The Source Selection Board members come to the Orals with a list of RFP requirements and the descriptive evaluation factors. They are there to make check marks against the requirements and assign some qualitative value that represents the evaluation factors.

There is no room on their “score sheet” for how effectively your team put the competitors down.

That is what ghosting is--trying to tell the SSB that the other guy isn’t as good as you are. Why waste your precious Orals time on the other guy? You don’t get credit for that and you risk losing credit for what you do offer. Instead of ghosting, devote your time and content to your own offer.

Typically your team will have done an analysis of your strengths and opportunities. You also know your weaknesses. Right there you have three ways to focus your own Orals content:

1)     Describe your strengths and how the agency customer will benefit. Use evocative and telling language.

2)     Describe what you know about their drivers (needs, Congressional pressure, public scrutiny, old technology, increasing security, and others). These are opportunities for your team to offer a solution that exceeds requirements.

3)     Seriously plan to overcome your weaknesses and describe the eventual outcomes. Give them no reason to doubt your ability and conviction about turning these weaknesses around.

Your team will give the SSB will many reasons to put positive marks next to their requirements list and to score you at the high end of the evaluation factors. You put the flesh and bones on your offer and give up the (idea of the) ghost. That is how you win!