One of the most recognized proposal processes is the Shipley Proposal Process. The Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) recognizes Shipley as a top process and offers certification on it.

While it is an excellent process used by many major organizations, for some smaller teams, Shipley can be overkill. If your team consists of only a handful of people (or maybe even just you) and you respond to fairly simple RFPs, then the full process may cause more pain than benefit.

That’s why we follow a simplified version to reap the benefits without having to fill out a robust team with more meetings than are needed.

BTS: My Exact RFP Response Creation Process

Ever since I started working on proposals, I’ve had very few that ran right up to the deadline.

I do everything possible to avoid those situations because they are incredibly stressful, especially when dealing with RFPs; if you miss deadline, you’re out of the running.

I hate working up to the last minute because it means that we likely are behind on establishing a clear win strategy, content came in at the last minute, or changes were being made to pricing and/or the solution right up until it was time to hit submit.

Since those last minute changes can dramatically affect the quality of your proposal (and sometimes result in costly mistakes), I follow a clear process each time that allows me to establish strategy from the beginning, get the content started early, and hit deadlines time and time again.

How to Win Proposals Using the Shipley Proposal Process

If you’ve ever read a business proposal (or any business document), you’ve likely been greeted by a dry, no-nonsense document that you dreaded reading. When submitting a proposal to a potential client, the last emotion you want them to experience when looking at your proposal is dread.

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