Tip 117 – If the customer asks you to turn in your proposal while standing on your head… - Shipley Asia Pacific

…practice standing on your head.

Non-compliance is the easiest way for the customer to eliminate an unwanted bidder.

To ensure your proposal is compliant, prepare compliance checklists for all formal bid requests.

Compliance checklists are lists of bid request requirements and customer questions that you must answer in your proposal.

For a large request, this may seem like an onerous task, but preparing a compliance checklist and outline early in the proposal planning process saves more time than they take to prepare.
You don’t need to paraphrase. Use the customer’s words and phrases in the checklist, but separate out multiple requirements that may be included in a single sentence or paragraph.

Use the checklist as a basis for your proposal outline and as a guide for writing each section.
Verify that all requests are answered in the final document.