Training Day XI
Aiming for a High TargetAre we stuck in the past? The need for new thinking
From the early days of our industry in the late 1960s, through the advent of the PC, to the present day, we have constantly refined the art and science of winning proposal development. But have we really created better proposals? This presentation posits that proposals haven’t really changed much over the last 25 years. They look the same, and use the same story-telling principles. We need to evolve the art of narrative and visualization, This presentation will offer a view of different, more nuanced story telling principles, and show how these new methods are being used in other contexts. Can we create this change in a highly restrictive proposal environment?
Ajay Patel
Ajay Patel leads SM&A as President and CEO, and member of the ownership and management team since July 2013. He also leads advisory teams focusing on competitive strategy, policy, technology and investment decisions for senior executives in industry and governments in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. He has over 30 years of consulting, business development, operations, program management and systems engineering experience. Ajay was previously a Director at Deloitte Consulting, a Senior Partner at the Monitor Group, and COO at SM&A.
Wordpardy!
Step up your expertise using Microsoft Word to create proposal documents while having some fun! Wordman, the host of the quiz show “Wordpardy,” gives you answers culled from “Wordman’s Production Corner” in the APMP Perspective, and a few other subjects—all you have to do is come up with the correct question! Not entirely unlike a certain well-known, long-running hit TV quiz show, “Wordpardy” will provide hours, well, at least fifty minutes of fun and learning for the entire proposal team! (All the questions and answers will be available on the APMP California website after Training Day.)
Dick Eassom, CF APMP Fellow (aka Wordman)
Dick Eassom is a Director at SM&A. He is better known to APMP members as “Wordman,” through over 45 articles in the APMP Journal and Perspective, and numerous workshops at APMP Annual Conferences, covering the use of Microsoft Word in the proposal environment. When not masquerading as a superhero in blue spandex, Dick is a proposal development consultant with twenty years’ experience on proposals in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and Germany. He is an APMP certified Fellow, and recipient of the APMP William C. McRae Founders Award. Dick currently serves as Consultant Representative for the APMP California Chapter.
Putting on the Client’s Hat: Compelling, Client-Focused Content Meets Page Architecture™
This session offers tools and techniques to significantly improve the quality of both the content and the visual component of proposals and other business communications. To stand out, a proposal must be more than compliant. We’ll discuss what should be considered during the proposal planning process, and introduce tools and techniques that can make proposals more compelling, including how to identify unstated requirements, issues, and concerns. We’ll then look at the pages themselves to discover how to accommodate our hard-wired predispositions for taking in information. Using visual examples, we’ll examine typical problem areas, and propose ways to finesse important details.
Beverley Sinclair, CF APMP
Beverley Sinclair has been writing, editing, and managing proposals for more than 25 years, helping clients in Hong Kong, Italy, France, and Mexico—as well as in the U.S. and Canada—win new business in highly competitive environments. She has taught proposal development and other business and marketing communications courses at organizations such as the University of Ottawa and the Schulich School of Business Executive Education Centre, as well as in-house at client sites. Her company is Sinclair & Associates.
Nancy Webb
Nancy Webb is a Visual Communication Strategist and owner of Nancy Webb Graphic Design. For 30 years she’s created identity systems, collateral, and books—and developed design directions and long-term strategies—for a wide variety of clients. Her unique blend of expertise in branding and books, and her immersion in text design, have proven ideal for designing proposals. Her passion for helping businesses improve their own visual communication fuels her enthusiastically received seminars and trainings.
Using Porter’s 5 Forces to Hit the Target
Michael Porter’s 5 Forces model is most commonly used to analyze the level of competition within a market. When applied in the context of an opportunity, the model can be used to project how aggressively known players will compete, and illustrate whether new players are likely to toss their hats in the ring. Hear how to use this valuable tool to help you aim at the right target—and increase your chances of hitting the bullseye!
Randy Richter
Randy Richter is President of Richter & Company, a Frederick, Maryland based competitive analysis and pricing strategy firm. His knowledge and experience—combined with outstanding analytical and presentation skills and an overwhelming “can do” attitude—have helped clients win more than $30 billion in new business in the past three years. He has been a highly rated—and highly entertaining!—speaker at many events, including APMP National and Regional conferences.
“I don’t get no respect!”—Three Ways to Expand Your Influence & Heighten Your Personal Profile
Do you find yourself quoting Rodney Dangerfield when it comes to your work? This presentation outlines three things you can do to earn trust and change your perceived value from tactical to strategic.
Robin Davis, CF APMP Fellow
With 25 years in sales support, Robin is CEO of the sales operations consultancy, Metre. Metre builds the infrastructure required for sales teams to be successful. Her firm specializes in proposal development and management, strategic messaging, process definition and deployment, and implementation of sales support tools (e.g., Salesforce). She helps sales leaders better understand their market, develop strategic sales plans, and measure and report on business metrics. Robin is a popular and engaging speaker and holds several leadership roles in APMP including leader of the Healthcare Industry Task Force, co-leader of the Commercial Community, and a member of the association’s Board of Directors.
Effective Translation: How to Convert Product and Marketing Copy into Effective Proposal Text
Often we rely on existing content, produced either for marketing purposes or by product experts, as the basis for our proposal text. Almost without fail that existing language needs to be “translated” into something that works in the proposal. In this session we look at some of the reasons marketing and product text doesn’t work and how to fix it.
Dr. Tom Sant, APMP Fellow
A former college professor, standup comic, and founder of two successful firms, Dr. Tom Sant was named the world's foremost authority on winning sales proposals by the American Management Association and one of the top ten sales trainers in the world by Selling Power Magazine. He is the author of the best-selling Persuasive Business Proposals, The Giants of Sales, and The Language of Success. As the founder of The Sant Corporation (now Qvidian), Tom invented the world’s first proposal automation system, which is now used by hundreds of companies globally. He was named one of the first ever Fellows of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals in recognition of his contributions to the field.