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The Secret to Bidding Government Contracts a profile on Lindi Nguyen.

Lindi Nguyen is a dynamic professional taking the industry by storm. Lindi is committed to reinforcing the intersection of community development and economic development through affordable housing development and community engagement that emphasizes people’s lived experiences and holistic well-being.

New York, United States - May 15, 2021 /PressCable/

How to Win a Government Contract

As the federal administration proposes spending bills increasing funding for infrastructure, affordable housing, and clean energy, there is a rush for firms in the government contracting space to get prepared to bid for these funds. The majority of large contracts with the government are distributed through an RFP process. Firms need to write proposals to government agencies as a bid following specific specifications. The RFP process is a complex one and can be a little convoluted for firms not already situated in the right business or social networks.

Lindi Nguyen is the Senior Project Manager leading procurement at The Monroe Group, LLC. She has written dozens of RFPs and secured tens of millions of government contract dollars. Lindi says, “an RFP writer doesn’t need a degree to write effective bids. But it helps to have a mentor who can offer guidance to what agencies are looking for. Because agencies ask for a lot in RFPs. And a proposal will need to deliver to spec and more.” Her team at The Monroe Group has condensed their industry knowledge down into an online course for all minority and women-owned firms (M/WBEs), disadvantaged businesses (DBEs), veteran-owned businesses (SDVOB), and 8(a) contractors to learn from. They tailored the course to communities that have been traditionally marginalized in the government contracting space to increase equity in public spending. “Noone should get left out of this increase in spending. If you look at COVID spending inequities, black, brown, female, and veteran communities are continuing to be left out of government spending. There’s a lot of money there, but our communities aren’t getting a fair share. Desmonde has been my mentor as I learned to navigate the process to secure government contracts. Through The Accelerator, he can serve as a mentor for all certified firms in The Monroe Accelerator.” she says. Lindi goes on to share practical tips on how she’s learned to write winning RFP bids in her role at The Monroe Group.

Know the agency. Whether the bid is for a non-profit that cares about your mission, an agency looking for more diverse contractors, or simply the lowest price wins, respond emphasizing their need throughout a response. Beyond the written response, pictures, graphs, visual pop-outs can convey the themes a firm is trying to hit on too. The RFP or the agency website will lend hints to priorities the procurement officers will be looking for. If they have a laundry list of experience requirements in the RFP, make a chart highlighting the experience of the Project Team that responds to their list directly. If they have community pictures all over their website, sprinkle community pictures throughout the bid. If they’re an agency that has experienced a recent controversy, subtly throw in how the firm knows how to navigate similar types of controversies. Make it clear the firm knows the agency and the firm is the one they have been looking for.

Make it clean. Clean graphic design plays subtle, but important part in communicating to an agency that the firm is professional and can do the job. Even if they are looking for the lowest price firm, a tight proposal, one that is easy on the eye, subtly communicates that the firm is polished and prepared. Everything should line up right, fonts and colors all match, there should be zero typos. It will also put the procurement analysts rating proposals in a better mindset with a proposal that is easy to read and appealing to the eye. Visuals, pictures, graphs, and charts help in this “easier to read” mindset. Rely on visual representations of information where possible. It is best practice to ensure the procurement analyst judging a proposal finds it compelling and accessible to review.

The approach matters. Procurement officers are reading a firm’s approach to see if it matches agency standards. protocol, and priorities. Do not just reiterate the scope of work asked. If an RFP writer is at a loss to how to articulate an approach, one practical tip is that they ask around and take notes. Say a scope of work item on an RFP is risk analysis. Ask the firm’s engineer how they would carry out a risk analysis program for an agency. Write down their method and hit those points in the RFP proposal. If a firm is interviewing staff to pull them onto the project contingent on award, ask interviewees how they would approach some scope of work items requested in the proposal. Write down as they answer the questions and integrate the best responses with the firm’s existing approach for the proposal. An RFP writer can also schedule calls with experts in their network to pick their brains, bounce some ideas off them, and find some winning industry concepts that can be used in the proposal. People prefer to respond verbally most often. It is less work on their end.

There’s a learning curve to government procurement and while agencies spell out requirements in RFPs, there’s a lot that they want that is left unsaid as well. Lindi and her team share more tips specifically for certified firms in The Monroe Accelerator and on their monthly coaching calls.

Contact Info:
Name: Lindi Nguyen
Email: Send Email
Organization: The Monroe Group, LLC
Address: 580 Broadway office 1002, New York, New York 10012, United States
Phone: +1-347-392-3485
Website: https://www.themonroegroupllc.com/

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 89014371

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