Shipley and other proposal processes - how to make them work for you

The Shipley process is a popular starting point for bid and proposal managers.

The Shipley process consists of 96 steps, but most teams don’t follow all of them - they simply use them as a starting point to create a process that works for their business.

Here are some tips:

It should be clear, well-defined, and free of unnecessary clutter.

Keep reinforcing the process by offering templates that offer guidance at various stages.

It’s as Albert Einstein said, ‘If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.’

Keep the proposal process simple

Here at Qorus, we store content sections, as well as a huge number of RFP Q&A pairs in our library.

This gives us a good foundation for streamlining the proposal process, as most RFP questions can be answered quickly, and the remainder assigned to subject matter experts.

Maintaining a useful content library requires time and discipline, but it’s worth it if you have a busy bid team.

Look after your content and bid libraries

Investigate the APMP certification, “the world’s first, best and only industry-recognized certification program for professionals working in a bid and proposal environment.”

Get the team to attend conferences, events, and workshops every year, to keep track with the latest best practices.

Consider asking experienced team members to train up new members.

Don’t underestimate the value of training

When it guides the team’s actions and helps them create a greater volume of accurate and compelling documents.

When everyone involved is clear on their role and what is expected of them.

When there are feedback mechanisms that help avoid mistakes before they occur.

When it is constantly evolving and getting better.

How do you know if your proposal process is working?

Do you have a proposal or RFP process that works?

How many steps are you using? Is it based on the Shipley process? How did you get the team to buy into it?

Leave us a comment below so that we can learn from each other.

If you’d like to learn more about the proposal process download our Proposal Methodologies Guide.

C lick here to download the Winning Proposal Methodologies G uide