Webinars 2020
January 15: Best Practices for Improving Collaboration in the Proposal Process
We see it all the time. One proposal team has tremendous success—frequent wins, shorter sales cycles, quality output and engaged SMEs while the other proposal team struggles, struggles, struggles. One of the deciding factors that determines a proposal team’s success is if they can effectively collaborate.The saying—It Takes a Village—is certainly true for many things. But, it especially is relevant when talking about the process of developing effective sales proposals. Join our upcoming webinar where Deirdre Sommerkamp will discuss actionable best practices every organization can implement to improve collaboration, including:
- The importance of understanding the roles and goals of proposal team members
- The “Is-Does-Means” framework
- Collaboration habits effective teams leverage
Dierdre Sommerkamp, Director of Solutions Consulting, Upland Software
Deirdre is a customer experience (CX) and sales execution expert. With over 20 years of experience, she has helped global organizations successfully implement technology solutions to improve efficiency, effectiveness, quality, engagement and revenue growth. She’s a thought leader and has spoken at many industry conferences including APMP, CEB, SiriusDecisions, and the CXPA Insight Exchange on a variety of topics. She is also a product expert with Qvidian’s RFP/Proposal automation and RO Innovation’s customer reference solutions, is a Certified Net Promoter® Associate and a member of the CXPA and APMP.February 19: The Future of Proposal Creation Driven by AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic, from cars and transportation to banking and financing but how is it impacting the future of proposal development? In this presentation, we will review the current hurdles you are facing when writing proposals, and the role of AI in addressing the hurdles, both today and in the future.
Pierre-Olivier (PO) Charlebois, Founder, reDock
Pierre-Olivier (PO) believes AI-based technology should work for people and businesses. That’s why he left his high-paying job as a gameplay programmer at Ubisoft to found reDock. His experience as a former Thought Technologies researcher gives him the knowledge to understand brain-computer science, and his six years as managing partner of a software development firm gives him strong insights into leadership, corporate development, and business-critical proposals. He brings machine learning to businesses. PO is a member of APMP and a regular guest speaker.March 11: Rebranding—More Than Just a Name Change
A look inside why companies rebrand, risks, successes, and some things to consider. A basic overview of why companies rebrand, rules to follow, and the steps involved. I will also include some insights into PRIDE’s rebrand and how we morphed one brand into two brands in different industries.Before the featured webinar discussion, Heather will provide an overview of how to make the most of your APMP membership including:
- APMP Certification
- Current and upcoming APMP member opportunities
- How to track CEUs
- Resources available on APMP.org
Jill Beilby, Marketing and Communications Director, PRIDE Industries
Jill is an experienced Director of Marketing and Communications with a demonstrated history of working in the nonprofit organization management industry. Skilled in Digital Strategy, Integrated Marketing, Branding, Advertising, Market Research, and Mobile Marketing.
Heather Kirkpatrick, CP APMP, California APMP Chapter Chair
Heather is the 2019-2020 chair for the chapter and Business Development Analyst at PRIDE Industries. She currently supports Business Development and Proposal teams with business and proposal development, strategy, competitive research, business intelligence, pricing, compliance, and best practices. She is involved with new non-federal contracts for Integrated Facilities Maintenance Contracts and Commercial Custodial Services for clients including large counties, state agencies and airports.Heather has more than 20 years of experience in Business and Proposal Development, Proposal and Project Coordination, Productions and Management, Strategic Planning, Project Management, Desktop Publishing, Non-Profit Organizations and Community Outreach. She was an award recipient for APMP International 40 under 40 in 2017. She also served as Membership/Recruitment Director for the chapter for 2015–2018.
April 22: Challenge Chat: Implementing Process
A great proposal demonstrates a value offering to a potential client, but how does a great proposal team demonstrate value to the people we do it for–or ourselves? Knowing how to measure your success as part of the sales cycle, and as a contributor to the organization’s bottom line is a crucial part of development in your proposal career.
Moderator: Marie Rounsavell, CP APMP, California Chapter Professional Development Director
Marie began her career in proposals in 2007 as a technical writer for a staffing company and quickly moved on to positions in capture management and proposal leadership. Now she is the assistant team leader at FCM Travel Solutions where–in addition to managing proposals–she provides leadership to a team devoted to strategic sales support, content creation, and library management. As part of a global team, Marie gets to pretend to be an all-knowing oracle when it comes to selling from behind the screen. Marie has been active in the California Chapter’s mentorship program since 2018 and a training day volunteer since forever. Marie earned her foundation level certification in 2016 and achieved practitioner level in 2018. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and World Literature from Pitzer College.Panelists:
Christine Gordon, CF APMP
Proposal Manager and Staff Writer, Marsh & McLennan Insurance Agency LLC
Dick Eassom, CF APMP Fellow
Vice President, Corporate Support, SMA, Inc.
Steve Koger, CPP APMP Fellow
Sr. Manager, Proposal Development, Aerojet RocketdyneMay 21: Virtual Town Hall with Bruce Farrell
The APMP California Chapter and APMP Valley of the Sun Chapter are pleased to present a joint town hall webinar featuring Bruce Farrell, Chair of the APMP Chapter Liaison Committee. We hope this virtual town hall format will allow us to connect and learn from each other and be a resource for you during this new time as we interact as a community facing the COVID-19 nationwide response.This town hall will address professional development and interpersonal development topics such as “top mistakes” that people make when they respond to an RFP, favorite lessons learned, how to craft the tough questions of your clients to what types of leisure activities do you engage in to reduce the stress of proposals, and who would you want to join you for Thanksgiving dinner?
Bruce Farrell, Chair, APMP Chapter Liaison Committee,
Proposal Director, Plante Moran IT Consulting Group
June 17: Town Hall with the Valley of the Sun Chapter: The Three Fellows
The APMP California Chapter and APMP Valley of the Sun Chapter are pleased to present a joint town hall webinar featuring the APMP Fellows Class of 2020. The APMP Fellows award is one of our association’s highest individual honors. The Fellows award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions throughout their careers in the bid and proposal industry.This is our second Virtual Town Hall to connect members and share questions and answers. The first Town Hall was a success and we want to continue in answering great questions from our members. We hope this virtual Town Hall format will allow us to connect and learn from each other and be a resource for you during this new time as we interact as a community facing the COVID-19 nationwide response and current affairs.
Samantha Enslen, CF APMP Fellow
APMP Greater Midwest Chapter“Samantha continues to demonstrate all the qualities and leadership traits we expect to see in an APMP Fellow. Not only does she tirelessly offer her time, but she contributes personal resources in support of the enrichment of the APMP organization.”
Mitch Reed, CPP APMP Fellow
APMP Georgia Chattahoochee Chapter“Mitch holds the distinction of becoming the 10th APMP member to achieve Professional-level certification and consistently has been a strong advocate within and outside of the Georgia Chattahoochee Chapter to encourage individuals to pursue all levels of certification to advance their professional abilities.”
Ceri Mescal, CPP APMP Fellow
APMP Maple Leaf Chapter“Over her 13-year career, Ceri has played an instrumental role in $250 million of new business acquisition with clients from a variety of markets, including government and public sector, financial services, defense, energy and technology.”
August 19: Challenge Chat #2: Many Roads to Proposals
There are a lot of great conversations happening right now about making a career in proposals an intentional choice. This is because most people you talk to sort of fell into proposals! Turns out there are a LOT of (sometimes long and winding) roads that lead to a career in proposals.How did we get here? What makes us successful?
Join us for what will be an interesting discussion among our panelists about where they come from and what about their “past lives” makes them successful doing what they do now!
Moderator: Marie Rounsavell, CP APMP, California Chapter Professional Development Director
Marie began her career in proposals in 2007 as a technical writer for a staffing company and quickly moved on to positions in capture management and proposal leadership. Now she is the assistant team leader at FCM Travel Solutions where–in addition to managing proposals–she provides leadership to a team devoted to strategic sales support, content creation, and library management. As part of a global team, Marie gets to pretend to be an all-knowing oracle when it comes to selling from behind the screen. Marie has been active in the California Chapter’s mentorship program since 2018 and a training day volunteer since forever. Marie earned her foundation level certification in 2016 and achieved practitioner level in 2018. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and World Literature from Pitzer College.Panelists:
Deb Stahl
Director of Proposal Management, FCM Travel Solutions; Member, APMP Liberty Chapter
Taemi Tran, CF APMP
Proposal Strategist, Burns & McDonnell; Member, APMP California Chapter
Hailey Cox, CF APMP
Analyst, Capture and Proposals, Aerojet Rocketdyne; Member, APMP California ChapterNovember 18: How to Become a Microsoft Power User for Proposals
Learn how to make your technology and tools work better for you. In this webinar, we’ll share tips and tricks for using Microsoft and Windows to help proposal professionals work a little smarter, save time and effort, and better protect yourself against compliance issues.