Pens Down Blog

Pens Down Blog2023-09-06T18:50:25-04:00

Unlock Your Potential with APMP NCA’s Mentor-Protege Program

Unlock Your Potential with APMP NCA's Mentor-Protege Program and join us in 2024! Are you ready to take your career in business development (BD) to the next level? Look no further than the APMP NCA Mentor-Protege Program, where opportunities for growth, guidance, and professional development abound! Tailored to fit the unique needs of each Protege, our Mentor-Protege Program is designed to empower you on your journey toward success. During this program you’ll have the freedom to coordinate with your Mentor to set personalized goals, determine your pace, and schedule meetings that suit your busy lifestyle. Imagine meeting one-on-one with your Mentor twice a month, gaining invaluable insights, advice, and support tailored specifically to your aspirations. But that's not all – brace yourself for a plethora of enriching experiences! Our program offers full-group monthly webinars and quarterly in-person events, where industry experts dive deep into topics essential for your professional

By |February 13th, 2024|Categories: Blog|0 Comments

So You’re Just Getting Started In Proposals?

By |February 13th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Home Page|

I’ve been asked about what guidance I would offer to an individual just starting out in proposal development. First and foremost, become an information “sponge.”  © Dr. R.S. Frey. Known as the “Sponge Capital of the World,” Tarpon Springs, Florida, is an area where Greek immigrants settled during the early 1900s. Learn about the Federal acquisition lifecycle or commercial client’s buying cycle, as well as your organization’s Business Development, Capture Management, and Proposal

7 Quality Questions For Sales Calls

By , |January 24th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Home Page|

Among the many informative sessions at last month’s APMP-NCA Mid-Atlantic Conference, one struck me as especially brilliant. It provided an elegant tool to take along to those client or potential client meetings to accomplish what you need. You know those meetings; when you finally get the attention of the buyer in your target agency, and you know that running through a boring capability briefing is an easy way to fill the time and satisfy yourself

Don’t Make Me Think: 5 Ways to Improve Proposal Readability

By |December 2nd, 2022|Categories: Blog, eZine, Featured Article, Home Page, News|

This article is reposted from our corporate partner Key Solutions, Inc’s blog. The original post can be found here. In proposals, clear writing is critical to ensuring the evaluators understand your message. Even if you have the most valuable solution, if you can’t clearly articulate it, you won’t have a high chance of winning the work. Why is this the case? Because it’s simply difficult to score a proposals so evaluators can understand your solution

How to Get Your Company On-Board with Better Qualification

By |November 1st, 2022|Categories: Blog, Home Page|

There are few things worse than finding yourself working late or on the weekend trying to wrap up a proposal you know your company will not win.  Maybe the account executive thought, “why not, it’s worth the shot,” or a go-to-market leader thought your company needed to throw their hat in the ring or that they needed to respond because a competitor did as well. Whatever the case, you and your company are in a

How to Be Part of the Proposal Deadline Solution

By |October 4th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Home Page|

The proposal tasks have been assigned for two weeks and a few contributing subject matter experts are overdue. The next Review is in two days. So, it’s probably a good time to pick up the phone.  What do we say? If we start by reminding our colleagues about the deadline, they’ll probably tune us out. If we start by explaining the process, they’ll probably roll their eyes. If we start by reminding them about how

Five Reasons Why Your Company Should Be A Corporate Sponsor At The MAC

By |September 29th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Featured Article|

The MAC is Back In-Person! Ready to Reach Your Audience? Our Team is putting the final touches on the in-person return of the National Capital Area Chapter’s flagship conference, Wednesday, October 12th in Tysons Corner, Virginia. What’s in it for you?  Here are five reasons why sponsoring the MAC helps you reach your business goals: 1) Sponsor the MAC and Get Your Brand Out There Industry veteran? New to the industry? Your goal is to

Three Keys to Prepare for IDIQ Proposals

By , |July 20th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Featured Article|

Republished from our corporate Partner BZ Opportunity Management. Visit their site at https://www.bzopportunity.com/ Multiple award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts provide large and small companies with a critical tool for long-term corporate success. The limited field and pre-approval provide holders a great opportunity to quickly expand their experience. However, many small firms are justifiably concerned about the heavy lift required to put together a compliant, winning proposal. There are three key pieces of advice

Why Recent Graduates are the Perfect Proposal Writers

By , |July 8th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Home Page|

Companies hiring proposal writers and coordinators should be scouring LinkedIn for recent graduates and jumping for joy when they apply. Why? Because college prepares all students, regardless of their major, to be good proposal writers. But in spite of this preparation, so many college graduates feel they’re not qualified for even entry-level jobs thanks to those six little words on the entry-level job ad: “three to five years of experience.” Hiring managers should consider counting

Five Tips for Collaborating Across Team Boundaries

By , |June 18th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Featured Article|

This article is reprinted here with permission in collaboration with our corporate partner Xait. Visit Xait's blog at https://www.xait.com/resources/blog Five Tips for Collaborating Across Team Boundaries Sales. Products. Services. Proposals. Team boundaries differentiate one workgroup from another, defining our common tasks and focusing on our shared objectives. When it comes to developing proposals, however, we are better when we work together. For proposal teams, who work across these boundaries every day, the key is collaboration.

Go/No-Go Decisions 101

By , |June 9th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Regular Article|

This article was originally published May 4, 2022 on Team Patri's blog - https://gopatri.com/pro-insights/2022/5/03/go-no-go-decisions-101. Go/No-Go Decisions 101 Professional poker players say the most crucial factor to their success is knowing when to play a hand and when to fold it. Poker players look at the available information, calculate the odds of success, and use this data to make quick decisions to play or pass. Similarly, the best proposal managers would tell you that the most

I Didn’t Go to APMP’s BidCon, but I wish I had

By |May 31st, 2022|Categories: Blog, Featured Article|

APMP had its flagship celebration this past week in Dallas, TX, and although I had an opportunity to be one of almost 1,000 attendees, at the last minute I decided not to take it. I was already traveling a lot in May and spending too much time away from my family,  so I ultimately decided to sit this one out. After missing events for 2-3 years due to COVID, I thought what’s another year? There’s

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