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Win Strategy Review
Win Strategy Review: Find Out Where Your Proposal Will Lose Points.
The RFP Success® Company’s Win Strategy Review is a pre submission RFP proposal review service for service-based businesses chasing State, Local, and Education contracts.
Before you submit, our in house team pressure tests your full proposal through three evaluator side lenses: compliance, strategy, and scoring. You receive a formal compliance review and a prioritized list of fixes, so you find out where you would lose points while you can still fix them.
Built on RFP-expert Lisa Rehurek‘s 30+ years across every side of the RFP table. From $4,500.
HIGHSTREET IT · WIN RATE: 43%→50%+
The Problem
You Can Write a Strong Proposal and Still Submit It Blind.
Most teams that bring a proposal to The RFP Success® Company for a Win Strategy Review are not bad at this. They are the Almost Winner. They make the shortlist. They have the qualifications, the past performance, the team. They get to the final round and then the contract goes the other way, and the debrief, if there is one, never quite explains why.
Here is what is happening. You wrote the proposal, so you can see what you meant. The evaluator only sees what is on the page, scored against a rubric you never get to read. By the time the scores come back, the submission window is closed and the feedback is useless.
A pre submission proposal review moves that feedback to where it still counts. We read your proposal the way a SLED evaluator would score it, while you still have time to act on what we find.
FROM THE FOUNDER · WIN STRATEGIST SERVICES
By RFP-expert Lisa Rehurek
Founder · The RFP Success® Company
Author of 11 books · Lisa’s 30+ years across responding to, developing, and evaluating RFPs.
“You’re not losing because you’re unqualified. You’re losing because you’re undisciplined.”
11 BOOKS
RFP SUCCESS PODCAST
GOLDMAN SACHS 10KSB
INC 5000 (2023, 2024)
SIGNED
What's Included
- Kick-off call to help determine your win themes and differentiators
- Strategic review of the full proposal: scoring weaknesses, missing win themes, evaluator misalignment, structural issues
- A formal compliance review against the RFP's mandatory requirements, format rules, and response structure
- Written findings with prioritized, plain English recommendations you can act on before you submit
- On demand expert support while you apply the fixes
What's Not Included
- Rewriting your proposal (that is Content Refinement)
- Project management of your response
- Subject matter expert work or interviewing
- Content creation or ghostwriting
- Ownership of the submission (you retain responsibility for the fixes)
Engagement Timeline:
Your timeline is built around your RFP submission deadline.
Step 1Kickoff and Strategy
Once your agreement is signed, we’ll schedule a kickoff call to define your win strategy, key differentiators, evaluator priorities, and review expectations.
Step 2Proposal Development
Your team develops the proposal using the strategy established during kickoff. Throughout this phase, your Win Strategist is available to answer questions, provide guidance, and help address strategic issues as they arise.
Step 3Submit Your Final Draft
Approximately 7 to 10 days before the submission deadline, you’ll provide your completed draft proposal so we have sufficient time for a thorough review.
Step 4Strategic and Compliance Review
Our team performs a comprehensive compliance and strategic review, evaluating your proposal through the evaluator’s perspective. Within 2 to 3 business days, you’ll receive the written findings and prioritized recommendations.
Step 5Final Revisions and Submission
Your team incorporates the recommendations, asks any follow-up questions, finalizes the proposal, and submits with confidence.
The Service
A Pre Submission Pressure Test Through Three Evaluator Side Lenses.
The Win Strategy Review is The RFP Success® Company’s pre submission RFP compliance review and scoring check. Our in house team takes your full draft proposal and reviews it the way evaluators score it, using the D.A.R.E. Method inside the 4×4 Framework™, the same methodology behind our 76%+ win rate across 30+ industries. You get a formal compliance review, written findings, and a prioritized list of recommendations, plus expert support while you apply them. Your team keeps the pen. We make sure what you submit is built to score.
D
Distinction
What sets you apart, not baseline qualifications.
A
Answer the Questions for Impact
Direct, complete responses at the depth the evaluator needs to score them.
R
Readability
Short, scannable writing an evaluator on their 30th proposal can score fast.
E
Evidence & Authority
Every claim backed by specific, credible, relevant proof.
The Methodology
Three Lenses Evaluators Use, Applied Before Your Proposal Reaches Them.
The Win Strategy Review runs your proposal through the same three lenses a trained SLED evaluator uses when scoring it. The lenses sit inside the 4x4 Framework™ and draw on the D.A.R.E. Method that Lisa Rehurek built across 30+ years on every side of the RFP table. The method covers both the published evaluation criteria you must answer and the silent items the RFP never spells out but evaluators still weigh.
The three lenses
Every review checks three things:
01 · ComplianceEvery mandatory requirement, format rule, page limit, and response structure instruction in the RFP. A single compliance miss can disqualify an otherwise winning proposal before scoring even starts.
02 · StrategyWin themes, differentiation, competitive positioning, and evaluator alignment. Does the proposal make the case that you are the lowest-risk, highest-value choice, or does it read like every other compliant response?
03 · ScoringHow a trained evaluator would score each section against the RFP’s stated evaluation criteria, and where points are quietly leaking before you submit.
The deliverables:
After the audit, you receive:
✓ A kickoff strategy call and support from your Win Strategist throughout the engagement.
✓ A formal compliance review flagging any mandatory requirement, format, or structure issue.
✓ Written findings across all three lenses, with the highest impact fixes ranked first.
✓ Prioritized, plain English recommendations your team can apply before the deadline.
FROM LISA
Most SLED proposals don't lose because they're wrong. They lose because evaluators can't see how you'll help them win.
See It In Action
Watch how the RFP Success® Mastery Audit works.
90 seconds. Lisa Rehurek walks through a real audit.
Client Results
From a 43% Win Rate, Trending to 50% and Up.
Highstreet IT had a strong shortlist record and a 43% win rate that would not move. They knew their work. They could not see why competitive proposals kept finishing second.
Highstreet IT brought its proposals to The RFP Success® Company for Content Refinement, a related Win Strategist service. The team used evaluator-side compliance, strategy, and scoring lenses that also anchor a Win Strategy Review. The pattern was clear: the proposals were technically sound, but the win themes were buried where evaluators would not score them.
After applying the recommendations, Highstreet IT’s win rate climbed from 43% toward 50% and up, and they won an $8.5 million contract. Real improvement, from a proposal they already had in hand.
CLIENT VOICES · WIN STRATEGIST OUTCOMES
What Teams Say After the Review.
SLED client voices, in their own words.
FEATURED · SLED TRANSPORTATION CLIENT
"They taught us why our content was losing finalist rounds. Inside a quarter, our finalist rate jumped from 50% to 80%, and our revenue is now on pace to 2 to 3× what it was."
Kevin Burdick
RTA Fleet · Fleet Management Software (SLED Transit)
FINALIST RATE
50% → 80%
Quarter-over-quarter shift after the audit. Revenue trajectory now 2 to 3× the pre-engagement baseline.
TECHNOLOGY
"One of the best business decisions we ever made."
Win rate climbed 43% to 50%. Down selected at 77% on shortlist round. Won $8.5M contract.
$8.5M
CONTRACT WON
Highstreet IT
Technology
Pricing
Win Strategy Review Pricing
Investment is scope based, not hourly, and tracks to the size of your RFP. A standard requirement set sits near the entry of this range; larger, more complex requirement counts move it up. You will know the exact investment before any work begins. The RFP Success® Company does not discount. If budget is tight, we adjust the scope rather than the quality of the review.
Pricing
WIN STRATEGY REVIEW
Investment: $4,500 to $8,500
Timeline: Built backward from your RFP due date.
Includes: kick-off strategy call, three lens strategic review, formal compliance review, written findings, prioritized recommendations, and expert support
FREQUENTLY ASKED · evaluator-aware ANSWERS
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT Win Strategy Review
Real questions from SLED service businesses considering the Win Strategy Review. Answered by Lisa Rehurek.
01
What is a Win Strategy Review?
It is The RFP Success® Company's pre submission RFP proposal review service. Our in house team reviews your full draft proposal through three evaluator side lenses, compliance, strategy, and scoring, then delivers a formal compliance review, written findings, and prioritized recommendations before you submit. You learn where a SLED evaluator would dock points while you still have time to fix them.
02
What does the review include?
A kickoff strategy session to establish your win themes and differentiators; a strategic review of your full proposal for scoring weaknesses, missing win themes, evaluator misalignment, and structural issues; a formal compliance review against the RFP's mandatory requirements and format rules; written findings with prioritized recommendations; and expert support while your team finalizes the proposal. It does not include rewriting, project management, or subject matter expert work.
03
Do you rewrite my proposal?
No. The Win Strategy Review is a review, not a rewrite. The RFP Success® Company hands you prioritized findings and recommendations, and your team applies them and owns the submission. If you want senior strategic hands actually on the content, that is a different service, Content Refinement.
04
How is this different from proofreading or a color team review?
Proofreading catches typos. A generic color team review checks process. The Win Strategy Review scores your proposal the way a SLED evaluator would, against the RFP's real evaluation criteria, using the D.A.R.E. Method inside the 4x4 Framework™. It surfaces the strategic and scoring gaps that decide awards, not surface level copy edits.
05
When in our process should we book it?
Ideally, engage us as early as possible. Beginning before your team starts writing allows us to help shape your win strategy, differentiators, and evaluator-focused messaging from the outset. However, if your strategy is already well developed, you can bring us in later for a strategic and compliance review of your completed draft. In either case, we'll need your final draft approximately 7 to 10 days before the submission deadline to allow time for our review and your revisions.
06
How much does an rfp proposal review service cost?
The Win Strategy Review is $4,500 to $8,500. Pricing is scope based and tracks to the size and complexity of your RFP, not an hourly rate. You will know the exact investment before work begins. The RFP Success® Company does not discount; if budget is a constraint, we adjust scope rather than quality.
07
Do You Guarantee We Will Win?
No, and any firm that does is not being honest. Award decisions include pricing, incumbent advantage, and factors outside any reviewer's control. What The RFP Success® Company guarantees is the most rigorous evaluator side review your proposal has had before you submit it, and a clear, prioritized list of what to fix. The 76%+ win rate across our client portfolio reflects what happens when teams apply the findings.
Not sure which service fits?
Take the RFP Assessment and our team will route you to the right next step.
Take the RFP AssessmentIs This Right for You?
The Win Strategy Review Isn't for Every Team.
This is right for you if:
✓ You have a complete or near complete draft proposal
✓ You own your proposal end to end and want expert eyes before submitting
✓ You want honest, prioritized findings, not validation
✓ You are bidding on a SLED contract that matters
This isn't the right fit if:
✗ You want to be told the proposal is already great
✗ You are pursuing work outside state, local, or education procurement
✗ You have no draft yet and need content built from scratch
✗ You want someone to write the proposal for you
If the Win Strategy Review is not the fit, The RFP Success® Company has other Win Strategist services that might be. The Internal Champion building the case for outside help often starts with an RFP Success® Mastery Audit on past proposals. If a specific must-win needs senior hands on the content, that is Content Refinement. If your team needs to strengthen its overall proposal strategy, content, and process, that is a Play to Win Consult.
Explore Other Win Strategist Services
Win Strategy Review Not the Right Fit? Or, Ready for the Next Step?
$3,500
RFP Success® Mastery Audit
See your past proposals the way evaluators do.
For teams who want a diagnostic on up to three past proposals before they bid again.
$6,500 to $12,000
Content Refinement
This is not editing. This is strategic shaping.
For teams with a specific must win proposal who want senior strategic hands on the content.
$7,500
Play to Win Consult
Stop reinventing every proposal. Start building a winning system.
Teams that want stronger proposals, smarter pursuit decisions, and a scalable process.
76%+
AVG WIN RATE
$500M+
CLIENT WINS
30+
LISA'S RFP EXPERIENCE
92%
DOWN SELECT RATE
READY TO WIN · PRESSURE TEST YOUR PROPOSAL
Ready to Know, Instead of Hope?
Tell us about the proposal in front of you. The RFP Success® Company will tell you honestly whether the Win Strategy Review, or a different Win Strategist service, is the right next step. No pressure. No pitch. A conversation about how to submit something built to score.
"Anyone can help you submit a proposal. Very few can help you win one. We don't measure success by submission. We measure it by win rate."
Founder, The RFP Success® Company · 30+ years in SLED RFPs
