Winning RFP Responses

If you're an individual or business looking to increase revenue through contract opportunities, then this course is for you. Having the skills to bid on competitive contracts can increase your business's revenues as you carry it through declining economic times. Learn the ins and outs of finding, reading, and determining whether RFPs fit your business's services or goods. Then learn how to write the components of a winning RFP bid response for your business.

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6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs
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North Iowa Area Community College

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Winning RFP Responses

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Course code: pwr

Winning RFP Responses was written by an entrepreneur that has owned and operated 15 small businesses over the decades. Bringing additional revenue into your business can increase its sustainability. Have you ever thought about all the other businesses, organizations, and government agencies that likely need your goods or services? Did you know that even the smallest business can submit an award-winning bid and benefit from steady revenues?

RFPs can be daunting when you are faced with page-after-page of legal language, questions, and forms to fill in. This course will guide you through each step of researching, reading, understanding, evaluating, writing, and submitting award-winning bid responses. By the end of the course, you might even find a new career track as an RFP bid specialist. The possibilities for your business and your career are endless.

What you will learn

  • Describe the components of a winning business proposal
  • Organize and draft business proposal components to create a winning RFP response
  • Evaluate RFP peer responses like procurement agency teams
  • Improve RFP responses with award-winning enhancements
  • Explain career opportunities for skilled RFP writers

How you will benefit

  • Increased ability to research RFPs and determine if they are a go or no-go for bidding
  • Improved evaluation skills for evaluating your bid proposal's content before its submission to a procurement agency
  • Better understanding of what it takes to submit a successful bid proposal
  • Heightened analysis for sizing up your bidding competition and determining if your business should be a sole bidder or a subcontractor for another business with a higher chance of winning a contract award
  • Awareness of how to protest a procurement agency's decision to award the contract to another business

How the course is taught

  • Instructor-Moderated or Self-Guided online course
  • 6 Weeks or 3 Months access
  • 24 course hours

In this lesson, you will be introduced to Requests for Proposals (RFPs). From RFP terminology to understanding the sections of an RFP, your research skills will be honed, and the term RFP will become clearer as you explore the lesson.

In this lesson, you will learn how to read and mark up RFPs to determine if a business interested in bidding on the goods or services can meet all of the procurement agency's expectations.

In this lesson, you will be introduced to federal RFPs and the government's procurement expectations of bidders.

In this lesson, you will learn how to evaluate RFPs and use internal peer review rubrics to determine who and how each of your team members should be involved in the bid response development.

In this lesson, you will learn how to create a basic business history narrative. This boilerplate narrative can be reused in bid responses.

In this lesson, you will learn how to write the statement of work so that it is in compliance with the procurement agency's guidelines.

In this lesson, you will learn how to prepare the bid response's cost proposal.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to prepare RFP documents, exhibits, and other attachments required in the bid proposal submittal package.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to put together a highly competitive bid proposal package. You'll also learn about the submittal process and how to prepare for future bidding opportunities.

In this lesson, you'll learn about the RFP evaluation processes and the factors that are critical components for contract awards.

In this lesson, you'll learn about common RFP bidding mistakes and how to avoid them.

In this lesson, you'll learn about the career tracks for RFP writers. Where will your ability to write winning bid responses take you?

Kim Joyce, GPC (Grant Professional Certified)

Kim Joyce, GPC (Grant Professional Certified), taught high school English and was a librarian for seven years. After working in education and school administration as a school business manager, she became involved in the nonprofit sector as a grant writer. She has worked as a grant professional and developed content and taught grant writing workshops for nearly 20 years.

Kim graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in English and is a credentialed grant professional, entrepreneur, award-winning business leader, and the author of Grant Writing for Dummies, 8th Edition. Passionate about grants and grant compliance, she considers grants her superpower. In 2010, she founded Kim Joyce & Associates, a national, full-service grant consultancy based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her firm has secured more than $472 million in grant awards.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 8 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 12 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • Microsoft Word or equivalent, such as MS Word online.
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Instructor-Moderated: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.​

Self-Guided: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.​

Instructor-Moderated: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Guided: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Moderated: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.​

Self-Guided: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Moderated: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.​

Self-Guided: Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

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