribute instructionsDebrief • Meeting to discuss reviewers findings and formulate recovery
plan
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
COLOR REVIEW BEST PRACTICES
• Clearly explain instructions, roles, deadlines, rules• Assign readers to sections – not the whole proposal• Don’t review your own work• Provide win themes and reference material to reviewers• Use the RFP Section M (evaluation criteria) • Independent compliance check • Give reviewers enough time to read in detail, and not real-time during
the review • Comments in soft-copy; preferably online
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
COLOR REVIEW BEST PRACTICES, CON’T
• Focus on the meat– Do not get hung-up on typos, grammar, formatting. Those will be
cleaned up during editing and production• Make suggestions!
– Provide data points to support narrative– Give examples to strengthen draft content– Suggest ghosting opportunities against competition
• No Seagulls allowed! Don’t peck the writer to death. Provide actions to resolve issues– Yes: “This is unclear. Suggest adding Point A and cut Point B.”– No: “This doesn’t make sense.”
• Encourage what is working in one section to be used in another section
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
TIMELINE RULES OF THUMB
• Divide up the sections– 5 pages per hour for in-depth review; complex and dense– 8 pages per hour for mid-level review; average complexity– 10 pages per hour for light review; low complexity and density
• Reader fatigue @ 4 hours max– 20-35 pages per person assigned– Best results @ 15 pages, ~ 2 hours
• In-brief 30 minutes• Debrief 2 hours (diminishing returns @ 3 hours)• Total time commitment = 4.5 to 6.5 hours• Block off your calendar – multitasking does not work
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
IDEAL COLOR REVIEW CADENCE
3:00 pm In-brief3:30 pm Distribute filesReviewers have discretion to read their 2-4 hours of content until the next
morning...9:00 am Comments Due9:00 am – 11:00 am Compile and adjudicate comments (cherry pick) 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Debrief and discuss2:00 pm Distribute recovery assignments and files
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
SAMPLE 30 DAY SCHEDULE
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat
1RFP Release
2 3
4 5Kickoff
6Draft Writing
7Draft Writing
8Pink Team
9Pink Recovery
10Pink Recovery
11Pink Recovery
12PinkRecovery
13Pink RecoveryPens Down
14Red Team Inbrief 3pm
15Red Team Debrief 2pm
16Red Recovery
17Red Recovery
18Red Recovery
19Red TeamRecovery
20Red Recovery
21Gold Team Inbrief 3pm
22Gold Team Debrief 2pm
23Gold Recovery
24Gold Recovery
25Gold Recovery
26Final Edits
27Production & Print
28Ship
29Delivery
30Due
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
TOOLS AND MATERIALS
• Online document management– Coauthoring– Version history– Security groups– Maintains file formatting
• Virtual meeting room– Skype for Business (formerly Lync)– Go to Meeting– Webex
• In person meeting room– Print outs of RFP and proposal– White board– Note taker– Conference phone
• RFP evaluation criteria and color review scoresheet
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
SAMPLE SCORESHEET SUMMARYTABLE 3 COMBINED TECHNICAL /RISK RATING Your Score
(Put an “X” and comments please)Rating DescriptionOutstanding Proposal meets requirements and indicates an
exceptional approach and understanding of the requirements. Strengths far outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is very low.
Good Proposal meets requirements and indicates a thorough approach and understanding of the requirements. Proposal contains strengths that outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low.
Acceptable Proposal meets requirements and indicates an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. Strengths and weaknesses are offsetting or will have little or no impact on contract performance. Risk of unsuccessful performance is no worse than moderate.
Marginal Proposal does not clearly meet requirements and has not demonstrated an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. The proposal has one or more weaknesses which are not offset by strengths. Risk of unsuccessful performance is high.
Unacceptable Proposal does not meet requirements and contains one or more deficiencies. Proposal is not awardable.
Target
CONCLUSIONS
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
CONCLUSIONS
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
• Reviews are vital to the writing process• Constructive feedback is actionable• Give enough time to be effective• Tools, technology and scoresheets are your friend
Q & A
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
CONTACT DETAILS
Ms. Jennifer L. SchausWashington DC
+ 1 - 2 0 2 – 3 6 5 – 0 5 9 [email protected]
www.JenniferSchaus.com
------------------------------
Jennifer AdeliNorthern Virginia
2 0 2 – 2 4 6 -5 3 6 [email protected]
www.winbizpoposals.com
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:(All Webinars are at 12pm EST & Recorded)
JUNE 1 - Maximizing The Value of Your GovCon Business https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/74156936435694851
JUNE 2 - Capture Planning - To Bid Or Not To Bid https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7051206926535220483
JUNE 3 - Teaming Agreements - The Good, The Bad & The Enforceable https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7352313683359938307
JUNE 6 - Teaming With Tribally Owned 8(a) Businesseshttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4324839202604449539
JUNE 7 - Color Reviews For Successful Proposals https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3973323136181419267
JUNE 8 - Preparing The FSO for a DSS Audit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/423786240906737667
JUNE 9 - Life After 8(a) - Best Practices & Case Study https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6473232146721067779
JUNE 10 - The Politics Of Procurement https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3924758807094447107
JUNE 13 - Contract Administration - Best Practices https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2132047978959217667
JUNE 14 - So You Have A Facility Clearance, Now What? https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9028972158695833091
JUNE 15 - Unsolicited Proposals - Why, What & How.https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4729436391901262849
JUNE 17 - SBIR's - The Good, The Bad & The "How"https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6337198369128857857
2016 US Federal Government Contracting Webinar Series
