March is Women’s History Month: Who Has Influenced You?
March is Women’s History Month, and I’ve seen several articles and posts about women who’ve influenced people for a variety of reasons both personally and professionally. I’m no exception to this. I could tell you the single most influential woman in my life was my mother (cliché but true) or a boss that helped me understand my value or a schoolteacher (more than one), and the truth is each one of these women has, in fact, influenced the person I am today. In addition to these real-life people, there’s a plethora of fictional characters through books, TV shows, and movies who’ve also played a part in who I am. Some of my favorite heroines include: Nancy Drew – As a young girl, I was fascinated by Nancy Drew and her friends, George and Bess. They didn’t wait for someone else to solve the mystery—they took charge and figured things out
How does the government evaluate a proposal PWS?
Developing a comprehensive and effective PWS is a great way to show the government that you understand the work Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 37.602 gives the Federal Government the freedom to decide if the acquiring agency or the bidder prepares the Performance Work Statement (PWS). When the offeror prepares and submits the PWS as part of its technical proposal, often the evaluation criteria give the Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) quite a bit of leeway in
Advance Your Small Business Goals With These Actionable Tips
Advance Your Small Business Goals With These Actionable Tips There are more than 30 million small businesses across the United States. Whether you've owned your small business for years or are beginning your journey, you're far from alone. Being a business owner is hard, especially with such steep competition. Thankfully, you can use a few actionable tips to help advance your small business goals and realize your entrepreneurial dreams. Determine a Business Structure Determining a
6 Things I Learned After Attending BPC Denver
When I left Bid & Proposal Con Orlando in 2019, I felt energized and couldn’t wait to share my new knowledge with my colleagues who were unable to attend. Being at the event got me excited about my profession and eager to attend the 2020 conference in Nashville. However, the world had other plans. Luckily, we had this year’s BPC in Denver to reenergize and reengage us through interactions with missed colleagues and live education.
Congratulations to the Class of 2021!
APMP had their Week of Winners, the online celebration and announcement of members who have received various honors, including individual and chapter awards, Charlie Divine APMP Certification Scholarships and 40 Under 40. National Capitol Area had several winners to call their own - join us in congratulating our colleagues - we are proud of our members and their accomplishments! 40 Under 40 Winners: MORGAN ANDERSON, CF APMP Age 31 | Proposal Manager | U.Group Key
The 5 Most Important Trends in Proposals in 2021 and Beyond
According to the Department of Commerce, the United States’ GDP declined by 3.5% in 2020, the single worst year for the economy since the end of World War II. Most companies experienced major losses in revenue. Many had to make layoffs and reduce team sizes. It was an incredibly difficult and chilling year for nearly every company in every industry. Now, though, with vaccination rates rising in the United States and throughout the world and
6 Questions to Improve Your Proposal Opportunity Qualification Process
Reposted from Team Patri's blog - click here for the original article. According to RFPIO’s 2021 Benchmark Report on Proposal Management, proposal customization to customer use cases will be the most important factor in winning proposals in 2021. Of course, proposal customization is easier said than done when dozens of proposals are in the works and due dates are fast approaching. Complicating matters, 75% of companies plan to increase submissions in 2021, while only 37%
The MAC is Back on August 18th – More Speakers, More Presentations!!!
The Virtual MAC is back and happening on August 18th! See the announced speakers and register for your ticket today! Deanna Winstead Simple Strategies that Solving Complex Proposal Management Challenges Increasing speed and agility of the proposal process is constantly sought after in the most effectively managed proposal departments. Identifying best practices, enhancing efficiencies, rapidly seeking intel, improving existing processes, and documenting EVERYTHING are essential aspects of effectively managing the proposal lifecycle. Attaining greatness
The MAC is Back – Keynote Speaker and More Announced!
The Virtual MAC is coming! Our KEYNOTE SPEAKER Mr. Milton Hunt has been announced - check out the video below! https://youtu.be/Y9EZik3FT8I For more than 25 years, Milton Hunt has lived all that he teaches and speaks in his Employee Training, Motivational Speaking, and Employee Coaching services and programs. Hunt is a Native American, a member of the Lumbee tribe. Having embraced his heritage, the principles, methods, and messages he utilizes and shares with clients
Apply Design Thinking Principles to Your RFP Response Process
Save your proposal from ending at the evaluator’s trash bin As a reviewer of proposals prepared in response to RFPs, I have frequently seen the response provided as a statement of agreement to the functional/technical requirements included in the RFP. Most of the time, it looks like someone has utilized the Copy, Paste and Replace functions of the word processor. In effect, all the “should” or “must” statements in the RFP are replaced with “will”
Five Tips for Faster Proposal Writing
“Bid more, win more” is a flawed growth strategy that can take its toll on your proposal development team, causing burnout that leads to poor quality writing, unprofessional proposal products, and proposal errors and omissions. This burnout directly impacts your business through low win rates, negative impressions on potential customers, and staff attrition. When multiple, concurrent active proposals tend to constantly exceed your available proposal development resources, you have two options to avoid
APMP Certification: A selfish and selfless act
Are you considering APMP certification? Perhaps you’re already certified at the Foundation level but are wondering if you should pursue Practitioner or even Professional accreditation. Capture and proposal professionals often ponder whether certification benefits them as well as those around them. Research shows that getting certified benefits you (selfish reasons) as well as your colleagues (selfless considerations). Here are the reasons why. Five selfish reasons First and foremost, take care of yourself. Certification benefits you as
Why firms keep bidding on losers and what you can do about it
A crappy win rate or lack of bidding success is usually a direct result of bidding on too many losers, aka inappropriate "opportunities". Too often, professional services firms are tempted by the potential boost in revenue and go all out pursuing speculative tender and proposal opportunities. Generally, these firms have no consistently applied or objective "bid-or-no-bid" qualifying process and/or well-defined firm BD strategy other than "hope". In closely competed market segments – and there are
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