Business Opportunity:
Operation of the Woodland Job Corps Center, Laurel, MD
If you want the free full summary of this target go to http://login.epipeline.com/limitedDisplay?ID=FOMCUSA3766&FLAG=SUMMARY..
This target is only available for a short period of time.
If you need help designing and executing your capture program
or proposal to win this procurement contact Doug Allston, at
703-642-5153.
News/Information
Networking Opportunity
Articles:
The Wish Book
By Sid Jaffe, CEO, Advantage Consulting, Inc.
Do you remember each year at the Holiday Season when the major retail companies, especially Sears, sent out a catalog? They called it their "Wish Book." It was filled with pictures and descriptive captions for the "things and toys we wanted" and presented them in a compelling manner. In other words, they showed them in a way that had us asking our parents for them.
I recall my children excitedly looking at the pages noting all the things that interested them. There was a "WOW" factor to the book. Today, I look at client briefing documents and presentations and frequently do not see the compelling story; the "WOW" factor.
A "Red-Team" review that is focused on the compelling story within your presentations can be a simple and valuable exercise that results in a more engaged and enthusiastic client, one who becomes your champion or advocate because they have seen something in your "Wish Book" that they want.
To discuss our firm's Red-Teaming support focused on your "WOW" factor, contact Sid Jaffe, sjaffe@acibiz.com at 703-642-5153.
Tongue in Cheek Proposal Terms
By J.P. Richard, Vice President, Advantage Consulting, Inc.
Chuck Keller, author of "Proposal Writing," the book we recommend in our proposal classes and cofounder of Proposalcafe.com recently created a glossary of terms for the APM Journal. With his permission, we will publish some of the more humorous ones in the upcoming weeks.
Two of the best are:
Consultant- A temporary proposal employee hired by companies that do not have the resources, time, skill, or desire to write the proposal themselves, especially when the proposal is due this Friday and the RFP has been out for three weeks.
Ghosting- A proposal practice of insulting your competitors or raising concerns about their capabilities without naming the competitors or directly referring to anything they have done or have not done.
The Modern Sherlock May Be Named Tom or Mary
By Bill Hamilton, Vice President, Advantage Consulting, Inc.
We are all collectors and users of intelligence. Whether scouting a competitive football team, buying a house, or even trying to get a first date, good intelligence and good use of it is important to us. In the case of capture, it is critical in building a win.
We are frequently better collectors of intelligence than we are good intelligence analysts.
One of the most serious problems involves the concept of self delusion. We evaluate information in such a way as to validate something we want to happen. An example of self-delusion is believing an RFP was written for you even if you don't know the customer, because you "know how to do the work and want the job." Another example would be taking a comment or phrase out of context to enable you to believe that the customer wants something done one way, when really the customer does not want it done that way at all. The best way to avoid the self-delusion trap is to use alternative sources of information and compare answers. Look for tangible support before you form conclusions.
Be careful of guesses or opinions that may enter your analysis. Try and obtain factual proof to support your analysis from as many different sources as you can. Teaming partners and potential teaming partners are excellent sources as are other companies in the market.
Exercise your contacts in the customer agency. Technical contacts can frequently support or counter information gained from traditional business development sources. Financial contacts can frequently provide invaluable information on the potential budget that may not be known by the business development or program management sources.
Your key to success is found by asking the same question several different ways to several different sources and then compare the answers you receive.
Consider all sources in your intelligence collection. Talk with all levels in your customer agency ranging from upper management, technologists, administrative personnel to agency non-customers of all types. Any contact with a customer employee may generate the winning golden nugget of information.
Finally, ask your employees. They will hear things unfiltered by official positions and also may provide those golden nuggets. All information should be fed to your Customer Service Team or Capture Team for analysis. By having a central analytic source you can logically and professionally provide a structured analysis. Intelligence collection and analysis is a team effort and the team must be coordinated and managed to be effective. Collect and evaluate as much intelligence as you can obtain but do it right. Trust your sources but verify information analysis with some form of proof. Don't guess your way into a loss.
Want to discuss intelligence collection and analysis? Call me at 703-405-8912 or contact me at bhamilton@acibiz.com and let's talk.
Fun Humor/Wisdom:
Quotable Quotes
To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but dream; and not only plan, but believe. Anon.
To dream anything that you want to dream - is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do - is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits - is the courage to succeed. There is always room at the top. Daniel Webster
To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often. Cardinal Newman
To succeed - do the best you can, where you are, with what you have. Theodore Roosevelt
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