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How experts got involved in capture and proposals – and what keeps them coming back: Part 2 of 3
How experts got involved in capture and proposals – and what keeps them coming back: Part 2 of 3
“How did you get started in capture/proposals?” is a question often asked when meeting new colleagues at a conference, seminar, meeting, or around a war room conference table.
Answers vary from person to person and company to company, but most often practitioners became “accidental” capture or proposal professionals and discovered they love the excitement, colleagues, and “thrill of victory.”
I asked a number of colleagues from…
The art of the data call: proof points that POP
In today’s blog post, Lisa Pafe follows up on her 7 questions to ask before RFP release with insights on crafting effective data calls…
In my previous blog, I discussed 7 questions to form the basis of the data call. But, how do you ensure that your proof points are any good? Here are some examples of typical bland proposal statements that beg the reader to ask for proof:
- We enjoy high levels of customer satisfaction. How high?
- We have low employee turnover. Compared to what?
- We offer…
Requirements matrices, compliance matrices, and why you need both
Brenda Crist shares her advice on developing both requirements matrices and compliance matrices for all proposals.
A proposal manager’s biggest concern is working on a huge proposal for months and having it rejected because an instruction was not followed or an esoteric requirement was not addressed.
Adding to this risk are disconnects between the statement of work, proposal instructions, and evaluation criteria.
To avoid compliance issues, consider building a requirements matrix and a compliance matrix. The requirements matrix assigns each requirement a specific number and verifies that it is met in the proposal, as Table 1 illustrates. To…
How experts got involved in capture and proposals – and what keeps them coming back: Part 1 of 3
Ask anyone working in the capture or proposal profession how they got started in this “crazy” business (check out my “war stories” blog series), and you’ll get a different answer every time.
There’s often an underlying theme in each response, though – most folks never intended to become a capture/proposal professional.
Once someone becomes immersed in this profession, however, a number of factors keep them coming back for more “excitement” year after year.
I asked a number of colleagues how they got started in capture/proposals…
6 more changes experts would make to the BD, capture, and proposal process
“He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?” –Francis Bacon
In everything we do in business, we constantly work to make our products, processes, and procedures faster, more efficient, easier, cheaper, or more reliable to gain increased market share.
I asked a number of capture and proposal experts to share…
Proposal scheduling – make it or break it (Part 2 of 2)
Instituting scheduling best practices before, during, and after Request for Proposal (RFP) release can help alleviate risks and improve a company’s chance of developing a compliant, compelling, and winning proposal.
This week Brenda Crist, PPF.APMP and APMP Fellow shares part 2 of her time-tested advice on proposal scheduling.
Part 2: Effective scheduling after RFP release and submission
As soon as the RFP is released, the race against the clock starts to prepare the information needed for the Kick-off Meeting, including the schedule, compliance matrix, and writers’ packages.
Start by building a bullet-proof…
Can you hire an effective capture manager?
This article was originally published February 22, 2013 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
By Bob Lohfeld
The CEO of a mid-tier company asked me why many capture managers turn out to be ineffective and, in his case, could he have done something differently in the interview process to predict their effectiveness before hiring them.
This is a difficult question because most capture managers will interview well, but some will not live up to expectations once on the job. I thought I would share some insights about this situation…
Proposal scheduling – make it or break it (Part 1 of 2)
This week Brenda Crist, PPF.APMP and APMP Fellow shares her time-tested advice on proposal scheduling – part 1.
One of the most daunting proposal management tasks is ensuring all proposal tasks are performed on schedule. The inability to meet milestones can have a ripple effect throughout the proposal and affect staff members’ stress levels, proposal quality, and on-time delivery.
Instituting scheduling best practices before, during, and after Request for Proposal (RFP) release can help alleviate these risks and improve a company’s chance of developing a…
4 strategies that can kill your recompete – Bob Lohfeld Federal News Radio interview
As budgets get tighter, you will need to hold on to the contracts you’ve already got. Bob Lohfeld, CEO of Lohfeld Consulting Group, joins Francis Rose In Depth on FederalNewsRadio.com with four strategies that can kill your company’s recompete bid.
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Working with project managers on recompetes: Risk aversion versus price (Part 1)
This week, Lisa Pafe provides insights into how incumbents should work with their project managers when preparing for recompete procurements.
Incumbents often proceed with the re-compete capture and proposal process with only peripheral involvement from the project manager. I believe that this attitude is part of the general problem of incumbentitis – the false sense of security, complacency, and over-confidence that results in failing to take the capture/proposal process seriously and thus losing the recompete bid. In fact, recent industry statistics indicate that incumbents do…
