RFPropel Glossary

RFP & Proposal Management Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the terms bid, presales, and proposal teams use every day — from bid/no-bid decisions to win themes.

A
Addendum
A formal update or correction issued by the buyer after the RFP has been released, changing requirements, deadlines, or scope.
B
BAFO (Best and Final Offer)
A final round of revised pricing or terms requested by the buyer from shortlisted vendors before award.
Bid/No-Bid Decision
The internal decision on whether to pursue an RFP at all, made by scoring fit, win probability, and resource cost before writing begins.
Boilerplate
Standardized, reusable content (company overview, security policies, past performance) kept in a content library and reused across proposals.
C
CAGE Code
A unique identifier assigned to vendors doing business with the US government, required for most federal contract bids.
Capture Management
The pre-RFP process of building relationships and intelligence on an opportunity before it's formally released, common in government contracting.
Compliance Matrix
A checklist mapping every RFP requirement to the exact section of the proposal that addresses it, used to avoid disqualification for missing requirements. See how this fits into the wider process in Most RFPs Are Lost Before Anyone Writes a Word.
Contract Vehicle
A pre-established procurement mechanism (like a GSA Schedule or IDIQ) that allows a buyer to award work without running a full new competition.
D
Discriminators
The specific, provable reasons your proposal is different from and better than competitors, distinct from generic strengths.
E
Evaluation Criteria
The scoring factors a buyer uses to assess proposals, usually listed in the RFP (e.g. technical approach, price, past performance).
Executive Summary
The opening section of a proposal that summarizes your understanding of the buyer's problem and why you're the right fit, often the only section every evaluator reads in full.
G
Gate Review
An internal checkpoint during proposal development where leadership reviews progress and decides whether to continue investing in the bid.
GSA Schedule
A long-term government-wide contract with the US General Services Administration that pre-qualifies vendors for federal purchases.
I
IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity)
A government contract type that sets terms for future orders without guaranteeing a fixed quantity of work upfront.
K
Knowledge Base
The centralized repository of past proposal content, case studies, and approved answers that a team draws from when responding to new RFPs.
M
Mandatory Requirement
A requirement in an RFP, usually marked "shall" or "must," that a proposal has to meet to remain eligible for evaluation.
N
NAICS Code
A standardized industry classification code used in the US to categorize vendors and match them to relevant government opportunities.
P
Past Performance
A section of the proposal, or a scoring category, that documents your track record on similar prior projects.
Pre-Bid Meeting
An optional or mandatory session held by the buyer before the RFP deadline where vendors can ask clarifying questions.
Pricing Volume
The section of a proposal dedicated to cost breakdowns, often submitted and evaluated separately from the technical response.
Procurement
The overall process an organization uses to source, evaluate, and purchase goods or services from vendors.
Proposal Automation
Software that uses stored content and AI to draft, assemble, and format proposal responses, reducing manual writing time.
R
RFI (Request for Information)
An early-stage document buyers issue to gather general information about vendors and solutions, usually before an RFP is released.
RFP (Request for Proposal)
A formal document a buyer issues asking vendors to submit a detailed proposal, including approach, pricing, and qualifications, for a specific need. For what actually happens after one lands in your inbox, read Most RFPs Are Lost Before Anyone Writes a Word.
RFQ (Request for Quotation)
A procurement document focused mainly on pricing for a clearly defined product or service, with less emphasis on approach or strategy.
S
SAM.gov Registration
Mandatory registration in the US System for Award Management, required for any vendor bidding on federal contracts.
Scope Creep
Uncontrolled expansion of project requirements after a contract is awarded, often traced back to vague language in the original RFP or proposal.
Set-Aside
A government contract reserved for a specific category of business, such as small businesses, veteran-owned, or minority-owned firms.
Shredding
The process of breaking an RFP down line by line into individual requirements, usually the first step in building a compliance matrix.
SME (Subject Matter Expert)
A technical or domain specialist who contributes accurate input to specific sections of a proposal, often the bottleneck in response time.
Sole Source
A contract awarded without competitive bidding because only one vendor can reasonably fulfill the requirement.
Solicitation
The general term for any document (RFP, RFQ, RFI) a buyer issues to formally request vendor responses.
SOW (Statement of Work)
A detailed description of the work to be performed, deliverables, and timeline, often included in or attached to an RFP.
Storyboarding
Planning the structure, key messages, and win themes of a proposal section before writing the full content.
T
Teaming Agreement
A formal agreement between two or more companies to jointly pursue and deliver a contract, common when no single vendor meets all requirements.
Tender
A term used mainly outside the US (UK, EU, APAC) that's roughly equivalent to an RFP or formal bid invitation.
W
Weighted Scoring
An evaluation method where different criteria (price, technical approach, experience) are assigned different point values based on importance to the buyer.
Win Probability
An estimated likelihood of winning a specific bid, calculated from fit, competition, relationship strength, and requirement alignment, ideally assessed before committing resources to write.
Win Theme
A core message repeated throughout a proposal that connects your strengths directly to what the buyer cares about most.

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