TArticles tagged with: RFP

Strength-Based Winning™: Training Refresh

Learn how to develop a discriminating value proposition that government evaluators will award top scores.

Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Strength-Based Winning™ training helps you vet, solution, articulate and deliver a compelling proposal that speaks directly to what the customer values. Our students learn how to develop a discriminating value proposition that government evaluators will award top scores. Recent updates to our training content now help you stand out in a crowded marketplace even more effectively. New Federal government case study: Our standard class offering includes multiple team activities based on one case study and solicitation. Students learn how to identify potential strengths and weaknesses, vet Strengths and mitigate weaknesses, solution to Strengths, articulate the solution in proposal writing, and conduct effective Strength-Based color team reviews using Government scoresheets. We also offer the opportunity for tailoring content for private classes: give us a capture plan, RFP and corresponding proposal, and we’ll develop a tailored case study that reflects your typical business opportunities. Strength-Based task order bids: Our … Continue reading Strength-Based Winning™: Training Refresh →

Integrate coding challenges into your proposal strategy

Expect to see an increase in “coding challenges” added to Request for Proposal (RFP) requirements

Proposal professionals can expect to see an increase in “coding challenges” added to Request for Proposal (RFP) requirements. Government and industry are using coding challenges to either down-select Offerors as an entry or final review gate after they submit a proposal. Coding challenges are tests sent to evaluate the offeror’s ability to build a minimal viable product (MVP) or web-based app to respond to a set of requirements. Government and industry set the ground rules for the challenge by defining the: challenge questions and instructions time allowed to complete the challenge location of the challenge size of the team able to compete platform and software to be used If Government and industry do not create their own challenge, they may use one on sites like CoderByte or HackerRank. THREE CODING CHALLENGE EXAMPLES GSA Comet – The General Services Administration (GSA) CIO Modernization and Enterprise Transformation (COMET). COMET will require offerors … Continue reading Integrate coding challenges into your proposal strategy →

The Great Proposal: A True Story of Strengths

Solutioning to strengths when faced with a recompete

The great proposal did not start out great – nor did it focus on Strengths. In the beginning, 15 months prior to RFP release, there were the usual problems we faced when preparing for a recompete. Red flags included project start-up issues that resulted in mediocre CPARS ratings, difficult client relationships, competing stakeholder demands, customer turnover on the acquisition side, and no dedicated Capture Manager or Capture Plan. Since this recompete represented the company’s largest Federal contract, the CEO knew she had to take action. And that’s when the trajectory, which had been turning towards a possible proposal loss, started to reverse course. Capture Readiness Assessment The Capture Readiness Assessment included interviews and document review based on Lohfeld Consulting Group’s 12 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The resulting scorecard revealed an average score of 3.5 out of ten. This score is not unusual more than a year ahead of RFP release, … Continue reading The Great Proposal: A True Story of Strengths →

How Ready is Your Capture?

Using Lohfeld Consulting Group’s 12 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to analyze your capture effort

Reprinted with permission from APMP-NCA eZine. Assessing the quality of a capture effort is a difficult task. Any assessment is simply a snapshot in time; your capture could get better… or it could get worse. A capture readiness assessment should look at the snapshot, but also look at trends. Using Lohfeld Consulting Group’s 12 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), you can analyze where your capture effort is today, identify areas for improvement, and then chart whether your capture trends upward in readiness for the win. When to Begin? The first question is: when should you assess capture readiness? If you are the incumbent, assessing capture readiness for the recompete begins on day one of contract award. If you are the challenger, you should assess you capture one to two years prior to RFP drop. As you inch closer towards RFP drop, you should have monthly reviews to determine progress. What are … Continue reading How Ready is Your Capture? →