Category: Proposal Writing

Your proposal is not a story

Many proposal practitioners think that a proposal is a story, with a beginning, a middle and an end. They assume that the Government evaluator will read the proposal like a… Continue reading Your proposal is not a story

How to Win with Risk

I recently attended a conference where an important government technology leader said to industry, “Please don’t come to my office and ask me what is keeping me awake at night!… Continue reading How to Win with Risk

A Way to Help Project Managers and SMEs Write Better Proposals

Project managers and SMEs are the backbone of many organizations. They have a combination of technical knowledge and communication skills that effectively feeds needed information to customers, bosses, and subordinates.… Continue reading A Way to Help Project Managers and SMEs Write Better Proposals

Winning “must win” deals

“Oh, by the way, this is a must win deal for us,” my boss said as we concluded our conversation. The RFP had dropped, and I was to lead the… Continue reading Winning “must win” deals

The Proposal of the Future

This article was originally published on February 28, 2020 on APMP-NCA ezine. Dr. Emmett Brown: Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads. – “Back to the Future”, 1985 Dr. Brown was… Continue reading The Proposal of the Future

A winning proposal isn’t always the best

Is a winning proposal a good proposal? Some argue that by definition, yes, a win is a good proposal. However, we all know that a proposal can be the winner… Continue reading A winning proposal isn’t always the best

Five Tips for Describing Complexity

Most requests for proposal (RFPs) ask you to define past performance in terms of relevant size, scope and complexity. The term size is easy to understand because it is numeric.… Continue reading Five Tips for Describing Complexity

10 Steps to creating high-scoring proposals

I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Stacey Coolican, CEO of Coolican Consulting, to talk about the topics Bob Lohfeld and I wrote about in our book, 10 steps… Continue reading 10 Steps to creating high-scoring proposals

Creating a unified corporate focus on winning new business through knowledge management

How difficult is it to collect proof points, metrics, resumes, or past performance related to an opportunity you’re trying to pursue? One way to improve access to your organization’s information… Continue reading Creating a unified corporate focus on winning new business through knowledge management

Can proposal managers and contracting officers find common ground?

Do proposal managers and contracting officers (COs) have anything in common? Most likely, what we have in common is that we are on each other’s list of pet peeves. Or,… Continue reading Can proposal managers and contracting officers find common ground?