Customer-centric communication uses strategic messaging to support compliant and responsive narratives. In the RFP process, customer-focused messaging takes many forms but should, at least, take account of a customer’s needs Read more

After much anticipation, Thursday November 16 saw CBDC 2023 hit our screens! The eighth annual iteration of our virtual conference took previous years’ success to new heights, as hundreds of Read more

How did you get involved in the bid and proposal management industry? Ask that question to most people (altered for their particular industry), and they’ll likely be able to tell Read more

Writing a good social value response is not an exact science, as each client and each opportunity is unique. Based on my experience of writing and improving social value bid Read more

The way we write and manage proposals in the legal and consulting industry is on the brink of a major transformation, thanks to the power of generative AI tools like Read more

Government Proposals Are Scored and Not Read Most business development professionals in the government contracting (GovCon) marketspace know that the heading to this paragraph is a true statement. For those Read more

Ashburn, VA – 1 November 2023 – Yesterday, the British Standards Institute (BSI) officially publised PAS 360:2023, the first ever internationally-available code of practice for the bid and proposal management Read more

Marketing and proposal staff help to create bridges that connect many business divides. Some of these gaps are obvious, like the divide between what your company’s SMEs and a customer’s Read more

As the quantity and complexity of RFXs your team handles increases, you probably feel like you’re struggling to keep your head above water. Whether you’re searching through a disorganized SharePoint Read more

A teacher stands authoritatively at the front of a classroom, but only some students are paying attention.  A few are chatting, some are passing notes, and several students are gazing Read more

With tender deadlines looming, every hour counts! Valuable time can be easily lost with your team completing numerous manual, repetitive tasks. A time that could be better spent finessing your Read more

Before working on and submitting my first bid, I gained experience in various roles, sectors and countries. As a senior manager, I established and managed diverse teams, often leading them Read more

Artificial Intelligence (AI) was first discussed in 1950 by Alan Turing, who explored the mathematical possibility of AI. With the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, AI immediately became a hot Read more

Bidding for contracts is a complex and competitive process, requiring meticulous planning, strategy, and execution. However, the journey doesn’t end once the bid is submitted. In fact, it is crucial Read more

The situation You’re a female professional preparing a new proposal presentation with another female colleague. There is a meeting later, and you suggest inserting a timeline. She nods her head, Read more

Of course, there is! But we are not talking about the spelling, but the people involved in sourcing and submitting high-value government or commercial proposals or tenders. And that certainly Read more

It is a universal truth that if you give three experienced bid and proposal professionals a request for proposal (RFP) with instructions, evaluation criteria, and requirements that are not well Read more

More to the point, absolutely nobody reads proposals unless the words are properly punctuated by infographics, project shots, and cunningly structured white space. That’s a statistical fact, right? Well, let’s Read more

Winning competitive pursuits is a “thinking person’s business.” This business tenet is particularly true when trying to win solution-based, high-dollar value, prime contracts in the government contracting (GovCon) space. “What Read more

Before working on and submitting my first bid, I gained experience in various roles, sectors, and countries. As a senior manager, I established and managed diverse teams, often leading them Read more

Are you ready to incorporate Pink Team meetings into your proposal process? Do you already hold Pink Team meetings but feel they could be more productive? Is your team not Read more

We’ve got some top news to share! BidCraft, the small but pioneering firm in the world of bid consultancy, is crossing international waters for the first time, heading straight to Read more

Small businesses seeking growth and expansion often find themselves at a crossroads when deciding whether to target state and local markets first or venture directly into the federal arena. Each Read more

New York, 25 September 2015. The General Assembly of the United Nations stands and roars with applause as the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are officially adopted, bold universal intentions that Read more

Receiving news from a prospective client that they have chosen a different direction is always disheartening. It prompts us to reflect on why our proposal or presentation fell short. While Read more

In today’s rapidly evolving world, it’s more crucial than ever to understand what people think and how they think. This understanding can be the key to unlocking successful business proposals, Read more

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are permeating the RFP knowledge base ethos. The warp-speed dissemination of generative AI is visible in all aspects of content management. From content creation to Read more

I’m here to explain why bid managers have never been more critical to an organisation’s ability to win new business! Bids are becoming more complex as procurement teams get smarter, Read more

The global pandemic in 2020 forced millions to work remotely, expediting the digital transformation in the workforce. Consequently, our economy’s current nature compels many companies to do more with less, Read more

I have been a proposal professional now for more than 10 years. Though I have stayed in the proposal field, I have changed industries multiple times, having worked in four Read more

The result of every proposal (whether proactive or reactive) is to turn the potential client’s decision in your favour. For any opportunity, every bidder knows the scope of work and Read more

Five years ago, I didn’t even know what “RFP” stood for or what a business proposal was. During the initial interview with my current company, the Chief Revenue Officer pulled Read more

At the 2023 Bid and Proposal Conference, 150 proposal professionals were polled on the question: “What percent of your Capture is usually complete by the time of an RFP?” Interestingly, Read more

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming businesses across virtually every industry with promises of improved productivity, growth, and resilience. Just as the internet became integral to business, AI is quickly becoming Read more

The market growth of AI Technology is surging. In 2019, the market size was valued at $27.23 billion, and by 2027, the market size is expected to reach 266.92 billion, Read more

I met one of my close APMP friends at BPC 2015 in Seattle at lunch, and I noticed she was standing alone next to our table and looking over the Read more

Congratulations! You have won a prime contract! Before you know it, contract execution begins and suddenly you are in the unique position of incumbent on a recompete. As incumbent, your Read more

If you ask proposal management professionals how they landed their jobs, most will say it happened by chance. Proposal management isn’t taught in schools, after all. So, when offered an Read more

In some geographic markets, this may be a relatively easy task, but in Ottawa, Canada it’s a challenge. As Senior Proposal Writers and Senior Proposal Managers get more experience, they Read more

As Proposal Managers, we know all the intricacies of exercising total command and control of the proposal development process; but mention the words “Tech Challenge” and suddenly we are unfamiliar Read more

If you’ve browsed the internet or perused the news in the past year, chances are you’ve heard of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model. And, if you’ve checked it Read more

We’ve all seen it. That proposal that goes into its sequential color team reviews, never really hitting the mark and never really picking up steam. This can happen for a Read more

Ivoire Lloyd is our featured APMP Member this month! Ivoire is APMP Certified at the Foundation Level and has been an APMP Member for the last two years. She is Read more

International Business Development teams have mastered collaborating virtually, long before the great work from home shift. When U.S.-based teams felt bumps as they adjusted to permanent work from home arrangements Read more

You only get one shot at a great proposal kickoff meeting, so make it count. Good kickoff meetings put the controls and processes in place to efficiently produce the proposal Read more

Even on the best proposal teams, conflicts occur. A proposal group is a tight-knit family of professionals working closely together under tight deadlines. In such a pressure cooker environment, tempers Read more

AI is on everybody’s lips these days and that was also the case at this year’s European Bid & Proposal Conference – BPC Europe 2023. My company was the main Read more

If you received a new RFP today that had 100 questions, how many of them would you assume that you’ve already answered? For most bid and proposal managers, the number Read more

Not only is your executive summary the first thing your customer reads about your proposal, it’s also the most closely scrutinized. As a result, the executive summary is the most Read more

BPC Europe 2023 gathered bid & proposal professionals from all over Europe to learn new strategies, make new connections, and chat with old friends. BPC Europe 2023 is presented by Read more

Lasting changes from the Covid pandemic and emerging economic pressures are changing the way proposal professionals work. But some things never change: Proper approaches to people, processes, and tools can Read more

Do bid professionals across all industries have similar personality traits that reflect resilience ensuring high-performing bid teams? Have you ever wondered if specific traits exist that are identifiable that engender Read more

From the news to LinkedIn, chances are you’ve been hearing weekly predictions of an upcoming recession. Indeed, it feels like there’s an abundance of speculation but no consensus on what Read more

When it comes to comparing proposals in the public sector and private sector, the differences appear to be obvious for many Professionals. However, if confronted with questions and requests to Read more

There are several words that are thrown around casually. It makes the speaker or writer look cool. Words like “collaboration”, “out-of-the-box”, “empower” convey everything and convey nothing. Another such word Read more

Ceri has worked in proposals for over 16 years. She’s one of only 22 people globally (as of October 2022) that holds all four main APMP certifications. Ceri is a Read more

 As a Bid professional, I interact quite often with fellow Bid professionals from many organizations, with their roles ranging from proposal writer, account executive, solution lead, proposal manager, sales lead, Read more

We are saddened to hear about the passing of APMP member, Christine Bodnar Diaz, on January 18th, 2023.  She was 51 years old. Christine is “survived by her daughters Katie Read more

There are few things worse than finding yourself working late or on the weekend trying to wrap up a proposal you know your company will not win.  Maybe the account Read more

How often have you faced the question ‘what do you do for work’, only to answer and have blank faces look back at you? The truth is we could talk Read more

For the last few years, your team likely hasn’t done a ton of RFP presentations. Between health precautions, supply chain disruptions and a desire to accelerate the purchasing process, the Read more

Your proposal is the first touch point for the customer to evaluate the quality of outputs you are capable of delivering. By submitting a sloppily written proposal, you are exposing Read more

As proposal industry professionals, we strive to make our proposal stand out and show it’s not a canned response. Often, this means we must rely on sales and account teams Read more

APMP is proud to announce that Patri and Hinz Consulting have chosen to support two important APMP Affinity Groups. Patri will be supporting the APMP Mental Health Affinity Group with Read more

I don’t know if this is the case anywhere else in the world with finding proposal writers, but in Ottawa, Canada, finding senior proposal resources is a challenge. This is Read more

ASHBURN, VA, January 4, 2023 — Rupesh Kumar, former Head Business Development for APMP’s India Region, has been promoted to APMP’s Director of Chapter and Membership Engagement effective January 3, Read more

As the largest bid & proposal association in the world, APMP is constantly growing as an organization and this year was no different. APMP’s goal is to create a sustainable, Read more

Have you ever wished you could switch up the traditional, rigid business development roles to provide a little magic to your next proposal pursuit?  Imagine if you could wave your Read more

Tis the season when many government consulting organisations go through some sort of ‘strategy review’ to explore the barriers to success in the years ahead and to decide which resources Read more

Technology is playing a larger role in business development teams across all sectors, and in professional services, tech that assists business development teams is on the rise. CRM, pitch automation Read more

Leading a team is tricky, especially at first. Some fall into the role and seem to navigate the waters with ease. Others have a rocky road until they find their Read more

Ashburn, VA – December 1, 2022 – APMP (Association of Proposal Management Professionals), the global association for bid and proposal professionals worldwide, announced today the promotion of Julia Duke to Read more

The capture methodology is widely considered to be a best practice that ensures a company is well positioned to win business. Too often, however, companies undervalue the prescribed, repeatable steps Read more

This is an invitation for current and past APMP HQ Board members to self-nominate for the 2023 Vice Chair position, which if elected, will automatically put you in line to Read more

As proposal professionals, we all seek to improve our skills and deliver more impact to our organizations. We belong to APMP to access a wealth of information on proposal management, Read more

APMP’s family of Affinity Groups expands further with the APMP PRIDE Affinity Group. APMP, the association of record for the bid and proposal community worldwide, offers members identifying as LGBTQIA+ Read more

The 2022-2023 APMP U.S. Compensation Report is here! This report provides a detailed analysis of compensation levels, benefits, and profile information of those in the proposal, bid, capture, business development, Read more

Are you interested in finding new dedicated proposal managers to add expertise to your team? Then follow our lead by establishing a trainee program for Proposal Managers. Due to the Read more

APMP’s DACH Chapter hosted the first day of the APMP DACH Conference with great success in early November 2022. At its peak, more than 100 professionals from German-speaking countries of Read more

APMP Japan’s Festa event brought together the Japanese bid & proposal community for a day of learning, networking, and celebrating one of APMP’s newest chapters in early November 2022. This Read more

The hardest part of winning new work is beginning to plan on how to keep it. All too often, companies do not give recompetes the attention, focus, or resources required. Read more

Many professionals involved in strategic pursuits and winning proposal strategies would counsel against pursuing a project or responding to an RFP without having an established relationship with a client. And, Read more

The 11th and 12th of October saw a return of the prestigious annual conference for the UK Chapter. Welcoming 316 people to Heathrow, for the first time since the pandemic, the UK was the Read more

Successful bid and proposal teams create a compliance matrix for every opportunity as soon as the RFP hits. An additional step that is just as important for complex proposals is Read more

When I was a novice proposal writer, I used to think that an executive summary should be an overview of the rest of the proposal. Having been an English Major Read more

Inclusion  inclusion (noun) · inclusions (plural noun)  the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure:  “federal legislation now mandates the inclusion of students who are English Read more

Steve Jobs once said: ‘Great things in businesses are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.”   He could have been talking about a bid Read more

Day Two of BPC Asia 2022 started off with a keynote speech from Tony Birch that focused on the importance of certification. He provided five competitive reasons to be APMP Read more

APMP India Chair, Abhijit Majumdar, kicked off the inaugural BPC Asia by addressing the 196 attendees and sharing some APMP history. He gave a shout-out to the Great Charlie Divine Read more

We are excited to announce Red Team Consulting as our newest member of the APMP Approved Training Organization network. We can’t wait to see the contributions they make to promote Read more

Proposal Managers are excellent problem solvers and all-round magicians. We make the seemingly impossible a reality through careful consideration, attention to detail and an understanding of our customer’s needs. This Read more

The Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP®) have created the APMP Mental Health Affinity Group as part of the APMP Affinity Group program. This latest addition to the program creates Read more

A capture manager’s work is a lot like golf. Golfers must consider factors like wind, distance, club selection, and course obstacles as they make their way through a course hole. Read more

Being a marketing professional, having the skill set to multitask is a must, and not for the faint of heart. You must be diligent in communicating your proposal needs, but Read more

In August, APMP held it’s first-ever Women’s Virtual Summit – a worldwide, online event, spanning all time zones, and focused on how women can advance in the workplace. Their most Read more

It was 2am, the third late night in a row, but the RFP was packaged and ready to be delivered. I drove home for a two hour sleep before getting Read more

A client recently asked me to assist them with a win-loss analysis of a loss for which they were nearly 10 times (!) the winner’s price. While the source selection Read more

One of the defining moments in helping me select a career in proposal management was participating in the collegiate mentorship program sponsored by APMP. During my senior year at George Read more

The first-ever Women’s Virtual Summit was a huge success with 609 attendees, 40 amazing sessions, and 74 presenters from all over the world! As promised at the closing session, we Read more

APMP’s First-Ever Women’s Virtual Summit brought 609 bid & proposal professionals together to share professional obstacles, personal experiences, and expert advice. The candor and sincerity of this year’s speakers made Read more

In May, another incredible APMP BPC brought us together. I was lucky to attend and fortunate to present. The people I met and the sessions I attended spoke loud and Read more

There’s a tsunami coming. Can you hear it? Can you feel it? Be prepared for utter devastation. Unless you prepare yourself in other ways. In which case you will be Read more

Very often in the proposal industry, confusion is seen between the job titles ‘Proposal Manager’ and ‘Bid Manager’ which, as a result, fuel the already heated debate on the exact Read more

How valuable is your pitch or business development team? Show them.  A global pandemic. The Great Resignation. Return to office. Work life balance. Recent research estimates that 40% of new Read more

Like many companies, mine prioritizes its participation in its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) efforts. We place a high value on ensuring every person feels like they have a voice Read more

 Is your burnt-out team submitting low quality bids? New research from Loopio’s 2022 RFP Trends and Benchmarks Report, which surveyed 800+ teams across North America, reveals that stressed teams participate Read more