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5 questions to derail an LPTA procurement
This article was originally published December 19, 2012 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
By Bob Lohfeld
Recently, while teaching a capture management class, a capture manager asked me what he could do when the contracting officer for a pending IT services bid said he wanted to use lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) evaluation criteria versus the traditional best-value tradeoff approach.
The capture manager and the government program manager wanted to avoid a price shootout, but the contracting shop wouldn’t agree.
When confronted with this situation, here are five questions…
Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief – Dec. 2012
Welcome to Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief
December 2012 Edition!
Click to read Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief – December 2012
Today’s market demands benchmarking proposals – here’s how
This article was originally published December 12, 2012 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
By Bob Lohfeld
I attended a session on proposal benchmarking at the Association of Proposal Management Professionals, National Capital Area Chapter’s (APMP-NCA), Mid Atlantic Proposal Conference & Exhibition a few months ago and was surprised to learn how few companies actually benchmark the quality of their proposals or the capabilities of their proposal departments.
In the session led by BJ Lownie of Strategic Proposals, only about 15% of the 75 companies represented acknowledged that they…
Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief – Nov. 2012
Welcome to Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief
November 2012 Edition!
The elections are over, but we continue to deal with low price/technically acceptable (LPTA) controversies, sequestration prognostications, doing more with less in government and industry, tighter B&P budgets, continual technology innovations, RFP quality issues, more competition for less work – and as always business development, capture, and proposal professionals must continue their day-to-day operations and efforts to maintain existing work and win new business for your companies.
Our November Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief supports your efforts.
Click to read Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief…
Winning solutions begin with a winning proposal team
by Lisa Pafe (originally published in APMP-NCA Executive Summary, Fall 2012)
Crafting a winning solution is an intellectual challenge, but it is also a team challenge. No proposal is won by an “I”; all are won by a team. Yet no matter how many masterminds you assemble, the proposal team is often its own worst enemy.
As a proposal or capture manager, how many times have you thought you did everything right? You develop the win strategy, win themes and discriminators; shred, outline and storyboard…
7 steps from good to great proposals
This article was originally published Oct. 24, 2012 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
By Bob Lohfeld
We all strive to write great proposals and often pat ourselves on the back when our proposals win. Each victory fills us with pride and reassures us that we’re writing great proposals, but that’s not always the case.
Great proposals frequently lose on price, and poorly written proposals win when competition is limited or the bid price is low. Because of this, victory is not always a good indicator of proposal quality.
All…
Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief – Oct. 2012
Welcome to Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief October 2012 Edition!
Happy New Year (FY13)!
Amidst low price/technically acceptable (LPTA) controversies, sequestration-related do’s and don’ts, trends towards doing more with less in government and industry, tighter B&P budgets, continual technology innovations, RFP quality issues, more competition for less work, and significant concerns about political administration changes, business development, capture, and proposal professionals must continue their day-to-day operations and efforts to maintain existing work and win new business for your companies.
Our October Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief supports your efforts.
Click to read Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal…
Do’s and don’ts of lowering your proposal costs
This article was originally published Sept. 27, 2012 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
By Bob Lohfeld
I used to think that no one would have the audacity to say you’re spending too much on proposals as long as you were winning.
With companies falling short of revenue goals, however, most certainly there will be downward pressure on all operating costs, including proposals costs. There are easily 50 ways to reduce proposal costs, but regrettably 45 of these will also lower your win rate.
The challenge is to reduce proposal costs…
Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief – Sept. 2012
Welcome to Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief September 2012 Edition!
The fiscal year is nearly over – and the final rush is on to finish those last proposal and task order efforts!
Upcoming elections, sequestration fears, and budget cuts are top of mind, but our day-to-day business of winning new business and maintaining existing work must continue.
Our September Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief will support your business development efforts. Take a look at our latest blog posts, updated 2012/2013 capture and proposal training schedule, webinars, and conferences – all aimed to help you improve your skills and support…
4 Keys to better capture analytics
This article was originally published August 29, 2012 in WashingtonTechnology.com.
By Bob Lohfeld
Capture analytics is the science of measuring how well you have performed each of the activities in your capture management process and then correlating these measurements with the outcomes of your bids.
Understanding this correlation can help you make better decisions about what deals to pursue and how likely you are to win, and they can improve the accuracy of your revenue predictions.
The foundation for capture analytics is econometrics, which uses statistical…
