Welcome to Lohfeld Consulting Group's
Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief July 2012 Edition!
Summer has heated up - and so have everyone's capture and proposal efforts!
Talk of budget cuts, sequestration concerns, and expanding mission requirements abound in the media, and while everyone is justifiably concerned, companies' day-to-day business of winning new business and maintaining existing work continues.
Our July Capture & Proposal Tips eBrief will support your efforts. Take a look at our latest blog posts, updated 2012/2013 capture and proposal training schedule, webinars, and conferences - all aimed to help you improve your skills.
Check out our Proposal Doctor's prescription for managing out-of-control teams, and read Bob Lohfeld's latest Washington Technology article on 100 Words to Avoid in Proposals!
...And be sure take some time to enjoy your summer and gear up for the final pushes of FY12!
-The Lohfeld Consulting Group Team
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Proposal problems?
Ask the Proposal Doctor
Why show up if everyone else wants to run the proposal show?
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Dear Proposal Doctor, All of a sudden, everyone on my team is obsessed with fonts and kerning and other aspects of desktop publishing. People who should be worried about the solution and the price are weighing in on the appearance of the document. Everyone has an opinion on the best color scheme, margins, headers, footers, and text boxes. Isn't this my domain? Shouldn't I have the final say on this? Why is everyone else trying to do my job? What is the point of my showing up for this proposal if everyone else wants to take control of these decisions? Feeling Powerless Read more...
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Latest Lohfeld Insights blog posts
Enjoy our latest capture and proposal-related blog posts:
Share your requests for future topics with our blog editor Beth Wingate. |
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Lohfeld Consulting Group in the news
100 words that kill your proposals
Inexperienced proposal writers seem to use words that should be avoided when writing proposals. These inappropriate words and phrases can weaken a proposal, annoy evaluators, and even undermine the bidder's credibility.
To help you write better proposals, we have compiled a list of the most frequently used words that should be avoided when writing proposals. Some of these came from Carl Dickson at CapturePlanning.com, while others came from lists that have circulated around the proposal industry for so long that the identity of the original authors has been lost.
Our list doesn't cover every word that should be avoided, and there are certainly exceptions to the usage rules, but our list does provide guidance and suggests alternative words that will strengthen your proposal...
| Read Bob Lohfeld's article from Washington Technology.
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 Proposal support continues to grow in CY Q2 2012
Lohfeld Consulting Group provided capture and proposal support for 61 proposals at 30 companies in Q2 2012.
Some of the proposals we completed were for bids to the following government departments and agencies:
- Civilian agencies including Commerce (NOAA and BLS), DOE NERT, DOJ FBI, DOL BLS, DOT FMCSA and FAA, EPA, HHS CMS and SSA, Treasury CFPB, PBGC, GSA, and DHS
- Defense agencies including Army, Navy, and Air Force, DOD DLA, DSS, and MDA
- Intel community proposals including INSCOM and IARP
- State & local proposals including the states of Wyoming and Tennessee
- International proposals including Australia
The demand for capture and proposal support services continued to be strong in the second quarter of the year and will increase further as we enter the buying season in CY Q3. Please contact us early to get professional support for your upcoming capture and proposal efforts.
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Educational opportunities
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Capture Management - How government contractors win business (Multiple dates available)
Aug. 28, 2012, Herndon, VA
Nov. 14, 2012, Herndon, VA
Feb. 5, 2013, Herndon, VA
May 7, 2013, Herndon, VA
Register now for Aug. 28, 2012 class!
Register now for Nov. 14, 2012 class!Proposal Management - How government contractors create winning proposals (Multiple dates available)
Sept. 12, 2012, Herndon, VA
Dec. 4, 2012, Herndon, VA
March 5, 2013, Herndon, VA
June 18, 2013, Herndon, VA
Proposal Management covers the process government contractors use to create winning proposals for full-and-open competitions and task order contracts. We'll explore Lohfeld Consulting Group's structured process comprising a series of scalable actions and steps aimed at creating high-scoring proposals that result in winning bids.
Join Beth Wingate for this 1-day training course. We'll examine the Proposal Management process from pre-proposal through post-submission activities. ...And, we'll share our industry best practices, tips, tricks, and tools for managing every aspect of your proposals.
Register now for Sept. 12, 2012 class! Register now for Dec. 4, 2012 class! Register now for March 5, 2013 class! Register now for June 18, 2013 class! Proposal Writing - How to write better technical and managerial proposals that outscore the competition (Multiple dates available)
Oct. 10, 2012, Herndon, VA
Jan. 8, 2013, Herndon, VA
April 9, 2013, Herndon, VA
Do you have to write the technical or management sections of proposals? Would you like to learn the process professional writers use to create compelling content quickly for the technical and management sections of a proposal?
Join Brooke Crouter for this 1-day training course. We'll show you how to write better proposals more quickly and consistently receive higher scores.
Register now for Oct. 10, 2012 class! Register now for Jan. 8, 2013 class! Register now for April 9, 2013 class!
Sept. 21, 2012, Silver Spring, MD
Sept. 26, 2012, Dedham, MA (APMP Nor'easters Fall Symposium)
This course trains students in 22 competency areas covering the bid and proposal field. The competencies are classified into five groups: sales orientation, information research and management, planning development and management. The course explains best practices for implementing the competencies and provides constructive exercises and practice test questions.
Join Brenda Crist for this 1-day course to prepare to take the APMP Foundation exam. Sponsored by APMP.
Register now for Nov. 5-26, 2012 4-part webinar!
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 Need help with capture and proposal processes and infrastructure?
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We provide capture and proposal process evaluations and develop process-improvement roadmaps to increase your government business acquisition win rate. We can tune up your existing processes and build and implement your business development infrastructure enterprise-wide.
Contact Bob Lohfeld at 410.336.6264 or |
 Schedule capture and proposal support now
Make Lohfeld Consulting Group part of your winning solution
Our mission is to help our clients win more government contracts.
When you need to manage an opportunity and create a winning proposal, let our capture and proposal experts support you.
Our team members average more than 20 years' experience pursuing, managing, and writing competitive proposals for government contractors. We specialize in IT, aerospace and defense, professional services, and other technology-related procurements.
Contact us, visit our web site, or call us today at 703.820.0075.
Some free support
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 Professional training classes | |
Capture Management - How government contractors win business (multiple dates available)
Aug. 28, 2012, Herndon, VA Nov. 14, 2012, Herndon, VA
Feb. 5, 2013, Herndon, VA
May 7, 2013, Herndon, VA
Capture Management - How government contractors win business (Deltek Insight Pre-conference Workshop)
Join Bob Lohfeld for this special 1-day pre-conference workshop. We'll take you through our proven 10-Step Capture Management Methodology and show you how to improve your win rate when pursuing government contracts.
Register now for Oct. 15 workshop!
Proposal Management - How government contractors create winning proposals (multiple dates available) Sept. 12, 2012, Herndon, VA Dec. 4, 2012, Herndon, VA March 5, 2013, Herndon, VA June 18, 2013, Herndon, VA Join Beth Wingate for this 1-day training course. We'll explore Lohfeld Consulting Group's 5-phase government business acquisition framework. We'll share our industry best practices, tips, tricks, and tools for managing every aspect of your proposals. Register now for Sept. 12 class! Register now for Dec. 4 class! Register now for March 5 class! Register now for June 18 class! Proposal Writing - How to write better technical and managerial proposals that outscore the competition (multiple dates available) Oct. 10, 2012, Herndon, VA Jan. 8, 2013, Herndon, VA April 9, 2013, Herndon, VA Join Brooke Crouter for this 1-day training course. Learn the process professional writers use to create compelling content quickly for the technical and management sections of a proposal. We'll show you how to write better proposals more quickly and consistently receive higher scores. Register now for Oct. 10 class! Register now for Jan. 8 class! Register now for April 9 class! APMP Foundation Level Accreditation Training (multiple dates available) Sept. 21, 2012, Silver Spring, MDSept. 26, 2012, Dedham, MA
Nov. 5-26, 2012 (4-part webinar)
Join Brenda Crist for this 1-day course to prepare to take the APMP Foundation exam. Sponsored by APMP.
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Our presentations at upcoming events and webinars
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Leveling the playing field: how small companies can compete with the big guys | Business Development Weekly - Brenda Crist
July 31, 2012 2:00 pm
Free webinar
Get more info and register now!
Trends and drivers in business development and capture management - Deltek Summer Party
August 2, 2012 2:00 p.m.
Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, VA
Free event - learn about capture and proposal management trends and drivers (Bob Lohfeld), and IDIQ Best Practices. Join colleagues for cocktails, conversation, and capture!
APMP Nor'easters fall symposium (corporate sponsor/exhibitor) Sept. 27, 2012, Dedham, MA
APMP SPAC conference
(platinum sponsor/exhibitor)
Oct. 24, 2012
Atlanta, GA
APMP Nor'easters webinar - Best of AppMaven: PC tools that deliver on a shoe string budget
Nov. 2, 2012
Free webinar
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 Corporate training classes in capture, proposals, and proposal writing - delivered on-site
| Let us design and provide your corporate on-site capture, proposal management, and proposal writing training programs.
On-site APMP Foundation-level Accreditation training
Train your capture and proposal team and achieve APMP Foundation-level Accreditation for everyone in your organization.
Training Office -
Briana Coleman 703.615.7596 BColeman@LohfeldConsulting.com |
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Let us manage your must-win proposals
Our expert proposal staff can manage and support your proposals.
We provide:
- Capture managers
- Proposal managers
- Volume leads
- Technical writers
- Graphic artists
- Editors
- Desktop publishers
- Proposal coordinators
- Orals coaches
All of our proposal leadership team members are experts in winning government contracts.
Contact Amy Barden at 703.820.0075 or ABarden@LohfeldConsulting.com to discuss your upcoming proposal-support requirements.
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