| The Pink Team Review |
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Technical First First and foremost, the Pink Team must include technical personnel who are familiar with the technology referenced in the proposal. Even if you cannot get other staff to review the proposal, a technical reviewer is a must. Their primary job is to make sure that you have taken the correct approach. If possible, Pink Team reviewers should be people who have had NO involvement with the proposal up to this point and yet are technically competent in the areas it deals with. They should have no preconceived biases, understand the client, and have a full understanding of the Theme and ISSUES. The draft copy the Pink Team receives should be as clean and complete as possible. As much artwork as possible should be included, even if it's still in its early stages. If tables or appendices with supporting data are planned, those should be included, too. And there should be "placeholders" for all missing material, so that it's clear to the reviewer that the authors know something is missing. Although the planned format may be shown for a few pages, it's OK if the Pink Team draft looks "rough." The Pink Team reviewers should read the proposal from beginning to end and compare it to the guidelines. In addition to checking out the technical accuracy and validity of the proposal, the reviewers should also make sure that the proposal responds to everything in the RFP and that the company's message is clear. The writing should be readable and grammatically correct, and the writing style should be appropriate for the assumed reader (agency personnel or client). Benefits should show through and be supported by things like experience, background, expertise, and qualifications. If there's artwork, the reviewers should check to make sure it's not simply gratuitous, that it illustrates the ideas and makes sense. The most important thing your reviewers need to keep in mind is that their mark-ups should provide guidance to the proposal team. Comments like "Wrong!" and "No" written in the margin are useless. If something is wrong, the reviewer should make it right or, at the very least, provide directions for the writers so they can find a solution. Finally, the Proposal Manager should be listening for complaints about the Theme. "It's too much! I couldn't stand reading it!" "Do you have to keep bringing up that Theme over and over?" If you don't get these complaints from the folks who have carefully deliberated over the document, you need to go back and add more Theme to the proposal. Remember that very few of the reviewers will do more than read a few sections and then skim the rest of the proposal. You must get your message across in the environment of a quick review. After the review, the Proposal Manager collates the comments and checks them against the RFP checklist to be sure they don't conflict. He or she then distributes these comments back to the writers. Other things the Technical Experts need to know... |
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