John Capewell-- Background I accepted, what I was led to believe, was a typical assignment to be a consulting proposal manager for a Washington D.C.-based, 8(a) company. The reality detail was that the Client company had recently been purchased by a large business, thereby losing their small business status and their ability [...]
When President Trump signed the appropriations bill on Friday afternoon, he set the stage for brisk RFP releases this fall. The appropriation bill includes FY 2019 funding for the DoD, HHS, Labor, and Education. When you add in funding for the Veterans Administration (VA) and military construction approved last week, 75% of [...]
Ken Blair This is the story two prop efforts I have experienced and how I overcame unique difficulties to help win. Challenge # 1 I was working with a small business in Ohio supporting their proposal effort for a DLA solicitation for enhanced combat helmets. My client had been in business for [...]
Tony Constable-- Note: Tony Constable is a senior pricing analyst with over 30 years of experience working large programs. The object of pursuing competitive opportunities is, of course, to win. To win single award "best value" competitions bidders have to: 1) convince the evaluators to turn a bidder's proposed team, solution, transition [...]
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 [...]
Ken Blair --- Probably many of us have had experiences during our careers where we saw a disaster due to scheduling problems. I am writing this article to share what tools and methods have helped me schedule to prepare a winner. One of the most important things you can do as a [...]
Many of our large and small business customers report slow RFP releases in August. Here are best industry insights into why: Many years, there is a tendency all of have often seen to have slower RFP releases during late fiscal year months. This is because it is easier for agencies to spend [...]
John Capewell --- Early in my independent BD career, I was fortunate to receive a long-term contract to provide a wide variety of BD/Capture/Proposal/Program development services to a top-5 defense contractor. They were entering the full and open, competitive service contract world for the first time – a huge and difficult undertaking. [...]
Gary Everett --- We all know, the key personnel you propose and the way you prepare their resumes are critical factors in winning the contract. The closer the key staff match the work requirements, the better. These personnel should be introduced to the government decision makers before the bid goes in. Or [...]
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 [...]
