A Guide in Mastering Request for Proposal in Construction
A Guide in Mastering Request for Proposal in Construction

A Guide in Mastering Request for Proposal in Construction

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So, you want to improve your construction bid proposals and get more projects? This is a common concern among contractors, especially in these competitive times. Effectively overseeing your company’s request for proposal (RFP) response management procedure is essential to business success in construction and many other sectors.

Let’s examine the fundamentals of an RFP before diving into the proposal management process.

 

What is an RFP for Construction?

 

In a nutshell, a request for proposal, or RFP, lists the project’s requirements. A construction RFP can range from a two or three-pager file with basic requirements to thousands of pages and comprehensive contractual requirements. Government RFPs are often massive; private sector proposals, on the other hand, are less tedious.

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Who Manages RFPs?

 
In small construction firms, RFPs are usually managed ad hoc, as they may not be as frequent. As your organization grows, you may need to employ a proposal manager to fully oversee responding to RFPs. 
 

a.The Proposal Manager

 
A proposal manager is a niche or a very focused project manager. They oversee the proposal process from start to finish, making sure that the response is accurate and delivered timely to the client. These proposal managers have a busy job, often juggling countless proposals due to different clients. Large organizations may hire an entire team of proposal managers and assistants to handle the high volume of RFPs they receive.
 

b. The RFP Lead

 
Once the kickoff meeting is finished and the job description has been shared with the team, the RFP lead should begin working on the cost portion of the proposal with the Estimating Lead. They should schedule a cost and budget strategy meeting using crew scheduling software with the estimators assigned to the project at hand. Final approval of cost and budget should be given 1-2 days before the proposal is submitted to the client. Once ready, these details should be provided to the proposal manager.
 
 

What is the Construction RFP Process?

 
 
The RFP phase is a critical part of the procurement process, and many vital steps occur from RFP submission to final debriefing.
 

1. Read the RFP

Reading the construction document thoroughly and learning about your future client’s wants is the first stage in the RFP process. During this process, some team members can attempt to skim, thereby missing contractual requirements or giving the client information in their proposal that was not requested. This could indicate that the submitted final proposal does not meet the requirements in the RFP, which could lead to exclusion during the evaluation process—particularly if the project is in the public sector.
 

2. Make the RFP available for everyone

Distribute the RFP paper to every member of your team who should be involved in deciding whether to move forward with the project. Ensure that everyone reads the full RFP. A thorough understanding of the project’s requirements is critical in making strategic and informed decisions about the pursuit.
 

3. Decide whether to pursue or not

Deciding quickly if your organization wants to pursue the project is very crucial. Clients want to learn who will submit proposals early, and your internal teams need enough time to properly generate a document response to the RFP. Larger teams usually hold what is called a ‘go/no-go’ discussion weekly, where the management of the organization walks through all of the RFPs they have on their plate, deciding if they will pursue them or not. In some cases, it’s important to accelerate this decision-making if a client gives a short window for response and there are no meetings set soon.
 
However, here is a quick reminder: Don’t fall into the trap of saying yes to every proposal that comes your way. This will dilute your team’s resources, and if the volume is ever too high, the quality of your proposals will slip over time. Be selective and strategic and only pursue quality proposals your company can confidently undertake. The management team should share the decision to say yes to the project with the client and your internal team as soon as possible. If you choose not to pursue the project anymore, consider providing the reason to the client.
 

4. Set a Kickoff Meeting

The RFP Lead and any other members of the company who will be involved in developing a strategy to win the pursuit should attend the kickoff meeting, which should ideally take place 24 to 48 hours after obtaining the green light. Before the meeting, all participants should have read the RFP.
 
The RFP Lead should give a project overview at the start of the meeting. This summary should cover the contents of the RFP and any extra knowledge the lead may have gained from collaborating with the client on earlier projects.
 

a. Overview

The meeting should begin with the RFP lead giving an overview of the project. This overview should include details about what’s included in the RFP and any additional information the lead has from working with the client on previous projects. Sometimes, RFP Leads may add necessary information about a project that is not written in the RFP, so it’s important for the team to know all of these details to determine the best strategy to take.
 

b.Know the Project Team

If your kickoff team has the authority to select the project team, they must do so at this meeting. Resumes, which are time-consuming to compile, are frequently included in proposals for construction projects. Make sure the proposal manager has them make a decision as quickly as feasible if another group is in charge of choosing the team for your planned project.
 

c.Set deadlines and responsibilities

After establishing a project team and determining your winning themes, it’s time to allocate tasks for the proposal. The committee will determine who will be in charge after the proposal manager reviews each of the RFP’s major deliverables. Timelines for each proposal component should be specified and inputted into construction crew scheduling software to align all the parties involved.
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5. Proposal Writing

The proposal manager and the RFP lead will be in charge of authoring the proposal; other team members will be given particular scope items to complete based on their expertise and experience. Proposal writers and marketing coordinators are among the additional resources that frequently report to the proposal manager. They will assist in locating pertinent information from earlier submissions or locate more firm data that the RFP requests. The marketing team usually has design resources accessible as well, which will provide polished final deliverables.

Proposal content often will include the following:

  • Cover letter
  • Executive summary
  • Project descriptions
  • Technical narrative
  • Schedule and schedule narrative
  • Financial details
  • Safety narrative and safety record details
  • Organizational chart
  • Resumes

Not all of the sections above will be written by the marketing team and proposal manager. They will at least produce drafts of the organizational chart, project descriptions, resumes and resume bios, executive summary, and cover letter.

6. Proposal Review

Many proposal submissions are made in the final moments before the deadline, which can be stressful and lead to mistakes. A well-managed proposal process should allow ample time to study the entire written text before submission. At the very least, the principal-in-charge, project executive, and proposal manager should be included in this evaluation. To give adequate time to make any necessary adjustments, this evaluation should take place at least 48 hours before the submission time and date, and this must be scheduled in your construction crew scheduling software so it won’t be forgotten no matter how many proposals are on your plate.

7. Shortlisted for Interview

Hopefully, your proposal was strong enough that the client immediately decided to give you the project. Regretfully, this is not always true. To better comprehend your proposal and get to know the team, clients usually select three or five contenders to be the project winners and hold formal interviews at their offices. Preparing for these interviews is one of the most important steps in securing the building bid. A sloppy presentation could give the impression that you are not genuinely engaged in dealing with the customer.

8. Debrief

It’s crucial to get together as a team to debrief after the interview while the information is still fresh in their thoughts. This aids in assessing what worked and what didn’t.

It is crucial to meet with the client as soon as possible to start the planning and construction phases after they have determined who has won the project. If you were chosen for the project, evaluate the next steps immediately, set the construction crew scheduling, and ensure your team is reaching the deadlines specified in the timetable and construction contract. If you were not chosen for the job, kindly ask the client for a debriefing so you may learn more about why they chose a different general contractor. If the feedback is pertinent, it should guide future interviews with that specific customer and future interviews with new clients.

Key Takeaway

With all this information regarding the RFP, you should be ready to ace the RFP process in construction and win more work for your team.

If you’re looking for a better way to manage your proposal and construction management, it could be time to explore construction crew management software like Pro Crew Schedule.

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