The correct answer is a. The Pursuit Decision.
After the Opportunity Assessment is completed, management makes a Pursuit Decision on whether to pursue the opportunity further based on the assessment findings. This kicks off the Capture Planning phase.
The other options listed are decisions that occur later in the process flow.
2. Proposal Process Management
Choosing the right opportunities Establishing Requirements Developing Strategy
Opportunity Qualification
Proposal Process Management
Review Management
Managing Time, Cost and
Planning the Proposal Phase Communicating your Plan
Quality
Learning from Experience
Understanding the key elements of a
good proposal development process
Syllabus Requirement
3. Learning objectives for Proposal
Process Management:
To recognise the key elements of a
good proposal development process
To develop an understanding of the
essential reviews
Proposal Guide 187
Syllabus Requirement
4. Key Elements of a Good
Proposal Development Process
A good process should be:
• Scalable – size and type
• Flexible – size and type
• Repeatable – size and type
• Documented
A good process should have
• an owner
• training available to inform, support and re-enforce
• document based reviews - to control and add value
• Milestones - with verifiable inputs and outputs
5. The process should be documented...
Opportunity Capture Proposal Proposal Post
Handover
Assessment Planning Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Proposal Guide 189
5
6. The process should have an owner
...and clear process steps
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Direct Strategic Direction and Bid Decisions
Qualify
Manage
Deliver
Proposal Guide 189
6
7. The process should have an owner
...and clear process steps
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Direct Strategic Direction and Bid Decisions
Qualify
Develop Develop Develop Present & Learn
Strategy Solution Proposal Negotiate Lessons
Manage Proposal Management and Reviews
Deliver
Proposal Guide 189
7
8. The process should have an owner
...and clear process steps
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Direct Strategic Direction and Bid Decisions
Qualify
Develop Develop Develop Present & Learn
Strategy Solution Proposal Negotiate Lessons
Manage Proposal Management and Reviews
Deliver Create Proposal Content
Proposal Guide 189
8
9. It should be based on documented
reviews and decisions
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Direct Strategic Direction and Bid Decisions
Qualify
Develop Develop Develop Present & Learn
Strategy Solution Proposal Negotiate Lessons
Manage Proposal Management and Reviews
Deliver Create Proposal Content
Outputs/Products/Results
Pursuit Program
Capture Plan Proposal Plan Storyboards Closure Plan
Recommendation Transition Plan
Opportunity /
Sales Presentation Writers Packages Red Team Draft Oral Presentation
Lead Description
Bid Draft Executive
Business Case Final Offer
Recommendation Summary
Final Proposal Lessons Learned
Proposal Guide 189
9
10. The process should be scalable...
Pursuit Decision Preliminary Bid. BID Decision Submit Bid Approve Deal Close
Opportunity Proposal Proposal
Capture Win Case Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation
Business Win /Loss
Size Develop Submit Offer
as Usual Handover &
Task Proposal & Win Case
Close
Small Bids
Typical Bids
Large
Bids
Outputs
Submitted
Proposal
Negotiated
Contract
11. The process should be flexible ...
Pursuit Decision Preliminary Bid. BID Decision Submit Bid Approve Deal Close
Opportunity Proposal Proposal
Capture Win Case Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation
Business Win /Loss
Size Develop Submit Offer
as Usual Handover &
Task Proposal & Win Case
Close
Win /Loss
Initiation Develop Submit Offer
Small Bids Handover &
& Planning Proposal & Win Case
Close
Typical Bids
Large
Bids
Outputs
Outline Business Win Strategy / Submitted
Lessons Learned
Case Project Approach Proposal
Initial Solution & Negotiated
Project Brief Contract
Price to Win
12. … repeatable by size and type
Pursuit Decision Preliminary Bid. BID Decision Submit Bid Approve Deal Close
Opportunity Proposal Proposal
Capture Win Case Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation
Business Win /Loss
Size Develop Submit Offer
as Usual Handover &
Task Proposal & Win Case
Close
Win /Loss
Initiation Develop Submit Offer
Small Bids Handover &
& Planning Proposal & Win Case
Close
Win /Loss
Develop Sub- Win
Typical Bids Initiation Planning mit Case
Handover &
Proposal
Close
Large
Bids
Outputs
Outline Business Win Strategy / Proposal Detailed Business Submitted
Lessons Learned
Case Project Approach Strategy Case Proposal
Initial Solution & Proposal Stage Proposal Final Negotiated
Project Brief Plan Draft Contract
Price to Win
13. ... adjustable to time available
Pursuit Decision Preliminary Bid. BID Decision Submit Bid Approve Deal Close
Opportunity Proposal Proposal
Capture Win Case Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation
Business Win /Loss
Size Develop Submit Offer
as Usual Handover &
Task Proposal & Win Case
Close
Win /Loss
Initiation Develop Submit Offer
Small Bids Handover &
& Planning Proposal & Win Case
Close
Win /Loss
Initiation & Develop Develop Sub- Win
Typical Bids mit Case
Handover &
Planning Solution Proposal
Close
Large Win /Loss
Develop Develop
BAFO
Sub-
sent
Pre-
mit
Bids Initiation Planning Handover &
Solution Proposal
Close
Outputs
Outline Business Win Strategy / Proposal Detailed Business Submitted
Lessons Learned
Case Project Approach Strategy Case Proposal
Initial Solution & Proposal Stage Proposal Final Negotiated Benefits
Project Brief Plan Draft Contract Realisation Plan
Price to Win
14. So Remember: Key Elements of a Good
Proposal Development Process
A good process should be:
• Scalable – size and type
• Flexible – size and type
• Repeatable – size and type
• Documented
A good process should have
• an owner
• training available to inform, support and re-enforce
• document based reviews - to control and add value
• Milestones - with verifiable inputs and outputs
15. Learning objectives for the
Review Management topic
understand common proposal reviews
assemble appropriate information for
reviews
manage time to allow reviews and
proposal amendment
Choosing the right opportunities
Syllabus Requirement
16. Proposal Process Reviews
Blue Team Win Strategy
Black Team Competitive Review
Pink Team Storyboard Review
Red Team Final Proposal Review
Gold Team Business Review / Approval
White Team Lessons Learned
16
17. Common Proposal Reviews
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Proposal Timeline
Proposal Guide 222
18. Common Proposal Reviews
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Proposal Timeline
Win
Strategy
Blue Team
Proposal Guide 222
19. Common Proposal Reviews
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Proposal Timeline
Win
Strategy
Blue Team
Competitor
Strategy
Black Hat
Proposal Guide 222
20. Common Proposal Reviews
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Proposal Timeline
Win Proposal Strategy
Strategy or Storyboard
Blue Team Pink Team
Competitor
Strategy
Black Hat
Proposal Guide 222
21. Common Proposal Reviews
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Proposal Timeline
Win Proposal Strategy Final
Strategy or Storyboard Document
Blue Team Pink Team Red Team
Competitor
Strategy
Black Hat
Proposal Guide 222
22. Common Proposal Reviews
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Proposal Timeline
Win Proposal Strategy Final
Strategy or Storyboard Document
Blue Team Pink Team Red Team
Competitor Business
Strategy Case
Black Hat Gold Team
Proposal Guide 222
23. Common Proposal Reviews
Opportunity Proposal Proposal Post
Capture Handover
Assessment Planning Preparation Submittal
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
Proposal Timeline
Win Proposal Strategy Final Lessons
Strategy or Storyboard Document Learnt
Blue Team Pink Team Red Team White Team
Competitor Business
Strategy Case
Black Hat Gold Team
Proposal Guide 222
24. Information Required for Reviews
• Win Strategy (Blue Team) • Final Document (Red Team)
– Completed Sales, Opportunity – Copy of customer request for
and Capture Plans proposal
– Draft Proposal Delivery Plan – Working papers
• Competitor Strategy – Win strategy papers
– Final draft of complete
(Black Hat Thinking) proposal
– Opportunity information • Business Case (Gold Team)
– Competitor information – Internal approval forms
• Proposal Strategy or • Lessons Learned
Storyboard (Pink Team) (White Team)
– Proposal Outline and/or – Internal feedback
Storyboards – Customer feedback
Pursuit Decision
25. Information Required for Reviews
• Win Strategy (Blue Team) • Final Document (Red Team)
– Completed Sales, Opportunity – Copy of customer request for
and Capture Plans proposal
– Draft Proposal Delivery Plan – Working papers
• Competitor Strategy – Win strategy papers
– Final draft of complete
(Black Hat Thinking) proposal
– Opportunity information • Business Case (Gold Team)
– Competitor information – Internal approval forms
• Proposal Strategy or • Lessons Learned
Storyboard (Pink Team) (White Team)
– Proposal Outline and/or – Internal feedback
Storyboards – Customer feedback
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid
26. Information Required for Reviews
• Win Strategy (Blue Team) • Final Document (Red Team)
– Completed Sales, Opportunity – Copy of customer request for
and Capture Plans proposal
– Draft Proposal Delivery Plan – Working papers
• Competitor Strategy – Win strategy papers
– Final draft of complete
(Black Hat Thinking) proposal
– Opportunity information • Business Case (Gold Team)
– Competitor information – Internal approval forms
• Proposal Strategy or • Lessons Learned
Storyboard (Pink Team) (White Team)
– Proposal Outline and/or – Internal feedback
Storyboards – Customer feedback
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision
27. Information Required for Reviews
• Win Strategy (Blue Team) • Final Document (Red Team)
– Completed Sales, – Copy of customer request for
Opportunity and Capture proposal
Plans – Working papers
– Draft Proposal Delivery Plan – Win strategy papers
– Final draft of complete
• Competitor Strategy proposal
(Black Hat Thinking) • Business Case (Gold Team)
– Opportunity information – Internal approval forms
– Competitor information • Lessons Learned
• Proposal Strategy or (White Team)
Storyboard (Pink Team) – Internal feedback
– Proposal Outline and/or – Customer feedback
Storyboards
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer
28. Information Required for Reviews
• Win Strategy (Blue Team) • Final Document (Red Team)
– Completed Sales, Opportunity – Copy of customer request for
and Capture Plans proposal
– Draft Proposal Delivery Plan – Working papers
• Competitor Strategy – Win strategy papers
– Final draft of complete
(Black Hat Thinking) proposal
– Opportunity information • Business Case (Gold Team)
– Competitor information – Internal approval forms
• Proposal Strategy or • Lessons Learned
Storyboard (Pink Team) (White Team)
– Proposal Outline and/or – Internal feedback
Storyboards – Customer feedback
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal
29. Information Required for Reviews
• Win Strategy (Blue Team) • Final Document (Red Team)
– Completed Sales, Opportunity – Copy of customer request for
and Capture Plans proposal
– Draft Proposal Delivery Plan – Working papers
• Competitor Strategy – Win strategy papers
– Final draft of complete
(Black Hat Thinking) proposal
– Opportunity information • Business Case (Gold Team)
– Competitor information – Internal approval forms
• Proposal Strategy or • Lessons Learned
Storyboard (Pink Team) (White Team)
– Proposal Outline and/or – Internal feedback
Storyboards – Customer feedback
Pursuit Decision Prelim. Bid BID Decision Submit Offer Approve Deal Close
31. Quick Quiz Question:
Which is NOT an attribute of a good process?
a. Aligns with the prospect’s buying cycle
b. Having different processes for different prospects
c. Scalable
d. Uses document reviews at each milestone
Please select your answer in the Polling panel.
32. How did you do?
A good process should be:
What would NOT be a good
attribute of a good process, is
• scalable – size and type
something that means EVERY
• flexible – size and type
different type of bid should handled
• repeatable – size and type
differently.
• documented
A good process should have:
• an owner
• training available to inform, support and re-enforce
• document based reviews - to control and add value
• Milestones - with verifiable inputs and outputs
33. Quick Quiz Question: What is the decision
made after Opportunity Assessment
a. The Pursuit Decision
b. Decision to Submit the Proposal
c. Validated Bid Decision
d. Acquire Vendor
Please select your answer in the Polling panel.
34. Let’s see how we answered
a. The Pursuit Decision is made after reviewing the opportunity assessment.
b. The Decision to Submit the Proposal is made as a result of the business approval or
Gold Team review.
c. The Validated Bid Decision is made at the end of the Proposal Planning process.
d. The decision to Acquire a Vendor is not part of the Proposal Process.
Syllabus Requirement
35. Preparing for the eTorial
Instructions for Process Management
Exercise:
• Review the Process topic in the Proposal Guide,
P187-193
• Refer to the ManCo case study and Figure 2 on
Page 189 of the Proposal Guide. Where are ManCo
in their buying process?
• If you were bidding products to ManCo what bid
activities would you be engaged in?
• Place your work in the Class Space.
Editor's Notes
Welcome to the second in the series of the APMP Foundation Training webinars.My name is XXX With me is YYYAfter this webinar you should be able to:Recognise the key elements of a good proposal development processDemonstrate an understanding of the essential reviewsAfter this session there will be an e-torial where you can apply the learning points above.
Every Bid Management organisation requires a process at its core.Consider the process used in your organisation?MPM 01 Candidates should understand the key elements of a good proposal development process. MRM 01 Candidates should understand common proposal reviews MRM 02 Candidates should be able to assemble appropriate information for reviews. MRM 05 Candidates should be able to manage time to allow reviews and proposal amendment
These are the topics we’re going to cover in this module:The APMP requires that Foundation candidates can demonstrate an understanding of the key elements of a good proposal process and of the reviews that support it.This is a Syllabus Requirement that will be tested in the exam.The topic is covered in some depth in the Proposal Guide.
A good sales processes will match the customer buying processIdentifying needsEstablishing RequirementsEvaluating OptionsResolving IssuesGaining CommitmentWhat’spresented here is a process lifecycle or phase model that helps do that.We’ll make the assumption for this picture that the market segmentation and positioning has been done. If you wanted to include them in the process model they would be in an additional phase to the left of this drawingThe key decision and milestones are shown underneath the phases: Pursue, Preliminary Bid Decision, Bid Decision, Submit and Approve.
Now lets look at the activities that go with the phases. We can split the activities into Directing, Managing and Delivering. Directing is where the big decisions are made. Do we continue? Are we going to bid? Is it still good business? Do we sign the contract?Managing is organising and controlling the bid work. This is your domain as bid and proposal managers.Delivering is executing or making it happen. This is where your team members, support staff and subject matter experts come inSo in this model the first Direction activity at the Direction level , which is done jointly with the Bid Manager and Sales, is to Qualify the opportunity In or Out.If it’s IN then the continuing Direction activity is to provide strategic direction and support to the bid team, intervening only at defined points and generally “managing by exception”
At the manage level are all the activities on which you will be tested as part of the accreditation process.
And delivery level activities are about producing proposal content and the detailed materials like compliance statements, system configurations, bills of material etc that are required to complete the proposal.Of course, on a small team, a lot of these deliver activities will be done by members of the core bid team. One rarely gets just to manage in this world.
The outputs from each proposal process phase are shown in the lower part of the diagram.Defining what products are required in your process and providing templates for required information are usually part of the overall process documentation for a typical organisation.
A good process is scalable. Here’s an example of how a Business Development process could be scaled.In the picture we shall work with four types or sizes or bid.Business as usualSmall bidsTypical bidsLarge bidsThe size may be determined by factors such as timescale, monetary value, complexity and visibility or a combination of these.As we work from small to large you’ll notice increasing amounts or governance, management effort and output from the process.
A good process is scalable. Here’s an example of how a Business Development process could be scaled.In the picture we shall work with four types or sizes or bid.Business as usualSmall bidsTypical bidsLarge bidsThe size may be determined by factors such as timescale, monetary value, complexity and visibility or a combination of these.As we work from small to large you’ll notice increasing amounts or governance, management effort and output from the process.
A good process is scalable. Here’s an example of how a Business Development process could be scaled.In the picture we shall work with four types or sizes or bid.Business as usualSmall bidsTypical bidsLarge bidsThe size may be determined by factors such as timescale, monetary value, complexity and visibility or a combination of these.As we work from small to large you’ll notice increasing amounts or governance, management effort and output from the process.
A good process is scalable. Here’s an example of how a Business Development process could be scaled.In the picture we shall work with four types or sizes or bid.Business as usualSmall bidsTypical bidsLarge bidsThe size may be determined by factors such as timescale, monetary value, complexity and visibility or a combination of these.As we work from small to large you’ll notice increasing amounts or governance, management effort and output from the process.
Here are some common reviews and their conventional ‘colour team’ names that you may hear in some organisations.In APMP terminology we prefer to use the right hand column definitions rather than the proprietary colour team names.Revise the Process and Reviews topics so that you understand their purpose and sequence in a typical process.
Here’s some implementation guidance to help you implement reviews in your own organisation.Remember especially to apply the findings of Lessons Learned reviews to apply past lessons and identify necessary process improvements.
See page 197 Answer b
The answer is of course BThis is typical Negatively worded question in a style that is often used in the examination.So you should eliminate the things that ARE attributes of good processes and the answer is what’s left.Having different processes for different prospects would mean that every bid would be different and no-one would know what process they were meant to be using.Of course we will need to be COMPLIANT with the Prospect’s acquisition rules and process but we should design our internal system to be flexible and adaptable.
Another question this time about Bid DecisionsAnswer a
If you answered A then you got it RIGHTThe Pursuit Decision is the earliest in the process and is an output of Opportunity AssessmentThe Proposal Submission and Validated Bid decisions come later in the proposal lifecycle.Acquire Vendor is part of the Customer’s process.
In the eTorial we will Discuss your analysis and provide an opportunity for you to share your conclusions.We’re going to do something like prepare a checklist for the reviews. The attendees must go to the forum and decide which review they are going to prepare for. We’ll discuss what has been prepared in the eTorial.