By Nichole L. Reber The proposal experience is a vast one. It starts with selecting clients to pursue and eventually winds its way through business development and to us in proposals. Yet for some of us proposal managers, the churn-and-burn of our work leaves little time for entertaining thoughts about a proposal’s travels before it lands in our laps. Sometimes we’re ships passing in the night...

By Heather Finch, CF APMP Dear GMC, I have a large RFP that requires the response submission to be put into a “slide deck proposal” rather than a standard Word or Excel proposal response. Do you have an example or template for this type of “slide deck proposal” submission? (I checked the APMP resource site with no luck.)  How do I even begin to do this without ending up with a 500-slide ...

By Heather Finch, CF APMP Dear GMC, I recently lost my job and am back out on the ol’ job market. One proposal manager position I applied for required a writing sample. I’ve never really been sure what to do in this position. Do I hand over a proposal I worked on, even if a lot of it wasn’t new content that I personally wrote? Can I even provide something I worked on for another company? Is...

By Karen Kosloff We are in a pivotal and historic moment. As I write this from my home in central New Jersey, just a stone’s throw from the epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis in New York City, with protests raging across the country, as we lumber toward the most contentious and divisive presidential election in modern history, I find myself struck by – of all things – hope. Hope for the future. ...

By Becky Petty, CP APMP So you have experience managing virtual teams and landed a remote proposal position. You can count on quickly encountering basic pros and cons. Working from home comes with some sweet benefits: Great coffee (I’m currently sipping a cold brew with oat milk)Lax dress code (fuzzy bunny slippers anyone?)It is easier to work those non-standard office hours We can’t ...

By Andrea Dunger, CF APMP We’ve all been in those situations where drama from another source….be it an outside influence or someone on the proposal team…tries to overshadow the good work you’re trying to do for your client and derail the process. However, as a proposal lead, proposal manager, project manager, whatever your title may be, YOU are the conductor of your proposal train. To keep you...

By Julie McCoy, CF APMP In today’s busy proposal world, it can be easy to dive right into the response and start tackling the RFP at hand. Timelines are shrinking and there is a long queue of proposals waiting to be completed, but these are the exact reasons why it is more important than ever to have a strong kickoff call. Preparation: Preparation is key to a successful RFx response. Acco...

By Bette Sturino, CP APMP We've all been beginners (novices) of something at some point in our lives. For parents, remember that 'inexperienced' feeling you had when you brought home your firstborn baby? Or getting that uneasy feeling when driving a new car or rental car off the lot? Or how you felt your first week at a new job, and of course this one - working on that first RFP assigned to...

Jargon can be a great help or a huge hindrance. It all depends on how you use it. Jargon is a great way to share information both effectively and efficiently, but it’s only effective if everyone involved understands the jargon you’re using. The good news is almost all proposal professionals agree you have to be cautious whenever you employ jargon. The bad news is there’s little agreement a...

By Margaret McGuire “You always have time for the things that you prioritize.” The leader of my business development organization recently sent us an email with that theme – and he is right. So, prioritize yourself. Our jobs as proposal and business development professionals mean that we are often under the pressure of deadlines, and time can easily escape us. For a well-rounded life, we ne...