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Articles tagged with: proposal manager
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…
Do I have to understand the proposal contents as the Proposal Manager? Ask the Proposal Doctor
Dear Proposal Doctor,
Do I have to actually understand what is in the proposal I am managing? Sometimes this is an overwhelming task, and it distracts me from the blocking and tackling of the day-to-day management.
Often the material is technical and written for people who are “inside the bubble” and who understand all the jargon and acronyms. This makes it difficult to know if the writing is not persuasive or if it is intrinsically not understandable to a layperson. Yet it is hard to give…
How to screen and interview proposal managers?
Dear Proposal Doctor,
My organization is woefully short of proposal managers and I have been under pressure to hire more. We advertise in the usual places and we get applicants.
The interview process does not seem to be a good predictor of who will be effective and who will be a good fit with our environment. No matter what questions we ask, we don’t seem to find out the right information. Sometimes we are pleasantly surprised; more often, we are not. This means we might be…
Why show up if everyone else wants to run the proposal show? Ask the Proposal Doctor
Dear Proposal Doctor,
All of a sudden, everyone on my team is obsessed with fonts and kerning and other aspects of desktop publishing. People who should be worried about the solution and the price are weighing in on the appearance of the document. Everyone has an opinion on the best color scheme, margins, headers, footers, and text boxes.
Isn’t this my domain? Shouldn’t I have the final say on this? Why is everyone else trying to do my job? What is the point of my…
Lohfeld team presents at APMP’s Bid & Proposal Con 2012
Lohfeld Consulting Group’s team presented to more than 625 bid, tender, proposal, marketing, business development, and capture professionals from all over the world at APMP’s 2012 Bid & Proposal Con, May 22-25, 2012 in Dallas, TX
Check out our team’s presentations, and be sure to download AppMaven’s 2012 Favorite PC Tools and iPad Apps!
- Best of App Maven: PC/iPad Tools and Apps that Deliver on a Shoestring Budget (Beth Wingate)
- Building the Technical Solution (Brooke Crouter)
- Are Good Proposal Managers Two-faced? Yes, and They Have to Be! (Kristin Pennypacker)
Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Highlights from…
Are good proposal managers two-faced? Yes, and they have to be!
A good proposal manager has two distinct faces: one is strategic; one is tactical. Everyone is familiar with the tactical aspects of proposal management get the team organized, create and stick to the schedule, and make sure delivery is on time. The other face is strategic, working with the capture manager to identify the storyline for the effort, getting the discriminators identified early, and helping the capture manager gather the intelligence that will ensure the final product is not just compliant,…
What to do with proposal “graphics & mayonnaise” complainers?
Dear Proposal Doctor,
Managing a big, complicated proposal is hard enough without having to listen to my complainers all day. I have two of them. They complain about everything from the quality of the graphics to the mayonnaise on the sandwiches at lunch. Responding to their issues and listening to them vent is just taking too much of my time, and I am worried about meeting our deadline for red team. I might even have to postpone it. How can I deal with these individuals?
Sick and…
Dear Proposal Doctor,
Despite a kick off meeting at which we discussed roles and responsibilities, everyone on this proposal seems to be stepping on everyone’s toes. The coordinator keeps trying to do my job; the capture manager is trying to be the solution architect; the contracts representative is getting way too involved in pricing. We have redundancy and re-work in some areas and complete neglect in others. How can I get things back on track?
Proposal-Manager-in-Chaos
Dear Proposal Manager,
I feel your pain and have lived…
Dear Proposal Doctor,
We are a little more than halfway through the response time for a big, must-win bid. Red team madness is approaching. Big gaps exist. We have not road-tested the solution, and we are still missing resumes for people badly needed for us to be credible for this job. Two partners have yet to sign their teaming agreements. Yet the capture manager and the two senior executives with a lot to lose (or gain) are focused (read obsessed) with tiny proposal details…
Audio Tip: Three Keys to Creating Winning Proposals
Alternative content
This month, capture and proposal development expert and columnist for Washington Technology magazine, Bob Lohfeld, offers three keys for creating winning proposals.
Creating winning proposals is not the same as writing a proposal. Anyone can write a proposal for government work, given enough time and resources. However, only one bidder writes the winning proposal. The best proposals have three things in common:
- They are directed and written by talented people experienced at writing proposals.
- They follow a similar, defined process.
- They are designed in an environment that creates proposals efficiently.
Your capture and…
