Leadership requires vision, which means visualizing where you want to go and conceiving a plan for getting there. Along the way the unexpected must be dealt with, always with an eye on the goal. If I manage the proposal development process you can expect: From the start I will gather together the existing intelligence on:
   the customer (hot buttons, special issues, evaluation criteria)
   us (win themes--why we can win, strengths, weaknesses, features, benefits
   the competition, strengths and weaknesses, vulnerabilities
This is nothing new. The task though, is to work it into the proposal documents.

Think and Plan first before writing. When you do write, be convincing--substantiate your claims with actual examples, references to past performances or qotations ob the accolades you've received.

Red team guidance – the red team review process cannot be underestimated. It’s essential to put your proposal under the objective scrutiny of those knowledgeable on the customer, the subject matter and the RFP. The challenge is to get maximum value in as short time as possible. This means that the debriefing and evaluation and filtering through is organized streamlined. The gems must be uncovered and implemented the rest only as time and wisdom permit.

Time usage and meetings - Meetings are when three or more must exchange information—otherwise it’s a conversation. They must be held to a purpose and that means an agenda. Don’t worry, the last item on the agenda can be a catchall but for us, the only professional attitude towards meetings is that they must be structured, limited, and necessary. And all schedules slip one hour, one day at a time.

Selling your firm and its solutions – Again, there are well-known proposal techniques for doing this and again, the skill is doing it in a rational way without overkill, cliqhes and affronts to the customer’s intelligence.

Interaction and Support - Finally, though, the work should also be fun and, of course, that means interactions that are based on mutual respect and the looking forward to the greatest of all fun—-the victory celebration.

Now that you know some of the beliefs and practices we follow in performing our services, click here to review what those services are.