2. } What makes a Successful Proposal
◦ #1 Imperative: Perform TODAY
◦ Customer Intimacy
◦ Empowerment
◦ Proposal Writing
} Q&A
3. } Our performance on our existing contract is a
key factor in winning
} Delight our customer….daily
} Past Performance could be 25-40% of our score
◦ Be Careful!! – Rarely are acquisitions released if the
customer wants more of the same.
} Use the current opportunity to correct any
issues…
} Stay “on message” with the customer
◦ Prevent the RFP in the first place.
} Watch our customer: All sensors on FULL
} Keep our sub-contractors happy: No Defectors
4. } Successful Capture Managers (CM) are passionate about
knowing the Customer
◦ Spend every opportunity to meet with or learn from Customer
} Leverage Resources: Business Development, Washington
Operations, Program Managers, Suppilers, Teammates
◦ Rule of Thumb – calibrate Customer Intel with at least 3
independent, unbiased sources if possible
} Understand what the Customer has awarded in past
◦ Including acquisition trends & budget constraints
◦ Wash Ops can be very helpful here
} Develop a high-fidelity Source Selection Authority (SSA) list
with confirmed hot buttons/motivators
◦ This is HARD
◦ System Engineering / Technical Advisors (SETAs) can be valuable
here.
} Develop a customer contact plan
◦ Utilize at least 2 people in meetings
5. } Start small, Empower People, Forge a
Common Bond, Co-locate to extent possible
◦ #1 – Its economical
◦ Team building and cohesion is a must
– Proposals strain both personal and professional lives
◦ All players need to gel around a common set of
ideas that refine into unified win themes
◦ Churn and change is frequent and fast.
} Ask for help when needed
6. } Prop execution requires a combination of creative
visualization, precision, and conformance to
guidelines; while injecting strategies and innovation
to discriminate our offering.
} Successful Props aren’t written, they’re illustrated.
◦ Words connect graphics
◦ Designed for the skimming reader
◦ Customer benefits leap out
◦ Conclusion is first, followed by proof
– Anecdotal evidence that the customer knows
– Verifiable metrics compared to recognizable benchmarks
– Customer awards & recognition
– Photographic evidence
◦ Persuasive; not tutorial
} Best practice: Create a “Capstone” graphic that
represents Customer business, vision, goals, and how
we are going to help them reach those.
7. } What makes a Successful Proposal
◦ #1 Imperative: Perform TODAY
◦ Customer Intimacy
◦ Empowerment
◦ Proposal Writing
9. } Not listening to the customer
} Develop solutions early and expose them to criticism
} Failure to communicate, in customers’ terms, our understanding of the
customer’s operational environment, and the value of our solution
} Proposing an approach, when they wanted a point solution
} Bidding the elegant (and expensive) solution rather than meeting the
customer’s stated requirements
} Failure to maintain firm baselines – minimize churn and rework
} Underestimating the competition's passion to win and willingness to take a
risk to win
} Failure to understand and write to the offer design (win strategy and value
proposition)
} Failure to price to the market rather than just the program
} Not providing objective rationale for compliance
} Failure to re-visit your early decisions as needed
} Presenting unfounded assertions about performance, cost, etc.
} Staffing with the “available” personnel rather than the “best people”
} Failure to view the procurement with the customer’s best interest in mind
} Failure to respond completely or on time
