By Marcy Steinberg

I know of two firms - one in Tucson and one in Phoenix - that recently won projects for which they barely shortlisted. Why did two firms good enough to win their projects almost miss the chance to interview?

Firms have raised the bar - many have learned what it takes to capture a reader's attention. Firms that have not updated their proposal approach are losing projects to those that have. Yet, just when architects must truly abandon boilerplate proposals to compete, many clients are issuing standardized and completely boring RFPs. This is a challenging phenomenon. It can be difficult to creatively answer the same question ten times for ten projects. And most challenging of all, those boilerplate questions are process-focused, not project-focused. Buyers must want to know the details of your firm operations, right?

No. Firms that are lured into that trap are the ones that don't shortlist
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A boilerplate RFP that tells little about the project is one neither users nor the selection committee members helped write. They probably don't know what they have asked. They may not even know what information they really want - until they see it in one of those competitors' proposals just mentioned.

If you are working with an RFP full of detail and personality, the selection committee helped write it and they know what they want. Good - pay attention, honor their work. Your job is actually easier. But let's focus on the truly more difficult challenge of creating a fascinating proposal from a boring RFP.

The key is the same as in winning the interview. Talk about the client, even as you answer questions that seem to be about you and your process. Not sure what I mean?

Okay - I am the selection committee member. What I really want to know is "how will you control quality on MY RECREATION CENTER? What is your approach to MY RECREATION CENTER? How will you create MY VISION in the way I IMAGINE IT? How will you save costs FOR ME? How will you handle the zoning and environmental issues on MY SITE? And, by the way, how did you do it for that great center over on Smith Street? What did you do there that might work FOR ME? What else do you know that will be useful FOR ME?"

To answer these questions, you must know what this client needs, and which specific details of your relevant experience clearly illustrate your ability to meet those needs.

PHASE 1 - UNDERSTANDING: This phase of proposal preparation phase is essential, regardless of whether the RFP asks for project understanding. Your extensive experience list no longer suffices, unless few competitors have relevant experience. Even then, a firm with just two good projects may beat you out with their superior understanding of the client's specific needs.

PHASE 2 - CONTENT CREATION: Once you know this client and project better than anyone, hold intensive meetings to plumb the knowledge and creativity of every team member. Have everyone involved in this process. Someone may highlight relevant experience in projects you hadn't considered. The most meticulously kept databases can't capture every nuance of every project. The team must go into these pages if it is to shine out from them.

PHASE 3 - WRITING: The three keys to excellent proposal writing, in addition to meaningful content, are: organization, the sound bite concept, and the transition/mapping technique. I'll discuss this more in articles on the writing art. You might think that organization is simple- just follow the RFP format precisely. Indeed, this is critical, and too few firms do it, amazingly. However, you must also go beyond organization to actual mapping. This is especially necessary with less logically organized RFPs. Your organization must lead the readers to digest what you want them to digest.

That's where sound bite and transition strategies become critical. Write as you would speak on a TV interview for a political campaign. Know your key message. Convey it succinctly in response to every question. Start each section with a brief introduction that incorporates that message and informs the reader what they are about to read. This is where you can let the reader know where something that logically ought to be in that section is actually located, if necessary. Be sure to finish each section with a transition into the next.

Finally, conclude with the your key message - which, by the way, should be stated clearly and compellingly in your transmittal letter.

A note about that transmittal letter: while it's true that some people don't read them, I have seen times when the letter was the decisive factor. I know of at least one firm that did not shortlist partly because it had only a two-line transmittal letter, and another whose cover letter broke the tie after a close selection interview. In that selection, one committee member sold the others on her choice by pointing out that

"this is the only firm that mentioned in their cover letter that our fire station will be the first public building in our rural community. No one else notices that or cared about its community impact beyond fire fighting."
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PHASE 4 - DESIGN: The three design keys are good photos that showcase only good work, easy visual navigation, and excellent readability. Achieve a balance between shine and polish - they are not the same, and discerning clients know it. You can hear it in the way they refer to one pretty proposal as "slick" and another, equally pretty one, as "professional."

First published in Sources and Design, Spring 2001