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A proposal strategy is a plan to write a persuasive, winning proposal that sets you apart from your competitors. Proposal strategy must align with the capture strategy in order to create win themes that tell the story...

Proposal planning and proposal writing are not mortal enemies. They can and should be the best of friends...

A proposal strategy is a plan to write a persuasive, winning proposal that sets you apart from your competitors. Proposal strategy must align with the capture strategy in order to create win themes that tell the story...

When writing proposals, it is important to remember all the aspects that make a winning proposal. Some key techniques are things like incorporating customer focus throughout the proposal...

Most of us know how vital color team reviews are to ensuring a well-written, concise solution for our customers. But these reviews can get tricky and become ineffective if we’re not careful. During Shipley’s most recent webinar on color team reviews, we were asked many questions about how to hold effective reviews. But, by far, the most popular question was, “who do I invite?”The answer? It depends on the size, scope, and complexity of the pursuits as well as the size and mission of your organization. Color team reviews should be tailored to fit the environment and the pursuit size and complexity.

Theme statements are not sales slogans, like the catchy phrases most commonly seen in consumer marketing. They are based on customer hot buttons and motivators.

Color team reviews are held to strengthen engagement efforts. Once the proposal has been submitted, ideally, you hold a Lessons Learned, or White Hat, review. A Lessons Learned review gathers information from the customer and your own observations to determine what can be improved in your next proposal or capture opportunity.

Color team reviews are business development milestones at which experts and managers work to improve the win potential of pursuits. Done correctly, they are a cost effective way to improve the overall success of your capture planning and proposal development efforts.

Proposal writing is different from general business or technical writing. It includes elements of compliance and persuasion that aren’t always part of basic writing.

Whether you are working as a proposal manager, proposal writer, subject matter expert, or other contributor, understanding best practices for a virtual kickoff meeting can help boost productivity during proposal development.

More than ever, virtual proposal teams are both increasingly common and necessary. Proposal managers must complete the same tasks in a virtual environment that are required when managing a co-located team. The increased challenges are most often communication and accountability. . .

Discriminators are features of your offer or solution that differ from a competitor’s offer and are acknowledged by the customer as important. Both conditions must be met.

Capture (opportunity) management requires careful and precise execution of a well-developed capture plan. Developing the plan is important. Executing the plan is difficult but essential. Capture managers are generally made, not born. Most organizations develop capture managers internally as they gain awareness of company strategies for growth or market positioning. The capture manager is generally the primary person responsible for winning or losing opportunities and directs customer contact before, during, and after a proposal is submitted.

The new year brings up a lot of talk of resolutions. Are they good? Are they bad? Do they even work? That’s for the individual to decide for themselves. However, I think we can all agree that goals are a good thing. They give us something to aspire to and, if we craft them well, they give us an opportunity to grow and achieve. Achieving our goals feels good. So, what stops us from reaching them?

All business development leaders must balance priorities such as time, resources, and short-term vs. long-term objectives. In your business culture, do you expect to win?

Proposals go through several iterations and reviews before final submission not the customer. Careful and thorough proofreading, editing, and revising help you focus on complying with customer requirements and convey a clear sales message.

Choosing to engage someone outside of your organization for proposal support is a decision that can significantly change the success of your business.

What characteristics make one proposal more customer-focused than another proposal? Do different individuals perceive customer focus differently? Do individuals with different cultural backgrounds or positions perceive customer focus differently?

Hunting involves many decisions and steps before you actually take a shot. These preliminary steps prepare a hunter to experience the most success. Similarly, when a business is just starting out, you must be on the hunt for opportunities that will sustain your organization.

Bid decisions are decisions gate reviews triggered by ongoing customer or opportunity intelligence. The opportunity manager (or capture manager) along with management determines whether to advance, defer, or end the pursuit. The decision hinges on whether you have the capability or can obtain the resources to pursue and subsequently capture an opportunity that meets your business objectives.

The RFP can be scary for a lot of reasons. The stress and pressure to deliver a winning response might feel like too much to handle...

Executive Summaries are often the most important sections in a proposal. They set the tone for individual evaluators and are sometimes the only pages read by the decision makers.

Storyboards and Mockups are planning tools used to develop and review new content before writing text. Like any tool, they should save time and improve quality to justify their use...

Some best practices in proposal writing, improve your writing and your win rate by applying these seven rules