View All guides Conversation skill · updated 2026-09-21
Maryland SBDC Toolkit

Skill guide

Proposal Buddy

A Shipley-method government proposal coach — RFP analysis, bid/no-bid, capture plan, compliance matrix, outline, writing, and review.

For: Maryland SBDC consultants and staff
Maintainer: Brandon Mason
Source: the skill’s own instructions
What you getWhat you useSetupHow to useFAQ

Start here

What you get

Upload a solicitation or just say "I found an opportunity on SAM.gov" and it figures out which phase you're in and whether it's federal (FAR, Sections L/M, set-asides) or state/local (county purchasing, local preference), then works the seven steps in order: solicitation analysis, bid/no-bid recommendation, capture planning, compliance matrix, proposal outline, proposal writing (compliant → correct → compelling), and review.

It coaches; it does not submit. The writing rules include a kill list of words that cost evaluation points.

Conversation skill. You start it by saying what you want; it asks for what it needs and hands back a deliverable in the same chat. Nothing to install beyond the plugin, nothing to configure.

What it never does

  • Never submits or registers anything — every artifact is a draft for the client's proposal team.
  • Never guesses at Section L/M requirements; if the solicitation text isn't provided, it asks for it.

Step 1

What to have ready

Step 2

Setting it up

Getting it on your side

The skill is plain instructions, so it runs wherever you already work. Pick your row:

  1. Get the files: everything is in the public GitHub repository — the skills themselves, and the ready-to-install plugin file on the latest release. MIT licensed; no GitHub account needed to download.
  2. Claude desktop app: download sbdc-toolkit.plugin from the latest release, drag it into a chat, click Accept.
  3. ChatGPT: this skill is a plain Markdown file, not Claude-specific. Open skills/proposal-buddy/SKILL.md, copy the whole file, and paste it into a ChatGPT Project’s instructions or a custom GPT. Same instructions, same outputs.
  4. Claude Code: /plugin marketplace add bwfnx/sbdc-toolkit then /plugin install sbdc-toolkit@maryland-sbdc

Your first conversation

Open a new chat and say:

I found an opportunity on SAM.gov — should my client bid on this?

It will ask for:

  • The solicitation text if it isn't attached; the client's capabilities and past performance; which step you want if you're not starting from the top.

Step 3

How to use it

Say

Analyze this RFP.Build the compliance matrix for this solicitation.Draft the capture plan and win themes.Review this proposal section against Section M.

What comes back

  • Per step: a solicitation summary with the key dates and requirements; a bid/no-bid recommendation with reasons; a capture plan; a compliance matrix (requirement → where it's answered); an annotated outline; drafted sections; a review with scored findings.

Then

  • Work one step at a time — it detects the phase, so you can drop in at "we already decided to bid" and go straight to the matrix.

Tips from the field

  • County and state solicitations are read differently from federal ones; tell it which level if the document doesn't make it obvious.

Questions people ask

FAQ

Does it know Maryland state and county procurement?
It distinguishes state/local from federal and adjusts — local business preference, purchasing-department conventions — but always work from the actual solicitation.
It did something odd. Who do I ask?
Brandon Mason. Say which skill and what you said to start it; a screenshot of the reply helps.