Your proposal sounds professional. It covers every requirement. It reads like a proposal should.

And it’s losing to companies with the same experience, qualifications, and past performance as yours.

The reason isn’t your writing. You’re losing because you’re neutral.

In this episode, we break down what neutral means in proposal scoring, what it takes to earn a strength instead, and the hidden risk that’s lowering your scores even when everything looks solid.

Rick Porterfield has 40+ years in government contracting — managing and writing proposals, winning many, losing some he should have won, and figuring out why good proposals still lose. He’s helped clients win a nationwide contracts, positions on major federal vehicles including GWACs, and improve scoring outcomes across multiple competitive bids.

In this episode:

• What “neutral” means in proposal scoring — and why it loses
• The three things every paragraph must do to score well
• Why proposal evaluators are risk-averse — and how to use that to your advantage
• Three specific risk signals that lower your score on every bid
• The one test to apply to every paragraph before it goes in the proposal
• Why rewriting usually doesn’t improve your score
• Where AI fits into all of this

If you act on this episode: Your proposals will give evaluators something to score that your competitors aren’t giving them.

Proposal Prompt Pack — $197 (Instant Download): 15 copy and paste prompts that build the proposal strategy, draft the proposal and evaluate it, and score your proposal before the evaluator does. Works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini — any AI tool you already use. Click here to get it now

The Book — A Field Guide to Winning Proposals with AI: Nine steps. Each produces a deliverable that feeds into the next step. A complete method — from RFP to a proposal that scores. Click here to get it on Amazon

More resources: winninggovernmentcontracts.com

If you don’t act: Companies that keep producing neutral proposals will keep losing to companies that know how to score.

Don’t be the wallflower. Get on the dance floor!

If you’re using AI to write proposals and still not winning — this episode is for you. You will find out how to use AI to win, not just write.

The problem isn’t your AI tool. It isn’t your writing team. It isn’t the competition.

It’s that AI is producing proposals that look good, sound right, cover all the requirements — but score neutral. And neutral doesn’t win awards.

In this episode, Rick Porterfield — 40+ years in government contracting, helping clients win billions in federal work — breaks down the disconnect that’s costing you contracts you should be winning. And what to do about it.

In this episode:

• Why AI-generated proposal content scores neutral — and why neutral loses
• What government evaluators are actually doing when they read your proposal (it’s not what you think)
• The constraints that force evaluators to justify every score in writing — and how that affects your writing
• Why your technical proposal is evaluated — and what that means for how you structure it
• The difference between writing a proposal and building a scoring argument
• Why AI fails without a method — and what the method actually does

The Book: A Field Guide to Winning Proposals with AI by Rick Porterfield

Nine steps. Each step produces a deliverable. Each deliverable feeds the next one. By the end, you don’t have a proposal that actually scores high. Built on your experience and qualifications, and aligned to what the evaluators are actually looking for.

Click here to get the Book on Amazon Available as Kindle eBook. Paperback coming soon.

Click here to get my AI proposal writing prompt pack. A copy and paste Word doc that works with all AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.)

The federal government spends $10 billion monthly with small businesses. Learn how to position your company to win your share through strategic marketing and relationship-building.

What You'll Learn:

• Craft a value proposition that makes agencies choose you over competitors
• Build agency relationships without or annoying them
• Use GAO and IG reports to find problems you can solve
• Make smart bid/no-bid decisions that protect your win rate
• Leverage mentor-protégé agreements for instant credibility

Bottom Line: Marketing to the government isn't about having a website—it's about demonstrating trust, capability, and value in ways that matter to procurement officers.

Resources: Beta.SAM.gov | GAO Reports | Questions: info@federalpcs.com

Like, subscribe, and leave a five-star review to help more contractors find the show!

Ready to stop guessing? Grab Writing Proposals for Government Contracts at winninggovernmentcontracts.com