How to Write a Proposal for a Government Contract

Dread proposals? Feel nervous at the thought of starting yet another painful process to try to win a government contract with no idea if this time it will actually work? Feel like connecting with subject matter experts at your company is harder than herding cats?

From our experience, proposal development—especially for those trying to win one of their first federal, state, or local contracts—has two common options for painful proposal development. We imagine your experience could feel like one of these descriptions (otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article). 

1. Are you in the camp that spends way too much time and resources crafting perfect proposals that get you nowhere? Everyone pitches in and builds a proposal you’re proud of, only to hear crickets or a “thanks but no thanks” shortly after submitting. And while you know proposals are important to win new business, can your company really sustain this level of effort on these proposals if you aren’t winning contracts regularly? Everyone still has their actual jobs (likely involving no writing whatsoever) to do.
2. Or are you on the other side where you should be winning business—it’s like they wrote the request for proposal (RFP) with you in mind—but it’s like pulling teeth to make time and get help to draft responses? In the end, your entire organization is left scrambling to submit a hastily composed proposal that (if we’re being honest) really sucks only minutes before the deadline. A proposal you’d be embarrassed to show your parents, even more embarrassing that you’re sending it to actual prospective clients.

Feel familiar? Either way, the proposal process can be painful. And the point is that no one likes the process, no matter how your company gets there. 

But proposals are a critical piece to winning new business and no matter how much everyone hates them, they’re going to be around for a long time. So you need to make the process less painful.

We’ve got a few ideas on how to help you get started. 

What is a Government Proposal?

A government proposal is a formal document submitted by a business or organization in response to a government-issued solicitation, such as an RFP, request for quote (RFQ), or request for information (RFI). A proposal outlines how a business bidding for work from the government intends to fulfill the contract requirements. This will often include things like a description of technical capabilities, pricing, past performance examples, and a description of how the company will comply with government regulations. 

These proposals are highly structured and must adhere to strict formatting and submission guidelines. A well-crafted government proposal not only demonstrates an understanding of the agency’s needs but also highlights why your business is the best choice to deliver the required goods or services. 

So if you want to sell to the government, you need to get good at delivering proposals exactly the way the government wants to see them. It’s not that hard, but if your company has never done it before or hasn’t won many contracts, it might feel overwhelming to try to discern exactly what these government procurement officers want to see. And, let’s be honest, few people at most companies really want to dive into a 170-page RFP and look at the nitty gritty details.

In recent years, government expenditures across federal, state, and local levels have reached nearly $10 trillion annually. That’s a lot of money going out through government contracts that start with RFPs. 

The thing about government contracting is that the government needs a lot of stuff. Chances are your business sells something the government buys. And government contracts can be lucrative and have a long period of fulfillment. So they provide stability and prestige for companies that win them. 

So that means these contracts are competitive and you have to get your proposals to the top of the pack before you can start getting a piece of that $10 trillion pie. Good thing we know how to help!

How to Write a Winning Proposal

Breaking into government contracting isn’t as simple as throwing together a few well-designed PowerPoint slides or pulling out some marketing materials and calling it a proposal. The government isn’t just looking for someone who can do the job—they’re looking for someone who can do it right, on time, and within budget. 

As a result, the RFPs issued by the government have a lot of details and pieces that can be confusing for beginners. And the solicitation will likely have a lot of dense jargon related to federal contracting that can be hard to understand if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

So let us help. Our team has decades of experience working on government contracts. Here is a guide (somewhere between a step-by-step process and list of helpful hints) to some of the steps you should take to craft a proposal that doesn’t just check the boxes but makes your company stand out.

Register as a Government Contractor

Before you can even think about bidding on government contracts, you need to register your business on SAM.gov (System for Award Management). This isn’t optional—it’s the first step to proving that your company is a legitimate player in the federal marketplace and is capable of working with government agencies. Without this registration, your proposal won’t even get a second glance, much less a contract award.

Pro-tip: it could take months for your profile to be approved and active on SAM.gov. Start the process long before you need to respond to an RFP.

Find the Right Opportunity

Not every contract is a good fit, and chasing every opportunity is a fast track to wasted time and resources. Carefully read through solicitations to ensure your company meets the exact requirements. If the contract calls for experience you don’t have or certifications you can’t produce, move on. Understand the evaluation criteria and make sure you know what the contract requires. Procurement officers aren’t interested in wishful thinking—they want proof you can deliver.

Read the RFP Like a Lawyer

This is where we start to get into differences between government RFPs and a B2B solicitation. Government RFPs are packed with details, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements, and sometimes hidden landmines that could disqualify you if you’re not paying attention. While it’s always a good practice to carefully read every section, it’s paramount on a government RFP. 

So go carefully through the solicitation, highlight key deliverables, and make sure you understand every compliance rule. If you’re skimming, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Pro-tip: highlight the sections that describe exactly what you need to deliver as part of your proposal. Then build a checklist to make sure you include every section, description, attachment, evaluation criteria, or required document as part of your submission. 

Define the Problem—and Your Solution

Every contract exists because the government agencies need a problem solved. Your proposal should clearly show you understand that problem and explain why your company is uniquely qualified to fix it. Don’t just talk about what you do—show how your expertise aligns with what the agency needs. It could just make the contracting officer’s day. 

Make sure your government contract proposal is clear and is focused. Don’t get distracted by writing about features or functions the government doesn’t explicitly ask about. Make sure you’re addressing their specific problem and how that solution meets their needs first. 

Prove You’re the Best Choice

Now we’re getting into the meat of why you develop proposals. Government buyers aren’t just picking a contractor; they’re picking a partner to solve their complex problems and ultimately, to make their lives easier. So help them make that decision. Use your proposal to speak to their needs and then answer questions like: What makes you stand out? Is it your experience? Innovation? A flawless track record with your past performance? 

Make it clear why they should trust you with taxpayer dollars over the competition. This isn’t the time for modesty—lay out your strengths boldly and confidently.

Price It Right

Winning a contract isn’t just about being the best—it’s about being the best at the right price. No matter how strong the rest of your proposal is, if your pricing isn’t competitive, you won’t get far.

If you’re responding to a cold RFP—meaning you’ve had zero prior contact with the agency—you’ll need to do your homework. Research your competitors, analyze pricing trends, and make sure your bid is competitive without undercutting yourself. Price too high, and you’re out. Price too low, and they’ll assume you don’t know what you’re doing. The goal? Find that sweet spot where your pricing is attractive and sustainable.

The best time to figure out pricing, though, isn’t after the RFP drops—it’s long before. Wouldn’t it be easier if someone inside the agency could tell you whether your pricing is in line? Unfortunately, once the RFP is live, your only point of contact is the procurement officer, and they’re not handing out hints. But if you’ve built relationships with people at these agencies ahead of time, you’ll have a better sense of what pricing they expect, giving you a serious advantage when it’s time to bid.

Pro-tip: not all contract awards are based on the same pricing strategy. Understanding how an agency evaluates price can make or break your bid:

• Best Value Tradeoff: This means the government isn’t just looking for the lowest price—they’re weighing price against technical expertise, past performance, and overall value. If your pricing is higher but justified by superior qualifications, innovation, or reduced risk, you can still win.
• Lowest Price, Technically Acceptable (LPTA): In these procurements, price is king. As long as your proposal meets the minimum technical requirements, the lowest bid wins. This is not the place for gold-plated solutions—just hit the technical threshold and be the most cost-effective option.

Why does this matter? If you don’t understand the pricing structure, you might be overengineering an LPTA bid or underpricing a best value opportunity where quality matters. Aligning your pricing strategy with the evaluation method ensures you stay competitive without leaving money on the table.

Show How You’ll Get the Job Done

Don’t just promise results—explain exactly how you’ll achieve them. Show them you’ve done your homework and really understand their needs. Outline your approach, including timelines, methodologies, and quality control methods. The government loves predictability, so give them confidence that your plan is rock solid.

Proposal writing may not be a strength for some of the members on your team. We know, most engineers don’t go to college dreaming about writing proposals for federal agencies. They want to engineer stuff. And chemists may not get excited about writing descriptions for every stage of your processes. But this content matters. And it matters that you get it done right and in a way that clearly shows you know what you’re doing and that you’ve done it before. So bring in the team member that has the expertise and make sure they understand how to write their section: focused on showing how you can meet the government’s needs. 

Highlight Mutual Benefits

This isn’t a one-sided deal. This is a business proposal, so make sure to highlight how working with your company benefits the agency beyond just fulfilling the contract. Will you improve efficiency? Reduce risk? Bring innovation? 

Make it clear that choosing your company is an investment, not just a transaction. Pro-tip: a good place to highlight these mutual benefits is in the executive summary. Use this document to say exactly what benefits they’ll get from choosing your company and you can be well on your way to win government contracts from the first page. 

Bonus Tip: Make It Crystal Clear That You’ll Overdeliver

Agencies don’t just want a contractor who meets expectations—they want one who exceeds them. Show how you’ll go above and beyond to ensure success. Whether it’s proactive communication, added value, or an extra layer of quality assurance, prove that hiring your company is a no-brainer.

Polish, Proofread, and Perfect

A proposal riddled with typos and sloppy formatting sends one message: you don’t care about details. And if you don’t care about details in your own proposal, why should the government trust you with a multi-million dollar project? Review everything, fix every mistake, and ensure your submission is as professional as the work you’re promising to deliver. This is key for every successful project, but it’s so important for GovCon proposals. 

Done right, a government proposal isn’t just a formality—it’s your ticket to winning contracts and building a strong reputation in the industry. Take it seriously, put in the effort, and give agencies a reason to say yes.

Start Crafting Winning Proposals for Government Contracts

This process is a good way to break into government contracting and gives you a solid idea of what to expect when a proposal drops. However, proposals are still going to be hard. And just because you start following a process based on best practices and expert opinions, it doesn’t mean that everyone in your company will suddenly love proposals. 

But there is an easy button.

Why not start with finding people who love proposals? People who want to work on them, know how to make the process both fun and successful, and give you a partner that makes the process nearly painless. 

At Summit, we’re not like other agencies out there. They have their old, boring (and waaaaay too long) processes for getting your company to be just like every other business. But your company is unique, doesn’t want to spend time on steps or processes that won’t actually move the needle for you, and needs a fresh approach that actually works for you. That’s where we excel. 

At Summit Strategy, we’ve built a team of proposal writers and experts who know what it takes to win. Armed with industry certifications, best practices for government proposal writing, and real, on-the-ground experience, we can step in to help you get a proposal out the door, elevate your RFP response, or help you create processes for proposal development that don’t make everyone dread the process. 

Ready to get started? Whether you have an urgent proposal you need to get out the door, want to be prepared for the biggest contract of your business’s life, or need help knowing where to start going after government contracts, we’re here for you. Get in touch with us today.