The Benefits of Including a Visualization Team on Your Next Proposal
The Benefits of Including a Visualization Team on Your Next Proposal
How can having a visualization team help you land your next contract? First we need to start with some of the history of Civil FX. When I started Civil FX nearly three years ago, I thought my best plan of action would be to develop awareness among agencies, engineering firms and contractors so that they could reach out to me when they needed graphics or visuals for their projects.
While that plan has worked in some instances, the real bread and butter for this business has been something I never imagined.
A proposal graphic our visualization team created for an upcoming project.
Project Neon
It started within the first few months when I received a request to be on a team preparing a proposal for a local upcoming project. A few weeks later I learned that our team didn’t win the contract, and I wasn’t that surprised as I knew many teams develop proposals for large projects. Because of this, I didn’t think teaming up on projects was a viable method of winning work and staying busy.
It wasn’t long, however, before these requests were becoming more common. The most notable was Project Neon, the largest public works project in Nevada’s history. We were able to be listed as the visualization lead on one of the three teams competing for the project. It was exciting when our team was selected for the project!
After we received and delivered the Project Neon contract, adding several visual services that were above the contract requirements, the local community started to take notice of Civil FX. In the past year we have received many requests to be visualization lead on project proposals and, amazingly, our teams have won almost every single time.
‘Cheating’
Okay, so I’ve started cheating a little so the success numbers are a little over-inflated. The ‘cheating’ began when we started getting requests from multiple teams. While you can get into some trouble trying to be on multiple teams, non-exclusivity is sometimes an option.
As I’ve developed better relationships with my clients and others in the industry, several opportunities have presented themselves that have allowed Civil FX to be on multiple teams for the same proposal. One time in particular I turned down the second request because I was already on a team. When my first choice didn’t make the short list, the second team called me up to join in their efforts on the short list. Long story short, we won that project and look forward to the delivery portion in the coming weeks and months.
Visualization Teams
Many firms have visualization capabilities, especially national or worldwide companies. So it took a while to figure out why these firms would want Civil FX as part of their proposal. In conversations with these firms, the value in having Civil FX on their team is due to the fact that visualization is all that we do. We don’t offer engineering or surveying or anything else, really. If it doesn’t fall under our motto, ‘The visual side of infrastructure’, we don’t bother with it.
If a group of engineering firms and/or contractors are putting together a team for a proposal- especially one with a public outreach component- Civil FX can help them meet the requirements and set them apart. This is especially true in our local industry (Nevada) where Civil FX is growing in brand equity.
In an ever-competitive world of teams competing for infrastructure projects, any advantage can make the difference in winning or losing. As you put together your next dream team to win that big project, remember that having a visualization can be that difference maker that sets your proposal apart.