Proposal Manager Playbook

Lead proposal teams to win more business using the Shipley Proposal Manager Playbook.

Use this playbook to guide and help you lead other less experienced team members, in following the proven Shipley BD-Lifecycle steps to winning more business.

This playbook is for any Proposal Manager facing the challenge of managing people, process, solutions, and sales messaging. It is a step-by-step guide to proposal planning and development that explains key tasks and milestones, and comes with a suite of digital proposal management tools.

There are four primary playbook goals:

1. Enable an effective proposal development process by providing “how to” approach for proposal managers.
2. Improve organisational win rates by leveraging sales activity throughout the process.
3. Provide comprehensive, easy-to-use tools to gain proposal efficiencies that save money, time and resources.
4. Win more – improve chances of a sale through execution of a customer-focused sales cycle.

The Proposal Manager Playbook is divided into three sections:

1. Proposal Planning: All the necessary tasks and milestones for leveraging sales and capture activity into the proposal win strategy. Here is where you plan how your team will develop a winning proposal before the release of a bid request. Guidance for creating schedules, outlines, compliance and response matrices and win themes are all included in this section.
2. Proposal Development: Tasks from finalising teaming agreements to holding daily stand-up and status meetings are included in this section of the Playbook. In this phase, you plan and prepare a persuasive sales document or presentation. Included is step-by-step guidance on incorporating visuals, finalising the proposal management plan (PMP), reviewing draft content, coaching authors and facilitating proposal review sessions.
3. Post-Submittal Activities: Significant attention to key activities and milestones after proposal submission is often the difference between winning and losing. This section of the Playbook gives step-by-step guidance on organising and recording lessons learned, preparing a transition plan, conducting a white hat review and, of course, celebrating your winning effort.

Digital tools included with your Proposal Manager Playbook purchase:

KICKOFF MEETING

• Kickoff Meeting Checklist

PROPOSAL MANAGEMENT, SCHEDULES, AND OUTLINES

• Shipley 30-day blank schedule (MS Project Version)
• Shipley 30-day blank schedule (MS Excel Version)
• Shipley 45-day blank schedule (MS Project Version)
• Proposal Outline and Status Tracker

STRATEGY AND SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT

• Bidder Comparison Matrix
• Strategy Statement Template
• Integrated Solution Worksheet
• Shipley Project Basis of Estimate Template

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Executive Summary Organizer
• Executive Summary Planning Worksheet

DRAFTING AND WRITING

• Proposal Development Worksheet
• Mockup Template
• Proposal Section Organizer
• Proposal Section Planner
• Orals Development Checklist
• Oral Proposal Planner (OPP)
• Four-Box Organizer

PRODUCTION

• Visuals Production Control Log
• Final Production Instructions

PINK TEAM

• Pink Team Instructions
• Pink Team Planner
• Pink Team Assessment Form
• Pink Team Review Form
• Pink Team In-Briefing Template
• Pink Team Out-Briefing Template

RED TEAM

• Red Team Assignments and Summary
• Red Team Instructions
• Red Team Planner
• Red Team Review Checklist
• Red Team Scoring Guidance Form
• Red Team Review Form
• Red Team Horizontal Review Form
• Red Team In-briefing Template
• Red Team Out-briefing Template

GREEN TEAM

• Green Team Planner
• Green Team Instructions
• Green Team Assessment Form
• Green Team Review Form

WHITE HAT (LESSONS LEARNED)

• Lessons Learned Review Checklist
• Lessons Learned Survey
• White Hat Instructions
• White Hat Planner