Here are 11 problems we can all avoid with a little planning and forethought: 1. An electrical storm took your power down shortly before submission, and you don’t have a backup site with power where you could finish. 2. You are out of budget and can’t complete because you didn’t get the [...]
Proposal group managers are forever in the position of needing to maximize all possible resources. In this article I provide 9 ways to get the best possible return on your investment (ROI) in consultants: Especially when you need difficult-to-find talent such as an SME, call far in advance. Carefully think out your [...]
During the past 30 years, our company has helped customers prepare over 3,000 proposals. This includes service to the Top 100 down to small business. We know proposal consultant fees are serious costs for all contractors. Below is guidance to lower cost: Establish a relationship with a source that provides quality proposal talent [...]
After 3 years in gestation, the $5B GTACS II competition is rapidly nearing its climax. With only 45 days before final RFP, the bidders are scrambling to get their teams in order. There will likely be 100 bidders more or less for the 30 spots on this lucrative contract. This competition is [...]
Like a general facing the enemy, proposal professionals are challenged to make the absolute best use of their resources. For many federal contractors, the challenge this season is in reverse: Too many targets. The $1.3 trillion budget is packed with large opportunities across the range of federal agencies. Plus-up 8% over 2017 for [...]
Probably the greatest desire in the industry is to find the perfect formula to prepare a winning proposal. The school solution is to cultivate the program / customer through every step in the procurement process. Thus you follow it from concept to Request for Information (RFI), Industry Day, response to draft RFP, [...]
During the past 33 years, we have worked too many proposals where there was lack of satisfactory participation from off-site inputters. Sometimes the problem is not like a 3-alarm fire, and you can still prepare a successful proposal. Other times, the problem is more like a 7-alarm fire. This is where the [...]
For many federal contractors, the past year has been like a trip through the desert where you can never get to the green valley. Based on our exposure to hundreds of programs, there is strong impressionistic evidence that RFP releases have moved to the right more than any other time in the [...]
1. Reward Wins – Set up a system to reward proposal wins. This could be verbal recognition. One company did it this way: They established a pool of 1% of contract profit. The successful capture manager could distribute the cash to team members based on contribution. 2. Price to Win (PTW) – [...]
Nearly all commentators predict a significant increase in federal proposal activity in 2018. These predictions are welcome to contractors after the slowest year for solicitation releases in the 21st century. Releases have been slow enough that, we hear complaints -- even from large companies -- that they don’t have enough RFPs to [...]
