Win a Standing Offer or Other Contract Vehicle

Obtain your company’s license to sell

The Proposal Centre can help you win a standing offer, supply arrangement or other contract vehicles. We have over a 90% win rate in the very important category of master standing offers or supply arrangements, which allow companies to sell to any department or organization within a specific level of government (e.g. federal, provincial, or municipal).

Services to help you win a contract vehicle
Our standing offer/contract vehicle services can deliver end-to-end management and support of your submission or deliver à la carte assistance —whichever your company needs. The following covers the full range of The Proposal Centre’s services for winning a contract vehicle.

Select and find the right contract vehicle
Half the battle in winning a contract vehicle is knowing what vehicles exist and when they will be renewed or refreshed. We research and help you select the right contract vehicles for your company by scrutinizing published lists of contract vehicles, monitoring MERX (Canada’s primary public sector tendering service), and tracking opportunities.

Prepare for a contract vehicle renewal
Contract vehicle renewal/refresh opportunities usually contain requirements very similar to those in the original solicitation. We identify the requirements that must be met and recommend or highlight areas where you can focus your business to ensure you have the right credentials and experience. We also work with you to document your credentials and experience in anticipation of the refresh opportunity.

Develop a proposal response to a specific opportunity
We follow a rigorous proposal development process to help your company win. We carry out each step with your support, or we work with you to decide which areas you will complete yourself with our guidance. Our process includes five distinct phases:

  1. Opportunity assessment—We develop an understanding of the buyer’s expectations and assess your company’s ability to meet their requirements while achieving your business goals.

  2. Bid-No Bid decision support—We provide objective counsel on whether or not you should pursue an opportunity. We consider factors that include the likelihood of proposal and project success, investment required, and long-term benefits and impacts.

  3. SmartShell© Design—We develop a comprehensive SmartShell© that serves as the ultimate proposal roadmap guiding the proposal from creation to completion. SmartShell© is an innovative technique developed by The Proposal Centre to keep proposal teams focused and productive.

  4. Proposal management, writing and review—We use an iterative, collaborative approach to complete, review and refine the proposal into a professional and highly responsive submission.

  5. Publishing and delivery—Upon your approval we publish your proposal and coordinate with you for bid signature and delivery.

Follow up
We stay engaged after the proposal is submitted to help with questions throughout the evaluation, negotiation and contract award phases. Typical activities include:

  • Archives—We collect all final documents and submit them for your company’s records. We look for re-usable materials and update existing boilerplate libraries, if needed.

  • Continuous improvement—We review the process with you to improve future proposal efforts.

  • Questions of clarification—We help you respond to any questions that the evaluation team may have regarding your submission.

  • Presentations—We support your team in follow-up interviews or presentations, either helping you prepare to make such presentations, or presenting on your behalf.

  • Debriefs—We attend debriefing meetings following contract award to understand why the proposal was successful or not.

Market your offering
Once a contract vehicle is in place you are eligible to do business through the contract vehicle. However, you only generate revenue once you receive and successfully respond to a call-up, Request for Service, or Statement of Work, for specific goods or services. Based on the nature of the contract vehicle you may benefit from developing and following a marketing plan that targets potential users of the contract. We can help your team understand how the contract vehicle will be used and identify the steps you can follow to take full advantage of it.

 

Testimonials

I am blown away by your work. There is absolutely no way we could have done this successfully without you. Your descriptions are so well done and your understanding of the process, the requirements are so superior…I am so pleased and beyond relieved to have your support on this endeavour.

- CEO, Training Organization

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