Download - Virtual Proposal Development Go Virtual, or Go Home! Proposal Development Go Virtual, or Go Home! Southern Proposal Accents Conference SPAC 2012 Sponsored by Georgia, Florida, and

Virtual Proposal DevelopmentGo Virtual, or Go Home!

Southern Proposal Accents Conference

SPAC 2012 Sponsored by Georgia, Florida, and Carolinas APMP Chapters

Go Virtual, or Go Home!

Presented by: Brad DouglasShipley Associates

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• More than just electronic submittal

• Contributors are not all co-located

What do We Mean by “Virtual Proposal Development?”

SPAC 2012 Sponsored by Georgia, Florida, and Carolinas APMP Chapters 2

co-located

• Dependent on technology to communicate and manage

Is This a Trend or Fad? Why?


Discussion:

Are There Some Generational Issues that Influence Virtual Proposal Management?

How so?


How so?

Millennial Generation Job SatisfactionTwo major motivators of Millennials in the workforce:

1.Freedom to negotiate their job description/role


– Often leads to virtual work (home office)

– Flex time is a big deal

2. Management’s recognitionthat they have a life outside of work

Are Remote (Virtual) Workers More

Discussion:


Are Remote (Virtual) Workers More or Less Engaged?

Proximity breeds complacency

“I've worked with leaders who sit in the same office with those they

manage but go for weeks without having any substantive face-time with


manage but go for weeks without having any substantive face-time with

them. In fact, they may use e-mail as their primary source of

communication when they sit less than 50 feet away. It's even worse if they

sit in different parts of a building—or all the way on another floor.”

by: Scott Edinger, HBR Blog Network; August 24, 2012

Absence makes people try harder to connect

“When I managed a team of professionals in nine different locations, I made a

point of deliberately reaching out to each of them by phone at least once a week,


point of deliberately reaching out to each of them by phone at least once a week,

and frequently more often. I'm not an anomaly here. Most leaders I work with

make an extra effort to stay connected to those they don't ordinarily run into.

They can see that taking even a few minutes to talk about what's happening in

their respective worlds before addressing the tasks at hand makes a difference in

maintaining the connection with a colleague.”

Leaders of virtual teams make better use of tools

“Because leaders of far-flung teams have to use videoconferencing, instant


“Because leaders of far-flung teams have to use videoconferencing, instant

messaging, e-mail, voicemail, and yes, the telephone, to make contact, they

become proficient in multiple forms of communication, an advantage in

leadership that their traditional counterparts could well develop but not so

automatically.”

Leaders of far-flung teams maximize the time spent together

“Having had to make such an effort to get the team together, these leaders naturally want

to make the best use of their precious time. They take care to filter out as many distractions

as possible so they can focus on the work to be done together. They also typically spend


as possible so they can focus on the work to be done together. They also typically spend

more than an ordinary work day together, socializing at planned luncheons, dinners, and

activities. This level of focused attention is hard to replicate day to day.

None of this is to say that working remotely is better than coming to the office. Or that

virtual teams are better than traditional ones. On the contrary, I'm suggesting that they are

exactly the same in this regard: Someone working in the same office with their leader

needs just as much effective communication as someone located in a different office. It's

just that, ironically, they're less likely to get it.”

What About

Personal Work

Preferences?


Activity: A Virtual Kickoff Meeting Gone Bad

Listen to this virtual proposal kickoff meetingWhat went right? Wrong? Is this common?


Discussion

What are Some Pitfalls (things to avoid) for Managing Proposals Virtually?


• Often, no defined process to manage the proposal

• Decision gates often “short-changed” (or left out)

• No clear understanding of roles and responsibilities

• Little consequence for late task completion

Common Challenges of Virtual Proposal Development


• Little consequence for late task completion

―Long distance accountability

• Rewards often go to the non-contributors

• General view that the proposal is not important

• Perception that “…proposals are free” – those deciding to bid do not pay for the proposal or do the work

What are the “Super Hero Best Practices” when Managing a Virtual Proposal Effort?


1. Produce Schedule Early – make highly visible to team

2. Clarify and publish team roles and responsibilities

3. Hold an Effective Kickoff Meeting

The Seven “Musts” for Effective Virtual Management


3. Hold an Effective Kickoff Meeting

4. Write and Develop Great Content

5. Develop Quality Theme Statements

6. Conduct Content Reviews and Edits

7. Facilitate Effective Color Team Reviews

Establish Leadership:

Plan an Effective Kickoff Meeting


• Separate the initial core team planning call from the proposal kickoff call

• Establish clear lines of authority

• Establish a detailed, written agenda and distribute it early

Apply These Best Practices for Virtual Proposal Kickoff Meeting


• Establish a detailed, written agenda and distribute it early enough to permit participants to prepare

• Take the time to poll participants for acceptance after each agenda item

• As tasks are assigned, ask the responsible individuals to restate their understanding and acceptance

• Assign someone other than the person chairing the call to keep detailed minutes—or record the call

More Best Practices


call to keep detailed minutes—or record the call

• Check progress of dispersed teams frequently (how?)

• Test your submission process for hardware and software compatibility

Writing Content: POWeR™

• Plan – Use customer hot buttons, issues, and needs to help plan your section – use a storyboard template

• Organize – Use a structured organization tool to outline and storyboard your message


• Write – Be customer focused and persuasive in writing

• examine – Let your content “cool” before examining for accuracy and responsiveness

• Revise in three stages – 3 Cs

Revision Stage 1: Be Clear

• Use informative section headings• Use informative section headings

• Preview content• Preview content

• Place important points first• Place important points first

• Keep setups short• Keep setups short


• Keep setups short• Keep setups short

• Write effective captions• Write effective captions

• Emphasize key information• Emphasize key information

• Create an appropriate tone• Create an appropriate tone

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Revision Stage 2: Be Concise


Revise

ParagraphsRevise Sentences Revise Words

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Revision Stage 3: Be Correct

� Consult references

� Check spelling, punctuation, and grammar

� Resolve word problems


� Resolve word problems

� Verify consistency with requirements documents

� Confirm nomenclature and identities

� Double-check arithmetic

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Basics of a Theme Statement

Cascadia Timber can reduce the cost of forest management in remote, roadless areas by selecting a partner to supply 20 versatile Cascadia Timber can reduce the cost of forest management in remote, roadless areas by selecting a partner to supply 20 versatile

Benefit


remote, roadless areas by selecting a partner to supply 20 versatile ultralight aircraft that also offers long-term support.remote, roadless areas by selecting a partner to supply 20 versatile ultralight aircraft that also offers long-term support.

Feature

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A “Value Proposition” Theme is Stronger

EuroWidget can obtain a competitive edge by implementing a customer information system that will improve effectiveness of EuroWidget can obtain a competitive edge by implementing a customer information system that will improve effectiveness of

Feature


customer information system that will improve effectiveness of your field sales team 25 percent within 6 months, measured in terms of customer appointments kept.

customer information system that will improve effectiveness of your field sales team 25 percent within 6 months, measured in terms of customer appointments kept.

Quantified

Return

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Cascadia Timber can reduce forest management costs $1 million annually by purchasing 20 versatile Jenair ultralight aircraft forCascadia Timber can reduce forest management costs $1 million annually by purchasing 20 versatile Jenair ultralight aircraft for

A Detailed Value Proposition is Stronger Yet

Feature

Quantified

Benefit


annually by purchasing 20 versatile Jenair ultralight aircraft for$198,888, a 588% ROI and 78 day payback period.annually by purchasing 20 versatile Jenair ultralight aircraft for$198,888, a 588% ROI and 78 day payback period.

Cost

Quantified

Return

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Gotham City can reduce the cost of employee prescription services 13.5 percent by selecting the only benefits management Gotham City can reduce the cost of employee prescription services 13.5 percent by selecting the only benefits management

Turn a Feature into a Discriminator

Quantified

Benefit


services 13.5 percent by selecting the only benefits management organization backed by Smart ClaimsTM software.services 13.5 percent by selecting the only benefits management organization backed by Smart ClaimsTM software.

Discriminating

CharacteristicFeature

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Theme Statement Litmus Test

Factor/

Subfactor

Unsatis-

factoryPoor Fair Good

Excep-

tional

1 2 3 4 5

M.4.1

SCORE?

CAN I USE

THIS THEME

TO JUSTIFY

A HIGH

SCORE?


M.4.1

Subfactor 4 –

Time required

to train new

users of the

system

XJustification of Score:

The Acme Corporation solution reduces our training time from 4

hours to 1 hour due to the intuitive, graphical user interface of their

Easy Link software.

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Should Any of These Key Color Team Reviews Be Left Out? Why?


Can We Ignore This?


How About This?


Do We Disregard the Pink Team on a Virtual Effort?


Do We Need a Red Team Review?


Virtual Proposal Development


• The trend is here to stay! Go Virtual or Go Home

• New generation of workforce comfortable with virtual tools/approach

Summary


tools/approach

• Pitfalls to avoid

• Best Practices

• Lessons learned from participants

Contact Information:

Brad [email protected]

888.772.9467 (wins)


Download - Virtual Proposal Development Go Virtual, or Go Home! Proposal Development Go Virtual, or Go Home! Southern Proposal Accents Conference SPAC 2012 Sponsored by Georgia, Florida, and

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