Successful Proposal Strategies On-the-Go!

An invaluable compendium of up-to-date, real-world vignettes, these detailed depictions are crafted from 35 years of thought leadership and hands-on engagement in U.S. Federal Government proposal development for support services contractors. There is meaningful context built around each vignette, allowing readers to see immediately how to apply the lessons learned. The insights presented are applicable to small businesses and mid-tier companies, as well as global Fortune 50 corporations. Written in a highly accessible style and accompanied by the author’s own photographs, On-the-Go! delivers concise, clear-sighted observations and helpful business-driven recommendations. Topics are drawn from actual challenges and situations that organizations and their staff professionals face every proposal. Across the spectrum of vignette topics, attention is paid to multiple dimensions in and around proposal development—human and organizational dynamics, linking business decisions to proposal strengths, building the proposal response, proposal writing, and more. In addition, coverage extends to academic and public-sector grant proposals, as well as international private-sector tenders. All the vignettes are easy to use and integrate into an organization's thinking and best practices because they are streamlined. Importantly, On-the-Go! brings practical value to executive leadership, business developers, capture managers, and proposal developers and managers, along with technical and programmatic subject matter experts and knowledge managers.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Focused Passion 1.1 Leadership Across Time and Geography 1.2 Power of Proposal Win Bonuses 1.3 Proposals and Proposaling in Context 1.4 Focused Passion Helps Win Federal Proposals 1.5 First Things First 1.6 Inspiring Passion   Chapter 2: Proposaling in Context: Where Does the Proposal Fit within the Entire Marketing Lifecycle? 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Wrapping Business Development, Capture Management, and Proposal Development in a Blanket 2.3 Everyone in Your Company Is in Business Development 2.4 Looking Through the Lens of PMBOK 2.5 Using the Lens of PMBOK to Focus on Capture Management 2.6 Proposal Development—Pathway to Successful Blue Team Review 2.7 Knowledge Management through the Lens of PMBOK   Chapter 3: The Importance of Human Dynamics 3.1 Metaphors Matter 3.2 The 71% Effect 3.3 Stop Drowning in Meetings 3.4 Searching for Effective Communication 3.5 Organizational Culture and Performance Success 3.6 References for Building Effective Teams   Chapter 4: Proposal Development and Knowledge Management 4.1 Collaboration Tools 4.2 Spinning Proposal Gold 4.3 Agile Project Management and Effective Knowledge Sharing in Organizations 4.4 Lighting the Way—Getting the Most Out of What You Know 4.5 Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Knowledge Management (KM) in Proposal Land   Chapter 5: Stated and Unstated Criteria 5.1 Stated and Unstated Criteria 5.2 Deeper Insight into Unstated Evaluation Criteria 5.3 Key Questions to Ask Government Civil Servants to Learn About Unstated Criteria 5.4 Getting Credit for Your Strengths—Shaping the Final RFP 5.5 Candidate Instructions to Offerors Language (Section L) 5.6 Candidate Evaluation Factors Language (Section M) 5.7 Candidate Section L Language 5.8 Candidate Evaluation Factor Language 5.9 Candidate Section L Language 5.10 Candidate Evaluation Factor Language 5.11 Forty-five Strengths Is the New Target   Chapter 6: Moving Beyond Compliance 6.1 Proposal Compliance is Necessary but not Sufficient 6.2 Font and Line Spacing—Still Critical Aspects of Proposaling 6.3 Straightforward Compliance Can Be Challenging 6.4 Building a Meaningful Compliance Matrix   Chapter 7: Look-and-Feel of a Winning Proposal 7.1 What’s a Winning Proposal Look Like? 7.2 Good Is the Enemy of Great 7.3 The Most Important Factors in Winning 7.4 Staying Sharp—Business Acquisition as a Formal Process   Chapter 8: Hopscotching Through Proposal-Land 8.1 Proposal Integration Map 8.2 Framing and Proposal Development 8.3 Making Your Business Processes Stand Out 8.4 Communication as a Critical Success Factor in Proposal Development 8.5 Federal Proposal Development—Comprehensive Risk Management Approach 8.6 Federal Government Proposals—“Responsible” Contractor 8.7 Take Contractor Responsibility Determinations (CRDs) Seriously 8.8 Oral Presentations 8.8.1 Best Practices for Virtual Oral Presentations 8.8.2 Selecting the Optimal Oral Presenters 8.9 Inquiring Minds   Chapter 9: The Importance of “Understanding”: Sections L and M 9.1 Paint a Picture of Genuine “Understanding” in Your Proposals 9.2 Missing the Point of “Understanding”   Chapter 10: Orchestrating Team Interaction and Developing an On-Target Proposal Approach 10.1 Proposal Directive—Living “Encyclopedia” of a Win 10.2 The Critical Role of the Proposal Manager 10.3 “Pulling Intriguing Threads”—Interviews with Technical Subject Matter Experts 10.4 Rules of Engagement for Effective Proposal Meetings 10.5 Building Your Technical Approach Sections for a U.S. Government Proposal 10.6 Increasing Effectiveness in Remote Proposal Development Environments   Chapter 11: Using Section M as a “Window” 11.1 Federal Proposal Development—Looking Through the “Window” of Section M   Chapter 12: Proposal Solution Development 12.1 Solution Development Overview 12.2 Solution Development Tools 12.3 Solution Development Process 12.4 Framework for Technical Solution Development 12.5 “Box-in-a-Box Model” for Proposal Development 12.6 Solution Development—Effective Alternative to Brainstorming 12.7 Helpful Proposal Publications   Chapter 13: Precursor to the Executive Summary 13.1 Precursor to the Executive Summary 13.2 Win Strategy White Paper as a Solution Development Tool 13.3 The Executive Summary as a Requirement   Chapter 14: Multiple Palettes 14.1 Another Palette—Meaningful Proposal Cover Letter 14.2 Proposal Graphics and Proposal Cover Design 14.3 Websites—Proposal Support Platform, and Source for Protest 14.4 Proposal Protest Source Materials 14.5 LinkedIn Profiles of Key Personnel   Chapter 15: Proposal Writing 15.1 Proposals Are Knowledge-Based Sales Documents 15.2 ABCs of Proposal Writing 15.3 Writing Standards 15.4 Abstracting as a Proposal Skill 15.5 Active Voice Adds Strength and Saves Space 15.6 Action Captions 15.7 Methods of Enhancing Your Proposal Writing and Editing 15.8 Resources to Support Your Company’s Proposal Writing Efforts 15.9 Potpourri 15.10 Take Off in the Right Direction: Defining Acronyms Early in Your Proposal Development Process 15.11 Dovetailing—Fit Your Proposal Exactingly with the Federal RFP 15.12 Words to Avoid in Your Proposals   Chapter 16: Linking Key Business Decisions to Proposal Strengths 16.1 Source Selection Documents and Proposal Strengths 16.2 Linking Key Business Decisions to Proposal Strengths 16.3 Pointing the Way—Answers to Training Participants’ Questions 16.4 Post-Award Debriefings 16.5 Leveraging Source Selection Statements to Make Key Business Decisions   Chapter 17: Looking at Proposal Reviews from Different Angles 17.1 Vertical and Horizontal Proposal Reviews 17.2 Measure What’s Important—Ensuring Strengths for Your Company Appear in the Government’s Source Selection Statement 17.3 Combining Agile Scrum and SAM 17.4 Agile in Context 17.5 References   Chapter 18: Building the Cost/Price Volume 18.1 Overview of the FAR 18.2 Defining Key Pricing Terminology 18.2.1 Cost Objective 18.2.2 Final Cost Objective 18.2.3 Direct Costs 18.2.4 Direct Labor (DL) 18.2.5 Subcontractor Labor 18.2.6 Labor Categories 18.2.7 Other Direct Costs (ODCs) 18.2.8 Indirect Costs 18.2.9 Fringe Benefits (Fringe) 18.2.10 Overhead (OH) 18.2.11 Procurement 18.2.12 General and Administrative (G&A) 18.2.13 Fully Burdened Rate (FBR) 18.2.14 Fee 18.2.15 Unallowable Costs 18.3 Overview of Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) 18.4 Overview of the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) 18.5 Overview of Relevant Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) 18.6 Adequacy of Contractor’s Internal Accounting System 18.7 The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) 18.8 RFP Review 18.9 Importance of Aligning the Cost Proposal with the Technical and Management Proposals 18.10 Cost Estimating Methods 18.11 Methodology for Determining Salary Ranges 18.12 Methodology for Computing Labor Escalation 18.13 Highlights of the Process to Calculate Indirect Costs 18.14 Determining Annual Productive Labor Hours 18.15 Methodology to Compute Fee 18.16 Cost Volume Narrative and Production 18.17 Audit Files 18.18 Special Topics 18.18.1 Uncompensated Overtime 18.18.2 Addressing Risk in the Cost Volume 18.18.3 What is Cost Realism? 18.18.4 What is Cost Reasonableness? 18.18.5 What is Cost or Pricing Data? 18.18.6 Price to Win (PTW) 18.18.7 Common Cost Proposal Problems 18.18.8 Useful Websites and Templates 18.19 Price Proposal Reference   Chapter 19: Academic and Government Grant Proposals/International and Private-Sector Proposals 19.1 Federal Grants 19.2 Federal Contracts 19.3 Comparison of Grant Proposal Writing and Competitive Federal Proposal Writing 19.4 International Commercial Proposal Development   Chapter 20—Epilogue 20.1 Direct Benefits of Federal Subcontracting Goals, Strategic Partnering, and Mentor-Protégé Relationships 20.2 Specific Strategies for Achieving Federal and Private-Sector Subcontracts 20.3 Best-Practice B&P Scenario—Shift Left 20.4 So, You’re Just Getting Started with Proposals