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Carl Dickson, Founder of CapturePlanning.com and PropLIBRARY sat down for an interview with Ashley Kayes and Baskar Sundaram of the Scribble Talk Podcast. He shared some insights into the nature of proposals as well as some details about himself that have never been published before.   90    

The normal way to work with a consultant is to agree on a scope, budget, and schedule for what needs to be done. This requires discussion, getting to know each other, some back-and-forth, and some risk. We can spend a lot of time talking about it and then face the risks in performance, or we can get right to work on something relevant but small that mitigates those risks. The projects described below can jumpstart the process, with four ways we can work together for under $5,000. They cover

When we think of partnerships we think of something far more strategic than referrals. We like partnerships that force us both to revise our business plans. In our experience, partnerships that don't require investment by both parties have a low probability of success. We have occasionally taken on sponsors when companies wanted to get in front of our audience but lacked a capacity for cross-promotion. When we have complementary offerings, we're open to bundling and other forms of cros

In addition to PropLIBRARY's online resources, we also provide full-service consulting. We have experts who can provide hands on help, either at your site or remotely. The content you see on PropLIBRARY demonstrates our expertise and approach to doing things.  To start a conversation about how we can do business together call 1-800-848-1563 Feel free to ask us about business development or proposals, or suggest a topic for us to write about.  We're geeks about this stuff and lov

It all starts with a conversation Examples of projects we've undertaken: Proposal management and professional proposal writing ROI based Win rate improvement Pursuit process improvement (pre-RFP and post-RFP) Coaching to independence, where I provide experience and quality assurance while your staff and organization develops and then I fade out over time Proposal content planning Proposal reviews and quality validation Checkli

The traditional way to define roles for a proposal usually includes: A Capture Manager to define the offering A Proposal Manager to implement the process Proposal Writers to follow the process and create the proposal narrative Under this model, the Proposal Manager seeks to bring together the solution and the writers to get it all on paper. The Proposal Manager brings together the Capture Manager and Proposal Writers so that bid strategies can be articulated and used to

We're adding features that will turn our huge library of incredibly useful content into online training courses with exercises, quizzes, videos, and more. But that's not all...  There will be special features for Corporate Subscribers. They involve customization, certification, live instructor integration, real proposal participation tracking, transcripts, mentorship programs, and more. It's not just about training. They turn PropLIBRARY into a strategic tool for developing a

So here's our plan for world conquest. First we developed software that lets us repurpose our huge content library as online courses, complete with videos, quizzes, exercises, transcripts, and more. Next we're going to develop about a week's work of training. The basic stuff needed to implement our recommendations will be included with a regular PropLIBRARY Subscription. Additional courses that explain how to customize our approaches, adapt them, or use them for organizational development will b

Honestly, it's an approach I just stumbled upon. I wasn't really looking for it. If I say that it has the potential to radically change how people go about winning proposals, that might sound a bit grandiose. But that is exactly what I think it can do. Just not in a way that anyone expects. Imagine combining what you see below with all of our process guidance, online training, proposal recipes, etc., into a single integrated environment. If you do complex proposals with multiple people involved,

Now that we've worked out MustWin Performance Support Tool and here's a link to a presentation answering frequently asked questions about it. If you want to know something and you don't see an answer, feel free to click the button below and send us a question. Or just give us a call at 1-800-848-1563. Click here to ask us a question

All you need to do to produce a winning proposal is give the customer the information they need to decide in your favor. It really is that simple.   And that totally hides how difficult it really is. While what you need to do is simple to understand, it is hard to achieve. Here are six top problems that get in the way of keeping proposals simple: You have to know what information the customer needs. It’s not about you or your offering. It’s all about them. It's their decision. Wha

PropLIBRARY has started hosting bi-monthly Jam Sessions for our Corporate Subscribers. These virtual meetings are part training, part user support, part problem solving, and part continuous win rate improvement. We'll show you how to use PropLIBRARY features, talk about solving the challenges you're facing, do a little training on a topic you need addressed in that moment, or help you with your pursuit strategies. It's all about you and your needs. Each session is tailored fo

It’s often over before it even starts.  Except for the tragic part where people work long hours, struggle, argue, blame, and sometimes cry. Most proposals go bad right at the beginning, even if you don’t feel the pain until later. The reverse is also true. Proposals can be won before they start.  They can be straightforward to produce, or they can be like pulling teeth. It comes down to whether you start with an information advantage, and if you can figure out what to do

HAPD Week 12: Advanced Proposal Topics and the Rapid Proposal Writing Workshop All bold red fonts are links. Monday, 10-June-2019 Module 11.3 - Post Proposal and Protests.  In the afternoon, we'll review the module on post proposal activities and protests (due to scheduling conflicts, this module will actually be presented on Monday of Week 12).  Module 12.1 - Introduction to Federal Program Management. This module introduces students to project and performance manag

HAPD Week 11: Preparing for Gold Team and the Final Exam All bold red fonts are links. Monday, 03-June-2019 Virtual Red Team Recovery. Finish making final revisions and documenting your writer disposition for all red team feedback. Tuesday, 04-June-2019 Pens Down. Pens down for Gold Team at Noon Meet with Dan and Angela: Students meet with Dan and Angela from 1:00 PM ET - 3:00 PM ET. Module 11.1 - Gold Team. At 3:30 PM ET, we'll review the module on

HAPD Week 10: Red Team Review and Recovery All bold red fonts are links. Monday, 27-May-2019 Memorial Day Holiday. No class. Tuesday through Wednesday, 28 & 29-May-2019 Red Team Review Proposal Writers stand down Thursday and Friday, 30 & 31-May-2019 Combined Reviewer Consensus/Proposal Team Debrief - reviewers present feedback and deconflict opposing recommendations for the proposal team Recovery Planning - proposal writers revie

HAPD Week 8: Path to Red Team All bold red fonts are links. Monday, 13-May-2019 Pink Team Recovery Plan - Phil will facilitate a team discussion in the afternoon to agree to a uniform structure for all of the PWS Mission Area proposal sections Self-Study Modules - we have three self-study modules: 8.1 covers writing to the RFP requirements, 8.2 covers Red Team writing and planning, and 8.3 covers interviewing SMEs (note that Module 8.3 will be posted Monday) Q

HAPD Week 9: Red Team Preparations All bold red fonts are links. Monday, 20-May-2019 Cohort Past Performance Live Edits - You will meet in your cohorts today to perform live edits of your past performance documents - work to get into page count and resolve open issues Next Steps Review - we'll review final preparation next steps for Red Team Signup Sheet - Sign up for extended 1:1 reviews (here) during which we'll review gradebooks for the current period and r

HAPD Week 7: Pink Team Prep, Review, and Recovery All bold red fonts are links. Monday, 06-May-2019 Final Pink Team editing - we'll make the final edits to the pink team content plans - pens down is 2:30 PM ET Break before mid-term - we'll have a break before the mid-term exam begins from 2:30 PM ET - 3:00 PM ET Mid-term exam - the mid-term exam begins at 3:00 PM ET and closes at 5:00 PM ET. There are two parts - part 1 is multiple choice and part 2 is a short

HAPD Week 6: Path to Pink Team All bold red fonts are links. Monday, 29-April-2019 Module 6.1 Introduction to Writing Past Performance Results - we'll begin completing part 2 of the measles charts, which focus on the performance evaluation portion of Section M Monday is a half-day in the war room - afternoon is a remote work option Tuesday, 30-April-2019 Dan Marsh, COO of Hinz Consulting, will be presenting an overview of Hinz Consulting and best practices