The Capstone team has secured two very important and exciting contracts recently. The first is leading the 911 emergency response transition for the city of Barrie, Ontario. Our team will be assisting Emergency Management Office’s, Public Safety Access Points and other emergency services to proactively adjust from legacy systems and practices to Next Generation 911 technology and services delivery. As you many recall from last month's issue of Capstone News, our team is also leading a similar project for the province of Nova Scotia. Our exceptional work with the province has enabled our team to leverage our knowlege and experience on this highly specific project and apply it to other 911 transition projects across Canada. If you'd like to learn more about the NG911 project, click HERE.

The second contract Capstone has been awarded is with the Government of Nova Scotia's Accessibilities Act by providing Project Management services to plan, schedule and manage the next phase of work. Under the Act, the government will develop accessibility standards to prevent and remove barriers that restrict persons with disabilities from fully participating in society. This work is very near and dear to the hearts of many of our team members. We work with health practitioners, service providers and members of the community experiencing a variety of challenges and barriers to services, information and space in a way that most of us can’t begin to imagine. We are so proud to have the opportunity to contribute to the well being and success of every Nova Scotian in a meaningful way. To learn more about the Nova Scotia Accessibilities Act, click HERE.

Don't forget to check out our upcoming events! Scroll down to get more information and register for our next Encore demonstration and a free webinar we're hosting in partnership with Digital Nova Scotia about Capstone's PMO Broker coming up in May.

Available through Capstone-on-Demand, Change Management is a critical service that many companies don't think about until it's too late. All companies undergo change routinely; a change manager’s role is to help your team adopt that change as seamlessly as possible. They are responsible for planning, developing, delivering, and tracking the adoption of change within your organization. Some change management deliverables include communications, training, stakeholder engagement, change impact assessment, organizational readiness analysis, coaching, resistance management and change reinforcement. A good leader expects and adopts change, a great leader makes sure their team is ready for it.

Capstone Change Managers will help you:

• Establish a series of deliverables for actionable and targeted change management
• Apply a systematic approach and guide progress on change management
• Assess the effects of transition
• Coordinate activities with other professionals
• Foster educational activities

Check out all of the services available to you through Capstone-on-Demand by clicking HERE.

Want to learn more about Encore and how this powerful business and project management tool can help your organization? The Capstone team will be hosting free Encore demonstrations on the last Monday evening of each month for anyone wishing to attend.

The next free Encore demonstration will be held on Monday, April 25th at 4:00pm AST.

Through our proud partnership with Digital Nova Scotia, Capstone's President & CEO Cynthia Giles will be delivering a free webinar coming up in May. Selecting the right project management tool can be an overwhelming and frustrating process, but it doesn't have to be. Join us on Tuesday, May 17th from 10am - 11am AST to learn all about Capstone's PMO Broker and how we make the process easier for you.

Repsonding to an RFP can be a daunting task. You can spend hours writing, editing and collaborating with subject matter experts only to find out you did not submit the winning response.

Below we've gathered some helpful tips to guide your RFP response process. Hopefully, these will be helpful next time your tasked with writing an RFP response.

RFP cover letter

The goal: Make a great first impression, create a human connection and let the client know you truly understand their problem.

How to do it: Share your enthusiasm about the prospect of being a part of their future success. Also share an engaging background on your company to help solidify a connection with them. Then, restate their known objectives. Finally, paint a picture of how your solution solves their problem and makes their job easier. Make it all about them.

Executive summary

The goal: Give a high-level overview, summarize the most important parts of your proposal and prove you’re qualified to meet their needs. You may also want to include your values statements to reiterate why they should choose you.

How to do it: Research. Do your homework to ensure your executive summary addresses the customer’s biggest concerns. Find out why they’re issuing the RFP. Did their last provider fail to deliver? Is their business growing? The more you can speak directly to their needs, the greater your chance of winning the project. Remember, your summary needs to provide enough information to stand alone if it’s the only piece of the proposal an executive sees. However, it also must be short enough to read in a couple minutes.

Project implementation plan and schedule

The goal: Help the client picture themselves as your customer and prepare them for the next steps in the buying process.

How to do it: Be specific. Your project implementation plan and schedule sets expectations. For example, establish milestones and address any concerns the customer expressed. In addition, provide a full project plan outline from signed agreement to go-live date. Use the RFP timeline the client provided and set milestones assuming a start date almost immediately after the RFP’s final selection announcement.

It is also helpful to share key contacts and staff the client will work with from subject matter experts to project managers. Finally, include what you’ll need from their business to ensure a successful engagement. For example, current process documentation, training timelines, user roles, administrator input and so on.

Contract management

The goal: Ensure a speedy contracting process that benefits both you and the client.

How to do it: In this section of your request for proposal response, get your ducks in a row so the contracting process goes smoothly. For example, share what you’ll need to execute the contract and include who will be involved. Then, outline the approval process and required documentation.

In addition, offer an overview of how you’ll continue to support the client after the contract is executed. Include information about their customer success manager, any available self-service tools and who will supervise the delivery of contract terms.

If possible, provide very specific details — how often will someone check in, what will be covered and how feedback is addressed? Remember, it’s all about them. Make them feel confident that you’re in it for the long haul and prepared to be a true partner to them.

Customer references and case studies

The goal: Provide concrete evidence of the results they can expect.

How to do it: Share the positive return on investment you’ve achieved for clients similar to your prospect. Of course, don’t make them just take your word for it. Also include metrics and powerful quotes provided by happy clients. If possible, offer to connect them with a current client for a reference call. Certainly, there’s nothing more persuasive than hearing candid feedback from a peer.

Content tips

Beyond hitting the goals for each RFP section, winning RFPs have great content.

• Insert the client into your answers. They care about how you can make their lives easier and improve their profitability. All of your answers should support your argument that you will make them more efficient, effective and empowered. In addition, don’t just explain what you do, but also why it’s important. This focus will help you write an about us and background statement that will make prospects pay attention.

• Keep it simple and skimmable. Your evaluators are pressed for time. Write clearly and succinctly. Use headings, subheadings, call-outs, and bullets to make your proposal easy to skim. And, remember to keep it simple so your responses can be read and understood by anyone.

• Include visualizations. Charts and graphs quickly convey a more powerful message than a spreadsheet full of data. Use visualizations to help customers understand your impact.

• Required appendices. Ensure any required appendices, like resumes, are kept short and pertain to the specific RFP you are replying to.

• Review, revise and review again. Typos, style inconsistencies and abrupt changes in grammatical tense or tone can be incredibly distracting for your reader. Consequently, it’s important to review your responses and make sure they all work together and sound consistent.

Thanks to RFP 360 for the great information!