Red Hot Reviews: How to Maximize Your Red Team

The Red Team Review is a valuable BD tool used to determine how well a proposal meets evaluation criteria. When used effectively, we can predict how a client’s review panel will score a technical proposal and revise it to increase our chances of winning.

A successful Red Team Review is process-driven and rigorous. When we adhere to a rigorous process, we produce a bid that makes us stand out from our competitors in all proposal areas. We answer Why Abt? in our solution, staffing, management and quality processes, value propositions, past experience, and partner selection.

Red Team preparation is essential. Proposal managers must create a schedule that gives reviewers ample time to evaluate the proposal draft against the explicit (and implicit) RFx requirements and evaluation criteria. Reviewers should capture whether sections are complete, competitive, coherent, and compliant (the 4Cs).

When conducting a Red Team Review meeting, the proposal manager should focus the discussion on how to weave in win themes, draw out differentiators, and showcase our staff by naming who and how they will manage, perform, and assure the quality of the work. We must provide client benefit statements and consistent proof points that substantiate our ability to deliver – not general or “fluffy” text, but statements that prove our ability to deliver.

Make Red Team recovery efficient and author-friendly. The proposal manager should gather comments for systematic, easy, and quick incorporation into the final draft. Authors should keep in mind how they measured in the 4Cs and reconcile their sections to meet these factors. This fine tuning often makes the difference between a “Satisfactory” and “Excellent” rating by the review panel.

Here are tips to make your Red Team more effective.

GBDU staff are ready to help. We can review your compliance matrix, provide Red Team coaching, or participate as reviewers. Contact our BD Service Center for support with maximizing your next Red Team.

Katie