Conducting Color Reviews of Proposals
Run Blue, Pink, and Red reviews—add Gold when risk warrants. Use impartial reviewers, tight agendas, and clear outputs to raise scores, sharpen strategy, and control commercial exposure.
Color reviews turn expert perspective into disciplined improvement. You’ll learn how Blue validates win themes with impartial reviewers who weren’t in the strategy session, Pink stress-tests storyboards before drafting, and Red scores the complete draft against the client’s evaluation criteria to prioritize high-impact edits. You’ll also learn when to run a Gold review—an executive check for risk, terms, and price when fee or scope elevates exposure. We’ll standardize reviewer packages (RFP, draft, context) sent 24+ hours in advance, pick a collaborative medium (large printouts or an online board), and prime the proposal team to receive critique without defensiveness. You’ll practice 45–60 minute facilitation, action logging with owners and deadlines, and closing the loop so reviewers see their input reflected. We’ll integrate price checks within earlier reviews and keep Gold focused on decision rights. Result: stronger strategy, cleaner narrative, compliant final, controlled risk.
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ARTICLE: How to Conduct a Red Team Review
Many firms rely on Red Team reviews to improve proposals, but by the time these reviews occur—often just before submission—it's too late for strategic changes. This article challenges the assumption that Red Teams alone can meaningfully enhance a proposal. It introduces the full review process: Blue Teams (for win themes), Pink Teams (for storyboarding), and Gold Teams (for risk and alignment), showing how each stage contributes to stronger, more client-focused proposals.
PROMPT SET: Learn How to Conduct a Blue Team Review, AKA Analyze the Strength of a Win Theme
Proposal writers usually learn by doing. This prompt set allows you to do just that, but lets you practice the skills here on Twennie without submitting any lack-lustre proposals to a real competition. If your team writes proposals now or in the future, assign this prompt set. This is a rapid-learning tool for a skill that relies a lot on trial and error. Learners get 20 chances to build and test skill, and it only takes minutes out of a day.
To learn the skills of recognizing strong win themes in a draft proposal or while participating in a Blue Team Review exercise.
EXERCISE: Red Team Review
A Red Team Review Exercise is a structured session that helps technical and consulting teams perform a focused, impartial evaluation of a near-final proposal. The reviewers—called the Red Team—are individuals who did not contribute to the proposal and can assess it from the client’s perspective. The exercise includes six clear steps: recruiting reviewers, choosing a collaboration platform, distributing materials, preparing the proposal team, leading the review, and implementing the feedback.
Pink Team Review Template Form
A storyboard is a medium for outlining and planning a proposal. During a collaborative online or in-person exercise, proposal writers review a list of scope items on the storyboard. To each item they add key issues, tasks, and deliverables until all scope items are addressed. The Pink Team is a group of professionals in your organization who were not present during the exercise. They review this storyboard for its competitive potential before the document is written. Their input can provide valuable insight before a lot of work is done, and can be managed using this form.
TEMPLATE: Red Team Review
This template supports the Red Team Review exercise, a structured session that helps technical and consulting teams perform a focused, impartial evaluation of a near-final proposal. The reviewers—called the Red Team—are individuals who did not contribute to the proposal and can assess it from the client’s perspective. The exercise includes six clear steps: recruiting reviewers, choosing a collaboration platform, distributing materials, preparing the proposal team, leading the review, and implementing the feedback.