The Development Source

How Can You be Compliant and Compelling in the Same Proposal?

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:50:26 +0000

The first rule of federal proposal development is rather simple, although it often is violated: follow the instructions. This may not always be easy because the Request for Proposals (RFP) may be contradictory.

As Harley Stein, a partner with Tenzing Consulting, points out, there are only two strategies that you can use to address the requirements:

Strategy 1: Draft an outline that literally follows Section L or whatever RFP section contains the proposal instructions. If Section L differs from the evaluation criteria, combine the evaluation criteria with Section L.
Strategy 2: Draft an outline
... Read more at: The Proposal Guru

Six Quick Fixes to Improve your Proposals

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:57:41 +0000

All of us are looking for ways to improve our proposals. Some remedies can be implemented quickly while others may require long-term solutions.

Bob Lohfeld, the founder and president of Lohfeld Consulting Group, Inc., suggests six quick fixes that can improve a company’s proposal win rate. They are based on two surveys Lohfeld Consulting conducted in 2012 with corporate proposal professionals.

1. Capture and Proposal Training

Only 52 percent of the companies surveyed provided professional training to proposal professionals. To perform well, proposal personnel must have opportunities to study and learn about their

... Read more at: The Proposal Guru

Jayme — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:28:25 +0000

Jayme Sokolow managed proposal efforts for a small 8(a) company that led to US Department of Defense and US Department of the Interior contracts.

Jayme — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:26:57 +0000

Jayme Sokolow researched and wrote a White Paper based on interviews with senior federal officials that helped position a large company to bid successfully on a major General Services Administration contract.

Jayme — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:24:37 +0000

Jayme Sokolow served as the Proposal Manager of an in-house small business team that led to a major National Institutes

Jayme — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:22:42 +0000

Jayme Sokolow served on a proposal team for a Fortune 100 company that led to a ten-year, federal ID/IQ IT services potential $50 billion contract.

Jayme — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:26:36 +0000

Jayme Sokolow will make a presentation on “How to Make your Ideas Stick in Proposals” at the APMP National Conference in Dallas on May 24, 2012.

Jayme — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:20:53 +0000

The Development Source received the “Best of 2012 Silver Spring” in the “Business Consultants” category from the US Commerce Association.

Use Collective Knowledge to Solve Grant Proposal Problems

admin — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:30:26 +0000

In this week’s Chronicle of Philanthropy (May 3, 2012), there was an interesting article about howUniversity of Virginia employees in fundraising organized a group to address specific job challenges and frustrations. Many of steps they took could be productively applied to grant proposal teams within nonprofit organizations.

Organizations should encourage proposal professionals to form informal groups to learn from each other and work on shared problems. This is good for proposal professionals and good for their organizations, but it can only work if they are encouraged, respected, and supported, and most importantly,

... Read more at: The Proposal Guru

Use Collective Knowledge to Solve Proposal Problems

admin — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:30:26 +0000

Companies should encourage proposal professionals to form informal groups to learn from each other and work on shared problems. This is good for proposal professionals and good for their companies, but it can only work if they are encouraged, respected, and supported, and most importantly, if the

... Read more at: The Proposal Guru