Refresh your knowledge of winning practices and make connections that count on October 12 at our new Mid-Atlantic Proposal Conference and Expo…an “expanded and improved” version of Professional Day!
- Choose from among 20 skill-building sessions presented by respected industry professionals—across these four new knowledge tracks:
- Best Practices in the Business Development Lifecycle
- Financial and Pricing Issues
- Small Business Focus
- Master’s Track for Seasoned Professionals
- Plus three keynote plenary sessions
- Visit with our Corporate Partners at the Expo and find out about the latest products and services to make you a more successful proposal professional.
- Renew your relationships with current colleagues—and meet new people to expand and enrich your professional network.
…Plus get 10 Continuing Education Units toward your APMP professional accreditation!
APMP-NCA’s Mid-Atlantic Proposal Conference and Expo
October 12, 2010; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(Registration and Expo with continental breakfast opens at 7:00 a.m.)
Fairview Park Marriott, Falls Church, Virginia
Register Now and Guarantee Your Seat!
…Last year this event sold out two weeks before the event.
- *APMP Members: $199 Non-Members: $299
Stay over at the Fairview Park Marriott and get APMP accredited at our Accreditation Preparation Workshop and Exam on October 13…discounted rooms are reserved for you!
Tailor your Conference and Expo experience—choose from among 20 sessions presented by recognized industry leaders in four new knowledge tracks—plus three keynote speakers!
Detailed Agenda
(Click on the topic to show the Abstract and click on each presenter's name to show their detailed bio. Click again to hide.)
| Time/Track |
Master’s |
BD Lifecycle |
Financial |
Small Business |
7am–8am |
Networking and Continental Breakfast |
8am–9:15am |
Welcome and Keynote Address
- “Connecting the Dots: How Orals Coaching Benefits Everyday Communications”—Ben Rowland
In this engaging keynote presentation, Mr. Rowland will coach the audience on how to effectively apply professional speaking techniques (originally designed for oral presentations) to their everyday life. With his deep insight into communications and human behavior, Mr. Rowland has developed clever, memorable examples to illustrate speaking methods he commonly employees and their application in practical non-proposal situations.
Mr. Rowland, a senior consultant at Lohfeld Consulting Group, works extensively with both experienced and inexperienced speakers to prepare and structure their message for oral presentations and other speaking engagements. Mr. Rowland has managed teams of more than 50 people and oral presentations spanning up to 5 days. His unique combination of levity, creative skills, and attention to compliance has produced some of the industry’s most successful oral presentations, securing billions of dollars in awarded contracts.
Using expert processes and productivity tools, Mr. Rowland facilitates group development along with integration of win themes messaging to produce engaging slides and scripts for clients. He coaches presenters at all skill levels and builds confidence through video-taped rehearsals, pointed questioning, and meticulous message refinement aligned to capture plans, strategic corporate visions, and evaluation criteria to achieve the highest evaluated scores.
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9:15am–9:30am |
Break |
9:30am–10:30am |
“Creating High Performing Proposal Organizations”—Bob Lohfeld |
“Taming the Past Performance Repository Beast—Lessons Learned on a Budget”—Emily Hoar |
"Connecting the Dots: From Capture to PTW…How Do We Get There From Here?"—Aimee Beatty |
“Succeed in the Federal Government Market as Effectively as the Big Guys—Starting Now”—Bill Russo |
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High performing proposal organizations consistently deliver win rates above 65%—but this requires more than just good proposal managers and writers. It takes sound business development, capture management, and proposal processes; an efficient proposal development infrastructure; and a team of skilled capture and proposal professionals to do the work. This presentation describes how these organizations work, the kinds of processes they use, and the types of infrastructure they depend upon to efficiently create winning proposals. The presentation also describes how you can assess your proposal organization and build a roadmap to create your own high performing proposal organization.
Bob Lohfeld has more than 30 years’ experience winning contracts in the government market, with expertise in business development, capture management, and creating winning proposals. He is the founder of Lohfeld Consulting Group, a leading capture and proposal consulting firm specializing in government market procurements. Mr. Lohfeld writes the "Capture Management"column in Washington Technology magazine. Prior to forming Lohfeld Consulting Group, he served as division president at Lockheed Martin, Vice President of Lockheed Martin Information Technology, Senior Vice President at OAO Corporation, Systems Engineering Manager at Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), and Program Manager at Fairchild Industries. Mr. Lohfeld is a three-time winner of Federal Computer Week’s Federal 100 Award and a former Fed100 Judge.
More frequently, we are seeing evaluation criteria ranking past performance and corporate experience of equal importance with technical capability. This trend will continue as competition for shrinking dollars increases. To compete in a marketplace where the competition has “been there” and “done that,” you need details and demonstrated proof that you have not only done it, but done it better— exceeding performance objectives and customer expectations. It is not enough to restate CPAR and PPIR ratings; you need quotes, metrics, system names, specific names of projects; and training exercises. In short, you need details, details, details!
This presentation provides lessons learned that will help emerging, small, and mid-sized businesses on a budget to “connect the dots” between what they do now and what they want to do in the future. The presentation describes how to avoid critical proposal development problems by carefully planning, efficiently building, and systematically using a robust past performance repository with only Microsoft Word and standard server folder/file configurations.
Emily Hoar, Business Development Manager at Alion Science and Technology, is a senior proposal manager with more than 20 years’ experience in professional writing and editing for the defense information technology services and telecommunications/communications support industries. She was responsible for building the corporate experience/past performance repositories for two separate corporations. Ms. Hoar holds an MA in English from George Mason University and a BA in Communications Studies from Virginia Tech.
This session will help the attendees connect the dots by describing how PTW is connected to Capture. The speaker will define PTW and the effort and timing required to successfully undertake PTW. The speaker will also describe the processes of sequencing (what has to happen when); integrating (how to integrate it successfully); and placing these in context. The emphasis of the discussion will be on functional rather than administrative perspective. In other words, what has to happen to connect the dots, rather than who is doing it. This way, the session will be applicable to all participants, regardless of company size. The speaker will illustrate how the sub-functions of the business capture process such as competitive intelligence (CI), pricing, human resources, procurement, proposal, and the solution team are critical in the development of pricing strategy and delivery of successful CI-PTW analysis. The concept of PTW will be demystified and broken down into simple steps. Through the use of anecdotes, the brief will cover mistakes and misconceptions made every day by prime contractors.
As owner of The Whites Ford Group, LLC, Aimee Beatty provides process assessment and process development for federally-facing business units. She emphasizes the application of Competitive Intelligence /Price to Win (CI/PTW) applications in the business capture process. Ms. Beatty mentors and advises clients in all aspects of the capture process to include guiding pricing strategies and facilitating structured reviews. Her background with “Black Hat” reviews provides clients with a more effective option in defining a competitive strategy. Her CI/PTW expertise has resulted in work helping clients with their strategies as they pursue competitive bids in the public sector.
You run a small business. You want to win more work and outsmart competitors. You’re tired of bemoaning the lack of proposal resources, or the all-too-short record of “relevant experience.” You have sampled books, systems, consultants, seminars. You seek to connect your business vision, resources, and distinctive offerings to define an approach that “sings”. This session can help.
The premise: To connect the dots for success, nurture three critical attributes: attitude, focus, and professionalism.
The speaker will share lessons learned from 30 years of proposal management, and experience of growing a small aerospace services company into a successful acquisition by a major contractor. This is not a ‘how-to’ secure government business. Rather, the speaker will describe a positive and purpose-driven mindset for making the most of your current resources and opportunities.
Bill Russo, AM-APMP, serves as a Senior Proposal Manager for BAE Systems. He has managed, written, reviewed, and edited proposals since 1981. Mr. Russo began his career as an engineer and program manager with a $3 million NASA hardware supplier. As proposal manager for an 8(a) USAF contractor, he helped the business grow from $40 million to $400 million. He now manages proposals for BAE, a major defense prime contractor. Mr. Russo delivered presentations and workshops at the 2005, 2007, and 2009 APMP International Conferences on the effective use of Microsoft Word to produce robust proposal documents, and on crafting effective win themes.
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10:35am–11:35am |
“What’s Going On in the Federal Marketplace & How Do I Sell to It?”—Larry Allen |
“In Praise of “Calculated Impertinence” – Northrop Grumman and the KC-X Tanker Competition”—John Lauderdale |
“Understanding Pricing Strategy for Non-Pricing Professionals”—Pat Brosey |
“Whether You're Large or Small, Make the Small Business Rules Work for You!”—Shlomo Katz |
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This presentation answers many questions that will help the attendees better understand what it takes to be successful in the Federal marketplace. Question such as:
• What’s pressuring federal customers?
• Is your firm a beloved partner, or a necessary evil in today’s federal market?
• What traits do successful commercial solution providers share?
Get the answers to these questions and more in this presentation that has been well received by businesses looking to better position themselves in supplying commercial items to the Federal Government. As the speaker notes, “you may laugh, you may cry. You will leave better informed.”
Larry Allen is President of the Coalition for Government Procurement, whose members include major companies supplying commercial items to the federal government. He promotes common-sense acquisition to senior executives. Mr. Allen is a strong advocate for the Federal Supply Schedules program. He has contributed to books including Multiple Award Schedule Contracting and Business 2 Government. He is the primary author of The Secrets of Schedules Sales Success. Mr. Allen’s show, “Off the Shelf,” airs on Federal News Radio. Mr. Allen received the Fed 100 award and served on the Virginia Procurement Assessment Task Force as well as the Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel.
Calculated Impertinence (CI) is a business tactic that sends a message to the client about their acquisition strategy. CI provides a proposing organization’s customer, or prospective customer, know the reasons why the firm is considering or has made a no-bid decision on a solicitation – when there are real advantages to the for having a healthy competition. From the proposal developer’s perspective, there are advantages to CI, but risks as well. The speaker will describe the use of CI, with emphasis on the recent (March 2010) Northrop Grumman’s use of CI in the KC-X tanker competition. Participants will share in the discussion of the pros and cons of using this practice.
John Lauderdale has been an independent proposal consultant for 20 years, helping business define, improve, and refine proposal planning and execution processes. In his role as consultant he shares the knowledge base he has built since his time as a government program analyst at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Government Contracts. Mr. Lauderdale has presented for the (APMP) regionally and nationally. He holds a BS in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Tennessee and an MBA in Operations Research from American University.
Developing a winning pricing strategy is often the key to winning new business from your compliant and qualified competition. This session is designed for proposal and capture managers, writers, and other business development professionals. Specifically, it is a tutorial intended for new professionals or those with limited pricing experience, while providing a good review for experienced professionals. Through the use of case studies, the speaker will address creative and compliant proposal pricing strategies. The session will also consider critical pricing assessments, strategies, methodologies and pricing decisions, and aid attendees in implementing a winning pricing strategy reducing evaluated price. Creative pricing techniques described by the speaker, furthermore, will sustain a fully compliant audit by DCAA.
Pat Brosey has more than 20 years’ experience managing, writing, and producing winning cost and technical proposals for government agencies. She currently serves as Principal Consultant for Lohfeld Consulting Group, providing leadership across the entire development cycle as proposal and capture manager, volume lead, technical writer, and review chair. Ms. Brosey has comprehensive Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) experience in roles as diverse as business developer, system architect (certified), chief engineer, system integration lead, and software engineer. As a Project Management Professional (PMP®), she is skilled in PM techniques including earned value, scheduling, costing, and risk management. Ms. Brosey has also led Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®) and ISO 9000® compliance and assessment activities.
With increased government emphasis on using small businesses, small and large contractors need to understand the special rules that govern the allocation of contracts to small business concerns, and how they can make those rules work to their benefit. Small companies that do not understand the rules risk losing their privileged status. This may happen through inadvertent “affiliation” with another concern, or through “undue reliance” on an “ostensible subcontractor.” Large concerns, on the other hand, need to understand how they can achieve the maximum benefits from teaming with small businesses, either through Mentor-Protégé Agreement or traditional teaming arrangement. Everyone involved in the capture and proposal process must know these rules since any mistake - from a poorly organized team to a weak proposal sentence - can kill the team's chances of benefitting from the small business rules and winning the contract.
For nearly 20 years, Shlomo Katz has helped government contractors win and retain government contracts. He specializes in helping organizations understand the complex legal rules that govern proposals and contracts. As a corporate partner of APMP-NCA for the last five years, Mr. Katz spreads the message that a proposal is a legal document creating legal rights and obligations, emphasizing everyone involved in the process must understand the ramifications. He represents contractors in bid protests and contract claims and disputes. Mr. Katz also helps contractors navigate the complexities of federal procurement regulations.
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11:35am–1pm |
Lunch and Plenary Session
The Federal Government faces a complex web of public and private organizations arrangements. The Government’s increased use of private organizations has led to the outsourcing of core and peripheral activities in the government; advanced these public-private collaborations and partnerships; and in some cases, resulted in boundaries blurring between private organizations and U.S. Federal Government. These interactions have also yielded a multi-sectoral workforce and ultimately created a strong interdependence between the public and private sector organizations. To better understand the nature of the interface of these two types of organizations, this qualitative research study has explored the phenomena of Mutual Organizational Sustainability. It examined the dimensions of organizational culture, collaboration, and operational synergy at the interface of these two organizations through the lens of leaders and managers in the Federal Government and private contractors in the Washington, DC area.
This study and the preliminary findings provide substantive insight into some of the elements that will facilitate and enhance mutual sustainability between Government agencies/line organizations and industry (contractors). It also yields insights into the nature of "risk-sharing between organizations." These finding have significant implications for APMP as the Association’s mission is to learn how business development, capture, and proposal professionals can more effectively win bids and advance the arts and sciences of proposal management. Insights into the nature and relationship-building activities of the Government and private sector have significance for proposal generation, management, and ultimately implementation expectations.
Dr. Liz Davis joined CCAS in 2000. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Organizational Sciences & Communication and Associate Professor and Program Director of Organizational Sciences. Dr. Davis earned her BA from Columbia University and received her PhD in Social Systems Sciences from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, focusing on Strategy and Organizational Systems and Theory. Dr. Davis has published numerous articles in a host of professional journals such as The Journal of Business and Economics, Business Journal, and Journal of Management Education. She frequently lectures and provides consulting work in strategy, strategic teams, and human centered systems change in the United States, Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe.
Kathryn Newcomer is the Director of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University. She is also the Co-Director of the Midge Smith Center for Evaluation Effectiveness, home of The Evaluators’ Institute (TEI). She teaches public and nonprofit program evaluation, research design, and applied statistics. Dr. Newcomer routinely conducts research and training for federal and local government agencies and nonprofit organizations on performance measurement and program evaluation, and has designed and conducted evaluations for several federal agencies and dozens of nonprofit organizations. Dr. Newcomer has published five books, including her most recent, Transformational Leadership: Leading Change in Public and Nonprofit Agencies (June 2008). She has also authored numerous articles in professional journals. Dr. Newcomer has received two Fulbright awards and the Elmer Staats Award for Achievements in Government Accountability, awarded by the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. Dr. Newcomer earned a BS in education and an MA in Political Science from the University of Kansas and her PhD in political science from the University of Iowa.
Learn about the APMP Accreditation Program from APMP’s Director of Education, Beth Wingate. She will provide information about attaining and maintaining the three levels of accreditation (Foundation, Practitioner, and Professional), benefits of becoming accredited, and answers to frequently asked questions. About 1,400 members have earned at least one level of APMP accreditation. If you haven't, this presentation will provide the information (and encouragement) you need to become accredited—and if you have, it will provide motivation for you to upgrade your accreditation. For details about the Accreditation Program, go to the APMP website.
Beth Wingate has more than 23 years' proposal development, management, and corporate communications experience. She helps clients develop proposals, improve their proposal operations, and build their corporate communications programs. Ms. Wingate specializes in managing responses from large government procurements to task order proposals. She previously served as Proposal Center Director for Lockheed Martin. Ms. Wingate is the 2010-2011 Director of Education for the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) International, 2008 and 2009 President of APMP's National Capital Area (NCA) Chapter, and 2005 to 2007 NCA Chapter Executive Summary Newsletter Chairperson, publisher, and editor. Ms. Wingate holds APMP professional accreditation.
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1pm–1:15pm |
Break |
1:15pm–2:15pm |
“APMP Accreditation Information Session and Practicum”—Brenda Crist, Betsy Blakney, & Wendy Frieman |
Portfolio Management: Why Managing your Company investment capital is as important as managing your 401K—Bob Weissman |
Demystifying the Dots: Identifying, Collecting, and Analyzing the Right Data to Improve Your pWIN—Randy Richter |
“Current Legislative & Regulatory Trends for Small Business Government Contractors”—Pam Mazza |
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APMP certifications provide demonstrable value to today’s proposal professionals. More than 1,500 professionals worldwide hold APMP accreditation status; that number grows by 20% annually. Every day more companies are including APMP accreditation as a required or desired prerequisite in their position descriptions. Accredited professionals have found the process helps close gaps in their education and develop actionable plans for career development. This presentation explains the benefits of accreditation and how you can become accredited at the Foundation, Practitioner, and Professional Levels. After the presentation, we will hold a workshop for people interested in acquiring Practitioner and Professional accreditation. Participants can bring their PPAQs™ and PPIPs™ and obtain one-on-one advice by approved mentors.
Brenda Crist, MPA, an approved accreditation mentor, acquired her APMP Foundation, Practitioner, and Professional accreditation status in 2009. She is the President of the APMP National Capital Area Chapter. Ms. Crist has over 25 years of experience providing capture, proposal, and program management support for IT companies serving the Federal market. She is currently the Managing Director, Strategic Solutions at the Lohfeld Consulting Group. Prior to becoming a full-time proposal professional, Ms. Crist served as a Group Manager for OAO Corporation and Project Manager for Harris Corporation. She has provided system, application, and network management solutions for civilian and military clients, and is ITIL certified.
Betsy Blakney, PPF-APMP, has 14 years’ experience managing proposals and is a senior proposal manager for CACI. Ms. Blakney is the APMP COO, a Fellow, a conference co-chair for this year’s APMP International Conference & Exhibits, and serves as the Journal Assistant Editor. She also volunteers as an accreditation mentor for those seeking Practitioner Level status and is accredited at the Professional Level. She holds an MS from Springfield College, MA and a BS from Ithaca College, NY. A former APMP Regional Director and NCA Chapter President, this isMs. Blakney's first time presenting at conference.
Wendy Frieman has been managing proposals for over 25 years. Her professional experience includes senior positions at large companies such as Oracle and SAIC and small companies, such as Horne Enginering Services and Chenega Corporation. She managed the $20 billion winning Networx proposal for Level 3 Communications. Ms. Frieman frequently writes for APMP publications and has spoken at APMP events. She is the recipient of the 2010 Insight Award from APMP and is accredited by APMP at the Professional Level. Her graduate and undergraduate degrees are both from Stanford University.
Bob Weissman, cofounder of Clarus & Fidelis Consulting Corporation, has helped organizations win federal business for 25+ years. Following a career in the U.S. Army (Officer, Active and Reserve), Mr. Weissman has worked on more than 380 government proposals as either a capture manager, proposal manager, volume manager, proposal reviewer, or business developer. Mr. Weissman has supported capture efforts for all DoD activities, as well as DHS, NASA, DOT, HHS, DOL, DOJ, EPA, DOE, and DOC. A large procurement specialist, Mr. Weissman has won more than ten $100 million+ government contracts and numerous Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC). In this capacity, he built corporate proposal centers and business acquisition strategies. Mr. Weissman is a published novelist with a BA in Communications from Hofstra University and an MBA from Augusta College.
Far too many capture and proposal professionals view competitive analysis and Price To Win as disciplines shrouded in mystery, performed by wizards. In reality, these efforts are nothing more than attempts to gain a clear understanding of customer wants and needs—and identify how both you and your competitors plan to fulfill them. In this session, the author will clarify the hyperbole and present the critical information needed to be successful on opportunities of any size. Mr. Richter will describe a clear process for collecting and analyzing this information to provide actionable intelligence. In summary, this presentation will provide ‘news you can really use.’
Randy Richter is President of Richter & Company, a Frederick, Maryland-based competitive analysis and pricing strategy firm. His knowledge and experience—combined with outstanding analytical and presentation skills and an overwhelming “can do” attitude—have helped clients win more than $30B in business in the highly competitive Federal marketplace. He has been a featured speaker at Federal conferences, industry association events, and technical meetings, including the 2010 APMP International Conference in Orlando. Mr. Richter’s experience was gained through both Federal government and commercial service. He was Vice President, Strategic Business Development for a local systems integrator, responsible for the capture and operation of long-term programs within the Federal government. He also played a key role in a successful telecommunications startup as Director of Systems Engineering and served as the principal Network Architect for a Government agency. Mr. Richter holds a BS from Cornell University and an MS from the State University of New York at Cortland.
Federal procurement laws, regulations, and policies are like stars in the night sky. To the untrained eye, they look like random points of light. This session will “connect the stars” to form constellations that contractors can use to navigate through the uncharted territory of fluctuating federal procurement policy. For the small business government contractor, it’s even harder to identify constellations. It's telescope lens is not as powerful as those typically found in large contractors’ telescopes. This session will use the telescope in the best possible way to focus on the stars that matter to your federal business. We will navigate through:
• The Mission Critical decision and the question of parity among small business programs
• The Insourcing Initiative and how it may affect a small business’ workforce
• The Aftermath of the Delex Case
• The Mandatory Disclosure Rule
• Transparency Issues
Pamela J. Mazza is the managing partner at PilieroMazza PLLC. She possesses 20 years' experience advising clients on all aspects of government contracts law and corporate issues. Her client base is nationwide and represents a wide-range of industries. Ms. Mazza has a national reputation on small business issues and is a frequent speaker and panelist on procurement matters, joint ventures, and teaming relationships. She also conducts in-house training for corporations on small business government contracting issues. Ms. Mazza is admitted to practice law in Washington, DC and Virginia, as well as before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
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2:20pm–3:20pm |
“Why LinkedIn, Why Now? Social Media for Proposal Managers”—Mark Amtower |
“Creating Killer Themes to Tell a Compelling Story”—Chris Simmons |
“Winning on the Best Value Playing Field”—Bruce Crockett |
“The Benefits of Using Contractors and Consultants to Augment Smaller Government Contractors (Panel)”—Tammy Barclay, Herman Singh, Pauline Healy, & Ben Rowland |
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This session focuses on the leading social network, LinkedIn, and how it is being used by business and government as a tool for connecting and communicating with prospects, partners, vendors and existing customers. The use of social media and Web 2.0 tools for government contractors has evolved as a major factor in the Business to Government (B2G) community, both with contractors and government managers. This session will discuss how LinkedIn and other social media networks are being used, and how businesses should be integrating these tools into their customer outreach. The session will answer questions on how to and why use social networks such as LinkedIn.
As a Consultant, author and radio host Mark Amtower is recognized for his expertise in marketing to the government. His recent focus is on using social media for B2G. His first book, “Government Marketing Best Practices”, is among the best selling books on doing business with the government in the last decade. His new book, “Selling to the Government”, comes out in November 2010. He has been on LinkedIn since, 2004, and has been advocating the use of social networks for businesses since 2007.
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, proposal development teams need to work more efficiently and effectively to be successful. A key to success is the development of “competition killing” win themes. This session connects the dots between practical theme development methods, processes, and lessons learned to help you tell a more compliant and compelling story. The presentation focuses on the use of killer themes for three major proposal writing elements (theme statements, focus boxes, and action captions). Participants will be able to develop and incorporate compliant and compelling proposal themes to improve proposal efficiency (with less pain) and increase proposal effectiveness (for more gain).
With 25 years consulting experience, Chris Simmons enjoys a reputation as a rainmaker. He is the founder and principal member of Rainmakerz Consulting (www.rainmakerz.biz). Mr. Simmons has written and managed hundreds of proposals and has generated $57 billion in new business contracts for over 75 customers. He contributes regularly to the APMP Journal Magazine, and the APMP-NCA Executive Summary e-zine. His articles have been featured in proposal industry e-zines, blogs, websites, and best practice intranet sites. Mr. Simmons earned his MBA in Information Technology from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). He currently serves as the Vice President of the NCA Chapter.
Solicitations today will often rank price as the least important evaluation criteria. Price is less important than technical, capability, past performance, and other factors. So why does source selection often favor the low bidder? The reason – “Best Value.”
The speaker will introduce the “Best Value Playing Field” approach, and provide guidance for positioning offerings in the Win Zone. More importantly, the speaker will describe an approach to explaining the concept to the engineers, logisticians, and other subject matter experts on the proposal team.
The speaker will further outline the common misperceptions about pricing, selling an improved offering (e.g., a better mousetrap), and the evaluator mindset. He will provide guidance on positioning price and capabilities to win – and improving the evaluator’s value perception. In summary, the speaker will guide the audience in connecting the value dots across the entire proposal development process and product.
Bruce Crockett is the President of Crockett Associated Companies (CAC). With a win rate of 100% for client companies over the past two years, CAC’s customers have reaped more than $8B in new business. He was Proposal Manager for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected-All Terrain Vehicle Joint Services Program ($5B) and the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles Competitive Rebuy Program ($3B). Mr. Crockett has worked on defense proposals since 1984. He launched CAC in 2002 to support businesses on competitive procurements, serving in capture and proposal capacities for firms such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and Honeywell.
As demand for small and disadvantaged business organizations serving as prime contractors increase, there is a greater need for effective proposal support in these firms. Small contractors with lean internal teams and tight budgets are faced with the dilemma of how to effectively staff new bid opportunities. This session will address the best use of external resources to realize pipeline potential. From independent consultants with specific expertise, to staffing companies, or consulting firms for outsourced solutions, this panel will examine the pros and cons of using flexible staff augmentation resources to win new business.
Tammy Barclay recently joined Proposal Development Consultants as VP & General Manager. She drives new business initiatives that ultimately enhance service offering for both clients and consultants. Prior to this role, she led a niche library and records management staff augmentation firm, InfoCurrent. In her 15 years at the firm, Ms. Barclay was responsible for building valuable partnerships with th federal government and their contractors in the Washington Metropolitan Area by providing expert human capital solutions. Her work included successful attainment of a GSA schedule for InfoCurrent. Ms. Barclay holds a BA in Finance with a minor in Economics from Loyola College in Maryland.
Herman Singh, MD, MBA serves as Vice President of AMDEX Corporation’s Health Division. He provides strategic direction to all aspects of AMDEX Corporation’s Federal Health IT initiatives, including business development and proposal response. Clinically, Dr. Singh is an Emergency Medicine Physician in New York City with a background in Information Technology. He served as an advisor to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (2004) and is currently a grant reviewer for AHRQ. Dr. Singh is guided by the values of hard work, integrity, and service to others. He volunteers his time to organizations such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Habitat for Humanity, and the American Red Cross.
Pauline Healy posesses a diverse range of business development experience from more than 20 years' working in the federal marketplace. She currently serves as Executive Vice President of Business Development and Marketing and Communications at Centuria Corp. Ms. Healy is adept at building and managing business development and marketing teams to execute on aggressive goals and growth targets. Prior to Centuria, Ms. Healy held executive leadership positions at Apptis and Apogen Technologies, a QinetiQ North America company. In these positions, she managed the business development and marketing teams for the defense and civilian markets. Ms. Healy has also served as a Contracting Officer at Hanscom AFB, MA. She holds an MBA and B.S.B.A from Western New England College.
Mr. Rowland, a senior consultant at Lohfeld Consulting Group, works extensively with both experienced and inexperienced speakers to prepare and structure their message for oral presentations and other speaking engagements. Mr. Rowland has managed teams of more than 50 people and oral presentations spanning up to 5 days. His unique combination of levity, creative skills, and attention to compliance has produced some of the industry’s most successful oral presentations, securing billions of dollars in awarded contracts.
Using expert processes and productivity tools, Mr. Rowland facilitates group development along with integration of win themes messaging to produce engaging slides and scripts for clients. He coaches presenters at all skill levels and builds confidence through video-taped rehearsals, pointed questioning, and meticulous message refinement aligned to capture plans, strategic corporate visions, and evaluation criteria to achieve the highest evaluated scores.
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3:20pm–4pm |
Break: Exhibitor Networking & Prize Drawings |
4pm–5pm |
“Rational Research for Strategic Advantage: Using Numbers in the Public Sector”—Ray Bjorklund |
“Getting Connected: Rapid Team Development Through Communications”—BJ Lownie |
Spending Smart: Making the Most of Your B&P Dollars—Wendy Frieman & Clay Brown |
Government Panel: Small Business Concerns—Michael Stewart (Moderator); Panelists: Susan M. Walthall, Robert (Bob) Faithful |
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The speaker will describe usable approaches to assure that reliable, accurate, and value-added information is provided to decision makers considering new channels for business growth. Executives need reliable, current information to address two key objectives: strong growth and a competitive edge. Growth is about enhancing value; the competitive objective is about determining what competitors are doing and addressing appropriately. Tactically, the competitive objective boils down to finding promising opportunities and figuring out how to win them. Strategically, the objective drives decisions about: what business to be in; whether the company has sufficient discriminators; which are the best alliances for partnering and channel sales; whether to grow organically or through mergers and acquisitions; and, how to keep the business yielding strong returns. The speaker will provide approaches to connecting the dots both efficiently for growth and competitive advantage.
Ray Bjorklund, Senior Vice President and Chief Knowledge Officer, FedSources, has over three decades of hands-on experience in federal IT program management and procurement. As a government program manager and procurement official, Mr. Bjorklund focused on defense, including Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) and Information Technology (IT) initiatives. Since joining FedSources in 1998, Mr. Bjorklund has helped many commercial and government clients position for success in the marketplace. He is recognized for his experience and expertise in the IT public sector marketplace, which results in him being quoted often in the media and the trade press.
Developing a high-impact, high-quality proposal—and doing so efficiently—requires those involved to perform as a team. Performing as a team requires those involved to communicate effectively. In today’s information rich world, communicating well—“cutting through the noise level”—can be extremely challenging.
In this highly interactive session, participants will discuss, explore, and apply ways to bring about highly effective communications between those involved in a proposal effort. Participants will be introduced a variety of concepts, techniques, and proven tips that they can immediately apply. This session will prove informative, insightful, and engaging for anyone working on proposals, from those just starting out to those who have many years’ experience.
BJ Lownie, APF-APMP, is the Founder and Principal Director of Strategic Proposals LLC. He is a founding member of APMP, accredited at the highest level by APMP, and the co-author of the popular proposal blog “The Proposal Guys” (www.theproposalguys.com). Mr. Lownie is a recognized thought-leader in proposals and has extensive experience depth and breadth within the proposal arena. He has worked on hundreds of proposals and has had more than 5,000 participants attend his workshops, seminars, and presentations. Mr. Lownie is truly—as it says on his business card and website—“Passionate about Proposals.”
Few proposal managers have access to unlimited B&P dollars. Spending those dollars wisely is critical—and saving does not mean skimping. There is a way to spend smart, whatever the size of your budget, if you recognize up front that people are the real cost driver. This session will offer concrete suggestions for managing the resources that determine whether or not you will submit a winning proposal on time and on budget.
Wendy Frieman has been managing proposals for over 25 years. Her professional experience includes senior positions at large companies such as Oracle and SAIC and small companies, such as Horne Enginering Services and Chenega Corporation. She managed the $20 billion winning Networx proposal for Level 3 Communications. Ms. Frieman frequently writes for APMP publications and has spoken at APMP events. She is the recipient of the 2010 Insight Award from APMP and is accredited by APMP at the Professional Level. Her graduate and undergraduate degrees are both from Stanford University.
Clay Brown is a seasoned capture manager with a 99% win rate and 20 years' capture experience for large and small companies, including MRJ, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. He began his private sector career as a proposal manager and then transitioned to capture management.
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Michael Stewart is passionate about small business growth and development, spending the last 30 years creating opportunities and coaching small businesses. During a 25 year career with Hewlett-Packard, Mr. Stewart spent his last 12 years serving as HP’s National Supplier Diversity Manager. Mr. Stewart now works for Booz Allen Hamilton as the Small Business Liaison Officer. In 2005 he received the Small Business Administration’s “National Small Business Advocate” of the year award.
Susan M. Walthall’s has served the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for 33 years. She currently serves as a Presidential Appointee as Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the. Ms. Walthall brings a deep commitment to the office, having joined the Office of Advocacy in 1976 to help launch the newly created Office of Women in Business. In addition to prior service as Acting Chief Counsel (2001–2002), Ms. Walthall has worked in senior level positions with three previous Senate-confirmed Chief Counsels. Through these positions, she has gained insight into the importance of the independence of the office and how each Chief Counsel has approached the office’s role.
Previous to accepting this role, Ms. Walthall was SBA’s Director of Community Relations. In this position, she administered the SBA’s National Advisory Council, reached out to business and trade associations, and served as National Director of the SBA’s annual Small Business Week, as she has done for many years. She served as Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations from 2002–2008. She worked as the Conference National Sponsor Liaison for the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business, raising more than $1M in that effort. She has also served as Director of the SBA’s Executive Secretariat and has held key positions in which she coordinated the SBA’s public affairs efforts and developed the agency’s strategic plan.
Robert (Bob) Faithful is a catalytic executive who has successful managed change for impactful results throughout his government career. He is an attorney who joined the US Department of Interior after a tour as an Air Force officer in Alaska. Mr. Faithful is the first African American to hold key leadership positions in Alaska, Virginia, Montana, and Washington Headquarters, where he served as Senior Executive. He has held positions for the Environmental Justice Program, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service. As the Small Business Director for Interior for eight years, he guided the program that put more than $8B into the small business community. His ability to forge lasting partnerships for results led to numerous awards and acknowledgments, including the SBA Gold Star Award and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Courage in Government Award. For the past four years, Mr. Faithful has honed his contracting credentials as a policy analyst for the Department’s award winning contract business Acquisition Services Directorate (formerly GovWorks). Mr. Faithful is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio (Political Science) and Northwestern University Law School (Comparative Law).
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5pm–6pm |
Cocktail and Networking Hour |
Have breakfast with our Corporate Partner Exhibitors and visit with them throughout the day at the Expo!
Check out our exhibitors and their specialties here.
Registration Policies and Deadlines
- Register online with a credit card by October 5 or by mail with a check received by APMP-NCA by October 1. Mail your check to APMP-NCA, P.O. Box 711, Arlington, VA 22216-0711.
- Registration confirmations will be issued only after receiving payment in advance by credit card or check.
- To pay the discounted member rate, please record your APMP member ID number on the online registration form. To look up your ID number, go to http://www.apmp.org/siteSpecific/customer/memberSearch.aspx. If you did not give APMP permission to display your member information, go to www.apmp.org and login as a member. Then click on “View Account Detail,” then “Edit Account Information.” Your ID number will show at the top of your account edit page.
- Cancellation requests must be made via email to rsvpmepro@apmp-nca.org no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 5 to receive a registration fee refund.
Location
Fairview Park Marriott (click for directions)
3111 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church, VA 22042-4550
703.849.9400
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