Value propositions establish customer value based on the business relationship. They describe how the seller’s solutions will improve the customer’s business and how that improvement with be measured. Value propositions are opportunity and customer specific and are developed collaboratively with the customer throughout the pursuit cycle...

The Proposal Management Plan (PMP) documents the roles, responsibilities, tasks, schedules, and deadlines before contributors start developing proposal sections, volumes, and ultimately the complete proposal. The plan becomes the “evergreen” guide to keep the team on track and accountable.

In the current work climate, telecommuting is increasingly more common, and virtual proposal teams are on the rise. Having team meetings and completing tasks via electronic interactions does not change your goal of preparing a winning proposal. It simply changes the mode of communication and increases the need for clarity.

Are you wasting money on proposals? Did you know you may be wasting money on proposals? Many things can be draining your proposals of value and earnings.

Few things damage a proposal faster than poor writing. This doesn’t just mean just watching out for misspelled words and improper grammar. There are other things to consider when crafting your proposals.

Capture Planning is the process of identifying the opportunities, assessing the environment, and devising and implementing winning strategies oriented toward capturing a specific business opportunity. Consistently successful capture planning requires a written, action-oriented capture plan.

Kickoff meetings are critical milestones that require careful core team planning followed by flawless execution. Good kickoff meetings inspire a team, poor ones can demoralize a team.

Compliance and responsiveness are often confused, so let’s discuss the definition of each. Proposals can be responsive but not compliant, or compliant but non-responsive.

Many proposal efficiencies happen before the writing. These few steps can mean the difference between a rewarding win or a costly loss.

A winning proposal begins with a solid capture strategy—the primary goal being to increase the Probability of Win (P-Win) to justify investing resources in a sales pursuit. All organizations have limited resources (people, time, and money) and must carefully identify which opportunities offer the best chance of becoming new business.

Active and passive voice sentences both convey action, but active sentences are more persuasive, decisive, and confident. Use active voice unless you have a good reason to choose passive voice...

You've done your homework on a strategic opportunity. You know the customer; you know who likely competitors are; and you know what solutions you'll offer on the competitive bid. Now what?