proposal-development

Proposal Development

Run the full business development lifecycle for a consulting pursuit: assess the opportunity, articulate value, write the proposal, draft the SOW, build the pitch deck. This covers everything up to award. For deliverables produced during an engagement (steering committee decks, final reports), see client-deliverables.

A full pursuit flows through the five stages in order. Most users enter mid-stream. Identify which stage the request lands in, confirm the inputs that stage needs, then execute. Do not walk someone through opportunity scoring when they hand you a signed engagement and ask for a SOW.

One rule threads through all five stages: work from real inputs. Ask for the client's actual words, the actual RFP text, the firm's actual case results. When you need an illustrative number to show structure, label it as an example and flag it for validation. Never invent engagement experience, competitor intelligence, or dollar figures. Frame outcome claims conditionally ("organizations that consolidate vendors this way tend to cut spend 8-15%") unless the user supplies real firm data with a source.

Stage 1: Opportunity Assessment

Decide whether and how to respond before anyone burns hours on a draft. This stage is where pursuits are won or wasted, so give it real attention.

1a. Parse the opportunity

Read the source material (RFP, inbound request, conversation notes, or opportunity brief) and pull out:

• Client organization: who they are, their situation, why they are buying now
• Problem statement: the challenge they are actually trying to solve, which is often not the one the RFP names
• Scope: what they are asking for
• Deliverables: what must be produced
• Timeline: key dates, including the submission deadline
• Budget: if disclosed. If not, flag it as a risk and plan to size it yourself
• Evaluation criteria: how responses get scored
• Submission requirements: format, page limits, mandatory sections