Ed:

Great question! I am happy to offer some advice. 

Your question did not indicate whether you were aware of this bid in advance. I will address your question in two parts. The first part will be assuming you were not aware of the bid in advance. The second part of my response will assume that you did know about the bid before you received the RFP.

If you were not aware of this bid in advance, it means that you had absolutely nothing to do with its creation.  It means that you are already way behind the eight ball in this deal.

I would suggest making use of the "Response To Unsolicited Bid Letter" that we discuss in my TTS Workshops. 

Below is the sample template. 

Response To Unsolicited Bid Letter

 Dear ______:

Thank you for inviting us to bid on your _______ system. We appreciate your confidence in us.

Our policy is not to respond to Request for Proposals (RFP's) until we have had an opportunity to personally interview the department managers impacted by the scope of the project. We have found that our client is the main beneficiary of this policy because it results in high quality implementation which meets both your current and future needs.

If you would like to arrange a meeting for us to meet with the VP of _______, we will be happy to invest the time and resources necessary to complete the RFP to your satisfaction.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to foster a prosperous partnership.

Sincerely,

Dan 

• You knew absolutely nothing about this deal.  
• You are in very late.
• You can't meet with any of the key decision makers and you don't know who they are. 
• You don't know their buying process.  
• You don't know their decision criteria.
• You did not have any impact on the creation of the bid request.
• You were unable to determine their specific needs and how they plan to use your solution in the short term and long term. 

In most cases your win chances are 0% at best. Do you really want to spend your scarce personal and corporate resources on this deal? 

The last bulleted point is critical. Let's say by some crazy fluke, you win the deal. Now what happens?  You deliver and install your solution.  But remember, you were unable to determine your client's specific needs and how they plan to use your solution in the short term and long term.  Any problem with that?  Imagine the phone call your company President receives after your system fails to perform a use for which it was never intended. That's not right for you, your company, or your client.

Now let's look at your response assuming you DID know about the bid.

Forget the standard and boring RFP response that the customer asked for. After all, this is your competition. YOU are in control. It is Your Game, Your Rules, Your Time, Your Field!  Take the bull by the horns and turn a standard dreary RFP response into a formal "RECOMMENDATIONS DOCUMENT."

Take some advice from Tom Sant, an expert on proposal writing and author of Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts.

• Don't call it a "Proposal". Instead, write a title that states a benefit to the client, such as, "Increasing Network Reliability and Convenience through Advanced On-Line Capabilities." If you are a true consultant, you really understand your client's needs and therefore can make powerful problem-solving recommendations (It also just sounds better than a "Proposal").

• Put a watermark on the first draft of your document in big bold letters on page one that says "DRAFT". Then send it to key players in your account with a request for feedback. Once you have incorporated the feedback, remove the watermark.

Tom Sant provides an outline for you to consider for your "Recommendations Document":

1. Title and Brief Introduction

When clients evaluate candidates for a solution, they tend to give more attention to the candidate who goes beyond the simply-stated issues. Successful proposals capture a compelling rallying cry-- a theme that is both creative and pragmatic.

2.  Client Situation

This section needs to say one thing: "Wow, they really listened". When preparing this section, review your notes from key meetings and interactions with the organization. Every company has its own lexicon for its products and process. Using the company's words sets the reader at ease and reinforces your understanding of their business issues. Prove to them that you have done your homework! Go to their website and look for a tie to the issues that your client articulated. When online, look for the company's mission, vision and its orientation toward its clients and employees. Look for their pride in their product and recognize that in your response.  

3.  Client Need

This section is VERY important. Be sure that you have realized not only your client's specific pains, needs and challenges, but also their key criteria. Additionally you have to understand the priority of each criterion.

4.  About XYZ Company

 A proposal should have "legs". Make sure that those who pick up your document can assess the issue and see the value and experience that you and your company bring to the table. In this section, provide your company's key stats, high- level value proposition, key clients served and years in service. This will help bring any new readers up to speed on your approach. Note briefly any awards or special recognition your firm has received.

 5.  XYZ Company Approach

Usually there's more than one way to solve a particular problem. Let the buyer know what your process will look and feel like and detail the client's level of involvement. Where possible, use a complementary graphic to portray your process or recommendation. Use a level of detail appropriate to your reader. If she's a big picture thinker, use broad strokes. If she is a detailed thinker, then spell out your steps. The key is to help visualize your solution.

 6.  Investment

Also known as the money page. Over 85% of readers go right to this section. I like using the term "investment", because investments have a payoff. I try to avoid sticker shock, so where possible, detail your pricing in chunks tied to milestones.

 7.  Why Partner With XYZ Company?

This is the final key area where you will list your client's investment criteria and hammer home why you are uniquely positioned to assist him. I also like the idea of having "proof" to back up each of your key points if possible.

Proposal Tips from Tom Sant: 

• Focus on your clients' business needs or mission objectives first. Mirror what you have heard from them before offering a solution. 
• Avoid lengthy corporate histories. Nobody is interested!
• Eliminate jargon.
• Keep your proposal as short as possible. It's always tempting to throw in anything and everything that might be of interest, but in reality, the decision makers won't read it. At best, they'll skim through your document. A short proposal is likely to be looked at first, which means all others will be judged in comparison to it. That's an advantage if you've done a good job.
• Highlight your key points. Note the comment about skimming in the previous tip: Executives skim. You can make your document more "skimmable" by highlighting the main ideas. Use bullets, headings and subheadings, boldface type, color, borders, graphics, and anything else that will make your key points jump off the page.
• Quantify your benefits and payback. Show the decision maker how much he or she will save, or how much more productive the organization will be. A convincing calculation of your client's return on investment is more compelling than a slogan or cliche.
• Prioritize your uniqueness factors or competitive advantages. Think about what you have to offer and select a few qualities, prioritized in terms of what your client cares about. If possible, tie them to the ROI you're demonstrating.
• Ghost the competition. If you know who you are competing against, raise issues in your proposal that strike at their weak points. Don't disparage them or mention them by name, but if you know their software is susceptible to viruses, make a big deal about the importance of protecting against viruses.
• Ask for their business. Ask for it in the cover letter, ask for it in the Executive Summary, and ask for it when you deliver or present the proposal. Being passive doesn't work. You have to ask.