Teaming: Strength in Numbers

Many times the greatest concern for customers is often being certain that the companies they do business with can actually deliver as promised.  Knowing that the vendor has performed similar tasks in the past, and completed them on time and within budget, are great indicators of future performance.   

In the Federal market we see requests for past performance questionnaires and project sheets in most every request for proposal (RFP). Now the problem; how can a company be competitive if it doesn't have the right experience? Teaming.

Teaming relationships can be developed in advance of the RFP release or quickly worked out at the project information meeting or job walk.  We think the best teams are created well in advance of the RFP.  There are several issues that must be considered:

• Structure: Making sure the structure is compliant with the RFP requirements is paramount. 
• Members: Take a good hard look at what each member brings to the table.  It's easy to build a team, but tricky to build the right team.
• Relationship: Risk is reduced when the Team has a record of working together.
• Roles: Now that you have the right members, make sure they are doing the right tasks.  Make sure the proposal tells the story of the team and why each member has been chosen.

So if you are looking at an opportunity, but are unsure if you can meet the RFP requirements, consider creating a good strong team to tackle the work.  After all, we all know there is strength in numbers.