Hard bids are won on price. Negotiated work is won on trust, and a proposal is where you earn it on paper. Here is the structure I would use.
How is negotiated work selected?
| Delivery method | How the contractor is usually selected | Example rules |
|---|---|---|
| Construction manager at risk | Qualifications, then fee and general conditions | Texas Government Code Chapter 2269, Subchapter F |
| Design-build | Often two phases: qualifications, then a technical and price proposal | FAR 36.3 (federal two-phase design-build); Texas Government Code Chapter 2269, Subchapter G |
| Private negotiated | Owner's own shortlist and interview | The owner's RFP |
Public owners publish the evaluation criteria and their weights. That table is your outline.
What should the proposal include?
- A one-page summary that says why your team, for this project, in plain words.
- Relevant experience: three to five similar projects with size, delivery method, schedule and owner contact.
- The team: the actual project executive, PM and superintendent, with their own project lists, not company history.
- Project approach: schedule, phasing, logistics, the three biggest risks and how you will handle them.
- Preconstruction services: estimating, value engineering, constructability reviews and subcontractor buyout.
- Safety and quality record and program.
- Fee and general conditions, exactly in the owner's format.
- Required forms, signed: qualification statement, insurance, bonding letter, certifications.
How do you make it easy to score?
- Follow the owner's section order and use their words as your headings.
- Answer every criterion; a missing answer scores zero.
- Put facts in tables: project size, dates, names.
- Cut boilerplate. Evaluators read many proposals in one sitting.
- Prepare the interview team from the proposal; they must say the same thing.
How do you decide which proposals to pursue?
Proposals cost real hours, so track your pursuit hit rate by owner, delivery method and market, the same way you track your bid-hit ratio. Drop the pursuits where you have no relationship and no relevant team.
How do Pixer and Clara help?
Pixer, BAU AI's pipeline and proposals agent, keeps the pursuit pipeline and calendar, drafts the proposal from your past projects, résumés and the owner's criteria, and tracks win rate by owner and method. Clara reads the RFQ or RFP and fills in the required forms from your company profile. Your team writes the final word and signs. Pixer is offered to the founding cohort and is not part of the published plans.
If proposals take your team days each, join our US founding cohort and test Pixer on your next pursuit.
Tushar Adsul, Founder and CEO, BAU AI
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an RFQ and an RFP? An RFQ asks for qualifications to build a shortlist; an RFP asks the shortlist for an approach and price.
How long should a construction proposal be? As long as the owner allows and no longer. Many RFPs set a page limit; respect it.
Does the lowest fee win CM at risk work? Not usually. Fee is one weighted criterion among qualifications, team and approach.
Sources
- Texas Government Code Chapter 2269, Contracting and Delivery Procedures for Construction Projects, Subchapters F and G.
- FAR Subpart 36.3, Two-Phase Design-Build Selection Procedures.