Winning Proposals Do Not Contain Content Not Asked for in the Request for Proposal (RFP).

The most violated federal proposal "Don't" is to try to make sales points outside the content requirements specified in Section L of the RFP. Evaluators cannot score content that is not in response to Section L. In other words, do not make points about why you should be selected for award in Executive Summaries, Cover Letters, etc. Stay within the proposal chapters, subchapters, or sections organized to answer the requirements stated in Section L. Fit them into Section L driven content.

This "Bottom Up" or "Section L Driven" approach to organizing a federal proposal is used by Fedmarket in our proposal writing services and products.

In short, a federal proposal should not contain content not asked for in the RFP.