In the government contracting arena, the competition can be fierce, and the ability to win new business depends on writing winning government proposals. Writing a government proposal is never an easy task – especially when determining how to best stand out from the competition. This is why using outsourced federal proposal [...]
With the Alliant 2 solicitation being shot down by the Court of Federal Claims, this article is for those organizations that thought they had won a seat at the Alliant 2 table only to have the Court win the “all in.” It also provides helpful tips to new bidders. I’m going to [...]
The pressure on Government contractors to produce winning proposals is greater than ever before. In the quest to survive and thrive, companies must strategize, plan, and use their proposal budgets in the most efficient manner possible. In this article we address the question: Should companies hire direct independent proposal consultants or not? [...]
The problem of preparing a proposal consultant resume is deep. And there is a science to it. I have recently seen consultant resumes from one to 16-pp. long. The resume is so critical, because it has the power to get the job or lose the job for you. Length: A couple of [...]
Written by: Anton Reut THE OPPORTUNITY: GSA estimates that Alliant 2 will bill over $25 billion during its contract life. It’s not surprising that over 200 companies are preparing to bid on this keystone contract opportunity. Our partners RASA/ONA understand the Government objectives for this procurement and the motivations of the competitors [...]
APMP is presenting a panel discussion on “How to Win Your Next Recompete” with best-in-industry panelists tonight Wednesday, March 19, at the Tysons Corner Westin. Presenters include Nigel Thacker, a specialist who has written books on recompetes; Bob Lohfeld of Lohfeld Consulting; and Kristin Dufrene, VP of Proposal Development at Engility. The OCI [...]
Late in the afternoon on Friday February 7th, OPM gave notice of the cancellation of the Customized Human Resources Solutions Services (CHRS) contract by posting a vague one-sentence statement to FBO. The notice that “THIS SOLICITATION IS HEREBY CANCELLED” undoubtedly ruined the weekend of many bidders, and provided no explanation to why [...]
The business question at top of all our minds is, how much proposal volume will we see in 2014? Study of proposal market patterns over several years and our own month-by-month sales records from the past 15 years provide insight into this question.
Looking Back, Federal Proposal Market in 2013
Business in 2013 was slower than in 2012 at all proposal consultant agencies known to OCI. The volume of 2013 business at OCI was down slightly compared to 2012. As far as we know, business at all other proposal consultant agencies was down farther. Figures we have heard in networking with significant competitors include business that was 14%, 17%, 25%, 35%, 40% and 50% lower in 2013 than it was in 2012. The market was slow enough that most proposal consultants experienced abnormal amounts of time on the bench. A few consultants left the industry, while others worked some in areas other than proposal services to augment their income. Many businesses, especially DoD contractors, had layoffs and austerity programs due to the drop in federal business.
A critical question shared by all proposal professionals is: How many proposal releases will we have in the coming quarter? Will proposal activity / business be slow, moderate or fast?
There is a high probability that the dollars spent on contracting this fall will be less than last fall. This is because we had a grace period last fall when the start of sequestration was delayed. This fall the planning across the government is for budgets with sequestered dollars. And the fall timeframe will likely transpire with a continuing resolution (CR) and spending at the sequestration level.
Now that the appropriations have been passed for about 6 weeks, the period of fast proposal activity / business is coming soon. Most agencies have realigned their plans IAW their appropriations, and RFP releases are beginning to increase.
With less than 5 months left in FY 2013, proposal business will likely be fast by late May. And it should continue to be relatively fast during the rest of the fiscal year. This is because the volume of procurements pushed to the right exceeds the negative effects of the sequestration. And agency procurement offices need to process as many of the postponed bids as their bandwidth will permit before end of fiscal year.
