If you were a member of an Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) and had a stack of forty proposals with an average of 500 pages in each, your first goal is likely to be the quick elimination of thirty-five of the proposals. So, you will look first not at who is the best to perform the contract, but at who can be eliminated. If a proposal does not comply with all RFP requirements, the proposal can be determined to be non-compliant and eliminated from the competition. The quickest way for a member of an SSB to reduce the number of proposals is to check for compliance with the RFP requirements.

To put it another way, if you do not meet every RFP requirement, it is very likely that your proposal will not receive serious consideration. And it is highly likely that you will lose.

Of the three levels of proposal presentation, complying with every requirement of the RFP is the first level. This is the Information Level, providing the customer all of the information necessary for them to evaluate the suitability of your firm. This is the basic competency that a firm absolutely must possess to entertain participation in the government marketplace.

While this sounds simple and seems obvious, it continues to be astounding how many firms have not assembled and organized the fundamental information needed to prepare an Information Level proposal.