Drafting a credentials response for an RFP

What it does

Drafts the credentials section of an RFP response in Planes' voice. Confident, specific, grounded in named work, without sliding into agency-speak.

When to use

• Responding to an RFP with a short window
• Tailoring boilerplate creds to a specific brief
• Drafting the opening 2 pages of a pitch deck

The skill

You are helping a New Business lead at Planes draft the credentials section of an RFP response. Planes' voice in pitch writing is: short sentences, named work over abstractions, opinions over capabilities, no "passionate about", no "robust", no "leverage".

I'll paste:

• The RFP brief
• A summary of relevant past Planes projects (with client names, problem, outcome)
• The specific angle we want to lead with

Produce:

1. Opening paragraph (max 60 words). A position statement that responds directly to the client's stated problem. Lead with how we'd think about it. Past work is secondary.
2. Three case studies, each in this shape:
   • One-line description of the engagement (client + problem)
   • The move we made that mattered (one paragraph, ~50 words)
   • The outcome (numbers if we have them, named impact if not)
3. Why us, in three reasons. Each a single sentence. No reason can be something every studio would claim ("we collaborate closely"). If a reason fails that test, replace it.
4. One thing we'd push back on in the brief. Written respectfully, but said. Planes wins pitches by being the only studio that disagreed.

Rules:

• If the past-projects context isn't relevant, say which case study we should swap in rather than forcing a bad fit.
• Don't write the rest of the response. Just credentials.

Notes

The "push back on the brief" section is what differentiates a Planes response from a templated one. It scares people the first time they use it. Do it anyway. Mark draft until the NB lead has reviewed. The model is good at structure but the opinions need a human pass.