"Going Green: Increasing Your Proposal Miles Per Gallon"

2008 Speakers & Presentation Files

The speaker lineup for the 2008 SPAC represented a cross-section of APMP membership, including both familiar names and fresh faces. The presenters were:

Zero Emissions Proposals: Tips & Tricks for Successful Virtual Proposal Teams (pdf)

—Amy McGeady and Michelle Petty

The challenges and costs associated with bringing a proposal team together have increased dramatically. Whether it's requiring frequent, extended travel; pulling operations staff from a client site; or decreased productivity resulting from travel time, co-locating the proposal team can have far reaching impacts on budget, performance, and morale. Amy and Michelle offer practical tips for determining when to consider virtual proposal teams and how to work effectively in a virtual environment. They will discuss when to bring the team together (if at all), the effective use of collaborative document management tools, and the discipline of strong communication among dispersed team members.

Michelle Petty and Amy McGeady co-own Propel Consulting, a full-service proposal consulting firm. Michelle and Amy first worked together as part of a virtual team.

Michelle Petty, PMP: Michelle is the CEO of Propel Consulting. She is a 20-year veteran proposal manager with a diverse background supporting federal, state and local, and commercial opportunities. Previously, Michelle served as Proposal Manager and Proposal Center Manager for a variety of companies, including Lockheed Martin IMS, Cable & Wireless, American Management Systems (AMS), and IT Corporation. She has been an active member of APMP for more than 10 years. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB).

Amy McGeady, Ph.D.: Amy is the President of Propel Consulting. She has been managing, writing, and editing proposals for more than 10 years. Before becoming a consultant, she served as Proposal Manager and Proposal Team Director at Lockheed Martin IMS and ACS Government Solutions. She is the Chair of the APMP Central Texas chapter, which serves Austin, San Antonio, and surrounding communities. Prior to starting her proposal career, Amy earned doctorate and master of art's degrees in political science from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Win or No Win? How to Make Winning Executive Summaries (pdf)

—Mike Parkinson

We are bombarded with a whopping 3,000 brand impressions per day. On average, marketing and business materials have our attention for 3-10 seconds. Do you want to get a reviewer's attention immediately—and hold it for even 1 minute? Then spend some time with your executive summary—both your graphics and text layout. Find out how to increase retention and win rates with eye-catching visuals. Improve existing graphics and layouts with methods proven to give your reviewers pause! Play "Win or No Win," and create graphics that out-do your most formidable competitors.

Knowledge and Skill Takeaways

Participants will:

• Create winning visuals for their executive summaries
• Develop page layout templates that enhance their message
• Confirm that their executive summaries are client focused

Handouts

• Introduction to Color Theory
• Introduction to Design
• Proposal Graphics Basic/Resources
• How to Do Fancy Headers in Word - NEW!

Mike Parkinson is an internationally recognized visual communications expert, multi-published author, professional trainer and public speaker, and recently became an APMP Fellow. He is a partner at 24 Hour Company specializing in bid-winning proposal graphics. His Billion Dollar Graphics website (www.BillionDollarGraphics.com) and Billion Dollar Business Graphics book share best practices and helpful tools with his fellow proposal professionals.

World Class Proposal Writing Capabilities (pdf)

—Charlie Divine

This presentation highlights outcomes from an industry-wide research study of best practices in proposal writing. Over the last 20 years, there have been a relatively small number of publicly available benchmarking studies in the BD arena. The study draws on an in-depth analysis of industry leaders in five benchmark areas: proposal development steps, automation tools, organization constructs, training approaches, and other factors affecting performance. Focus will be on isolating the attributes of world-class proposal writing capability that provide actionable results and directly correlate to success in proposal writing.

Charlie Divine PPF.APMP currently serves as the Director of Research and Knowledge Management for the Business Development Institute International and as Director of Education for APMP. He led development of a comprehensive body of knowledge, BD-KnowledgeBase, for APMP and the BD-Institute. He is a certified BD-CMM Appraiser for the BD-Institute, an APMP Fellow, and APMP-certified at the Professional level.

Reducing Noxious Emissions, Managing Proposal Content (pdf)

—George McCulley

Proposals are content first, appearance second. Without the right content, all proposal professionals can do is "put lipstick on the pig." This presentation presents techniques for getting underneath a customer's requirements, finding out what the customer truly cares about that may not be explicitly stated or known by our SMEs, then matching proposal content to those concerns. The results are proposals with a minimum of noxious emissions.

George McCulley, PhD, is the Southeastern Regional Director for Shipley Associates and one of the three founding members of APMP.

Solutions for Seven Unsolvable Problems of Proposal Management (pdf)

—Carl Dickson

Solutions for Seven Unsolvable Problems of Proposal Management-Does this sound familiar? You are never prepared at start-up. You argue over proposal quality. No one follows the process. Reviews are rarely effective. There is always a train-wreck at the end. You can't afford training for everyone. You can't convince people to bid less and win more. Carl has thrown out traditional approaches and invented new ones to solve the problems that never seem to go away. Or so he says. He will be joined in his presentation by his wife and business partner, Diane, who will challenge each of his lofty claims and make him prove every word.

Carl Dickson is the founder of CapturePlanning.com, a highly popular resource for learning about proposal writing and business development. For 20 years, Carl has helped companies submit proposals to government and industry clients. He is a past President of the National Capital Area Chapter of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and has been a proposal consultant and developer of proposal management software. His most recent contribution to the industry is the CapturePlanning.com MustWin Process. Carl will be joined in his presentation by his wife and business partner, Diane, who is much smarter than he is.

The RFP Green Thumb: Planting Proposal Seeds for an Abundant Harvest (pdf)

—Chuck Keller

Plant and cultivate a crop of winning proposals in response to a request for proposal (RFP). Chuck will recommend ways to prepare for, administer, analyze, and process RFPs. He will describe techniques for preparing and fertilizing your field before RFP release, and then planting and nurturing your proposal seeds after RFP release.

Chuck Keller, owner of Keller Proposal Development & Training and president and co-founder of ProposalCafe.com, has been in the proposal business for 25 years. He is an APMP Fellow and charter member and one of the founders of SPAC and theGeorgia and Florida APMP Chapters. Chuck serves as the Chapter Chair of the Florida APMP Chapter. He is the co-author of the book Proposal Writing: The Art of Friendly and Winning Persuasion (www.prenhall.com/proposalwriting).

Knowing Your Destination Makes a Proposal Development Trip More Efficient: A Peek At the "Other Side" of the Procurement Table (pdf)

—Bill Andre

This presentation will be a "behind the scenes" look at how a Request for Proposal is developed. It will focus on development of the Statement of Work, the Instructions to Bidders, and the Evaluation Criteria. The proposal evaluation process will also be discussed. Although the information is based on the government procurement process, much of the information can be applied to the development of commercial proposals.

Bill Andre has been an independent proposal consultant for more than 15 years. Most of his work has been in responding to government RFPs in the areas of engineering/environmental and telecommunications.

During his career as a proposal professional he has:

• Managed and supported winning proposals with a combined value in excess of $2.3 Billion
• Organized and refined proposal management and production processes, resulting in higher win rates
• Developed and presented training courses on such proposal-related topics as developing win strategies, determination of customer requirements, and the analysis of proposal-related "best practices."

Bill is also vice president and webmaster of ProposalCafe.com, the largest collection of free proposal development resources on the Internet.

Making Time Your Best Friend, Not Your Worst Enemy (pdf)

—John Lauderdale

This presentation offers specific principles, tools, and processes that assist in managing time in proposal creation, including:

1. Proposal Management is a sub-set of Program / Project Management.
2. Therefore, these processes, tools and principles have more general application.
3. Leadership is more important than management.
4. "Follow me" is more effective than, "Do it this way."

Mr. Lauderdale brings 20 years of proposal and project management experience as well as several years of serving in various managerial positions. He has expertly provided proposal leadership for several telecommunications companies, and he has managed telecom projects. During his career, he has led or helped prepare proposals for contracts valued at $15 billion with wins in excess of $10 billion. He displays skills in capture planning, proposal development, and competitive pricing development.

For the past 20 years, Mr. Lauderdale has served as a consultant in proposal management, proposal consulting, and project management for several large Federal contractors. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Mr. Lauderdale served in several corporate senior management positions.

8 Simple Rules for Dating My Proposal Manager (pdf)

—David Sotolongo

More Smiles per Proposal (pdf)

—BJ Lownie

People who enjoy what they are doing and are well suited to their role perform at a higher level and make a more significant contribution to the team. They are more easily motivated, constantly seek to improve their skills, and are more positive. Working with them is easier, more work is accomplished, the results are better and it's more fun. And when a person isn't happy in his or her role, it affects the entire team and company.

This lively, interactive session, presented by BJ Lownie, Director of Strategic Proposals LLC, and Martin Smith, Director of Bid Solutions, will introduce participants to ways in which they can determine an individual's suitability for a particular role and how best to motivate and develop that individual.

The session will explore:

• The four key functional areas of proposal development
• Determining about which area an individual is most passionate
• The particular traits that make a person successful in a given proposal role
• How to uncover the information you really need to know about a person to make a good job match
• How to motivate and develop a particular person based on his or her preferred style

Whether it is for the development of personnel currently in place or for recruiting new people, Participants will understand of how to ensure the right people are in the right roles, resulting in "More Smiles per Proposal".

BJ Lownie, Director Strategic Proposals LLC
As it says on the proposal blog he hosts, www.theProposalGuys.com, and as those of you who have seen him present or have attended one of his workshops, BJ Lownie, director of Strategic Proposals LLC, is truly "Passionate about Proposals".

With more than 25 years experience, BJ brings an incredible depth and breadth of experience within the proposal arena. He has worked on hundreds of proposals and had more than 3000 participants attend his workshops. To date, BJ's work on proposals has taken him to five continents.

He is a founding and charter member of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and has achieved APMP Professional accreditation. In addition, Strategic Proposals LLC is one of the select firms recognized by APMP as an "Approved Training Organizations" for APMP accreditation.

What is the Cost of Going Green? (pdf)

—Michael A. Tresko

Whether you are evaluating the impact of "Green Technology" or an IT outsourcing deal, in a competitive environment, performing a "Price to Win" (PTW) analysis for planning and strategizing is key to the price decision. Depending on the opportunity, different models can be used for determining price. This presentation also discusses the different modeling techniques to address PTW. Michael will also discuss the value of information in the public domain and the methods of researching competitive assessment and landscape. Additionally, he will discuss the importance of the client "globally warming" up to sharing their pricing data for the price to win.

Michael Tresko has more than 20 years experience in Management and Business within the Defense, Aerospace, IT, Telecom and Services Industries. Currently, he is a consultant for SM&A providing both Price to Win and Volume Leadership. At HP/Compaq, Michael was the operations manager for a $450M Global Services Territory, providing profitability, due diligence and negotiations activities. For LM Commercial Space, he served as a New Business financial manager, overseeing deal structuring, due diligence, venture analysis, business proposals. At LM Missiles and Space, Michael was a controller on major Space programs, and involved with the spin off of Space Imaging. Mike was a speaker at the 2008 APMP conference in Rancho Mirage.

The Recycling Solution: The Lost Art of Feedback (pdf)

—LaBrita Cash-Baskett

The real tragedy behind the mountains of trash we produce is that a lot of what we throw away can be reused or recycled. Not every idea in the proposal development process is recyclable, and some ideas are more reusable than others. What exactly can be recycled in proposal development? Almost anything!

One of the most important tools for maintaining control and developing people is the proper use of feedback. Learn how to use feedback to enhance team effectiveness. This interactive and fun presentation provides guidelines, principals, and strategies for effective feedback.

LaBrita Cash-Baskett has more than 8 years of progressive experience in the field of speech-language pathology and organizational communication in the areas of leadership, communication and interpersonal skills development. She provides consulting and training to help proposal managers maximize potential and add value to organizations through effective communication.