The idea of marketing people reviewing price proposals is crazy, right? Yet, inevitably, a price proposal will find its way to your desk. Do you just assume it is perfect? Or is there some value you can add to the process? I’m going to explain how you can review cost proposals, even if you don’t […]
February 14, 2016 by 10 Comments
How The Unavoidable Blinders Can Hurt Your Proposals (Or Other Important Efforts)
Let’s say you’ve been doing something, like putting together proposals, or writing, for a long time. How do you know your work is the best it could be? What if you could check the quality of your work without your expertise coming into question? Today, I want to tell you about a tactic that has […]
January 16, 2016 by 30 Comments
Firm Ignores Page Limits, Wins Contract. Here’s What The Courts Said…
What happens when you ignore page limits? As Matt DeVries utterly compelling article explains, maybe you win the contract. Then maybe your state’s Supreme Court upholds that award. You should read the article at Best Practices Construction Law, which included this description of the situation: “The Facts. In November 2010, the State issued a request […]
December 20, 2015 by 12 Comments
3 Golden Rules Of Proposal Design
Proposal design is a challenging topic. Everybody seems to have their opinion about what your proposals should look like. As someone trying to get a proposal out the door, dealing with proposal design can be frustrating. Especially if the people with those opinions don’t have any graphic design training. While you understand their opinions are […]
July 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
What Happens When Proposal Managers Become Client For A Day?
Video marketing is all the rage today. I decided to spend some money and have a video made during a recent speaking event I did for the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Marketing Professional Services. I think it came out pretty good. If you’d like me to speak at your upcoming event, send me […]
June 20, 2015 by 9 Comments
The Procurement Method That Actually Puts The Incumbent At A Disadvantage
Over the last year, particularly on federal contracts, I’ve been seeing the rise of a very disturbing procurement process. It’s “Brooks Act” compatible. It is a safe method for procurement professionals to use. And it actually puts the incumbent at a disadvantage. What is it? It is called Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA for short). […]
February 1, 2015 by 6 Comments
How Some Winners Think About Procurement
“Yes, it kind of is,” admitted the agency employee sitting across from me. Even they knew it. And the older I get, the more procurements I’m involved in… …the clearer it becomes. Let me explain. Remember the board games you played as a kid? My favorites were Hungry Hungry Hippos, Monopoly, Risk, and Sorry. As […]
November 16, 2014 by 4 Comments
One Approach To Proposal Debriefs That You May Not Have Considered
Today, I want to share another excerpt from The Magic Of Winning Proposals that illustrates an important point. While this book is largely about proposals, it also gives you the answers for everything from capture planning to presentations and debriefs. It’s really a total solution. But for now, here is another excerpt. This one relates […]
November 9, 2014 by 2 Comments
Proposal Ghost Stories: How To Spook Your Competition
Last week, I told you about a game-changing book about proposal writing that I obtained the rights to. Today, and over the next two weeks, I want to give you an advanced sneak peek and share some of my favorite excerpts with you right here on HelpEverybodyEveryday.com. The first excerpt illustrates the tactical nature of […]
November 2, 2014 by 3 Comments
How Can Your Proposals Compete Against Big Firms?
How can my proposals compete against the big firms? That’s a question people always ask me. And I get it. I work for a small firm (under 50 people) that competes with firms who have tens of thousands of people. And we certainly win more than we lose to those guys. But here’s the thing. […]
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