Webinars 2022
January 11: Mental Health & Proposal Development
For most of my career in proposal development, I exclaimed that my innate paranoia and neurotic tendencies are what made me so good at my job (the compulsive need to check and recheck and check again ensured I caught what many others missed). However, during this global pandemic, I realized my mental health and job were not as symbiotic as I thought. I was burned out and needed a balance between my natural strengths and the job I loved. I embraced these key steps to help me find balance: 80% rule, welcome delegation, reprioritize.
Anatalia Macik, CP APMP, Proposal and Bid Director, Leidos
Anatalia has over 17 years of experience as a writer/editor and over 12 years in proposal development. A member of APMP’s International 40 Under 40 Class of 2020 and International Board of Directors (2021–2022), she brings lessons learned from over a decade of impact on bids and proposals’ processes, quality, and efficiency. As the Proposal and Bid Director for the Security Detection and Automation organization within Leidos, she has established efficient processes, functional templates, and adaptive procedures that align with the corporate standards and expectations set by Leidos.February 8: The Importance of Data Analytics to win Government Contracts
The use of data to support a strong argument is fundamental in making business decisions. For the purpose of this presentation, the concept of data analysis and data visualization will be discussed, as well as the complete steps for the data analysis process. There are many benefits to analyzing data and real work/life examples will be used to illustrate its importance. Finally, a case study will be examined using the tools and theories of the data analysis process.
Fernanda Demas, Price to Win Analyst, Richter & Company
Fernanda has a bachelor’s in Business and knowledge and experience with Government contracting and finance/accounting. Prior to joining Richter & Company, she worked for a government contractor as a Pricing Analyst where she contributed to winning several contracts with the different agencies of the Federal Government. Recently she has completed “Data Science and Machine Learning” with MIT.February 10: Intentional Career Path (ICP) Buddy Program Overview
This webinar will serve as an introduction and overview of our ICP Buddy Program including the logistics, time commitment, how to apply, etc. This program is meant to create an informal, flexible connection between a proposal professional with more than one year of experience and an APMP student member.The Buddy Program will introduce student members to the profession and give them a friendly support system. The program's goal is to help students determine if they would like to pursue a career in the field, while also gaining valuable connections in the industry.
Evelin Gutierrez, CF APMP, ICP Director, APMP Western Chapter
Evelin is a Proposal Manager and Writer at Strategic Creations. She started her career in bids and proposals in 2018 as a marketing intern for Burns & McDonnell during her senior year at California State University, Long Beach, while working on her bachelor’s degree in English. During the internship, she shadowed and supported proposal managers at the organization, getting a firsthand view into the proposal process and all the work that goes into it.March 8: Balancing Life and Work in My Castle/House/Office/Gym/School During and After a Pandemic (As a Single Parent)
How do you balance and mix work, home, and family priorities during and after a pandemic, all while working at home? Join us for a fun, interactive discussion on surefire results to survive and learn lessons during these unprecedented times.
Mary Kis, CF APMP
Mary is a skilled executive orals presentation coach and proposal manager who has led multiple teams to winning contracts for over 30 years. She currently specializes in international bids specifically in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Mary loves to sail and spend time with her family. She resides in Encinitas, California, with her two teenagers and their cat, Chloe.April 12: Oh, You Write Grants? No, I Write Proposals
What’s the difference between driving a car in the UK and driving in the US? The two experiences use the same basic hardware, software, and skill sets, but they happen on opposite sides of the street. So it is for the grant writer. Win strategies and processes follow the same path as they do for any other kind of proposal—just on the other side of the street. This presentation will explain the differences—and similarities—between different kinds of funding mechanisms, most notably contracts and grants. Based on that, we will explore how these distinctions determine the proposing team’s path toward communicating a value proposition and winning the award.
Mitch Boretz, APMP Fellow
Mitch Boretz retired in 2021 after 25 years directing proposal operations for the Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. His office produced more than 500 proposals per year to generate about US$45 million annually, mostly in federal grants ranging in value from five figures to eight figures. Mitch helped researchers find suitable funding opportunities, plan and prepare effective proposals, and build good proposal writing skills. Now that he is retired, he volunteers as a proposal writer and strategist for very small non-profits, volunteers in the community, rides his bicycle more, and takes better care of his yard. Mitch holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and worked for 14 years as a news reporter and editor before beginning his proposal career.May 17: How to Have a Conversation: Elicitation Techniques for Competitive Intelligence
For those seeking to gain a competitive advantage, the competitive intelligence process is a never-ending cycle. Every conversation with your customer or your peers is an opportunity to glean some fresh insight that can give you that edge you’re looking for.But elicitation (i.e., the art of gathering information from unsuspecting targets through conversation) is a 2-way street. How can you collect information without giving too much away from your own position? This presentation will cover the overarching principles of elicitation, as well as some common useful techniques that can benefit both the novice and the old pro.
Brandon Conroy, Director of Competitive Intelligence, Richter & Company LLC
Brandon Conroy is the Director of Competitive Intelligence at Richter & Company LLC, a Maryland-based Competitive Analysis and Price to Win firm. Brandon brings more than 20 years of experience as an intelligence analyst (both national and competitive intelligence) as well as instructor and Black Hat facilitator, with a primary focus on the federal contracting space. Brandon leads a department of analysts who provide leading edge research and actionable intelligence to a diverse client base.June 21: “Is the Past Really in the Past?” Understanding Your Competitor’s Past and How It Can Help Shape Your Future
For anyone trying to gain a competitive edge, you need to analyze various factors. A crucial factor is past performance. When it comes to Government contracting, we consider past performance on whether a contractor has the references and experience to compete a program successfully. However, that is only one portion of past performance analysis. A company’s performance in any market is crucial to analyze. The news, social media, databases, and a variety of other sources are excellent resources for analyzing a company’s past and how it can help you in your future.
Ryanne Spigelman, Competitive Intelligence Analyst, Richter & Company LLC
Ryanne is a Competitive Intelligence Analyst with Richter & Company, a Maryland-based Competitive Analysis and Price to Win firm. Her primary focus is on the federal contracting space. Ryanne works with other analysts to provide leading-edge research and actional intelligence to diverse client bases.July 12: The Gambler’s Fallacy: Insights from Behavioral Economics
We’ve all experienced hot streaks in our careers, times when we just can’t lose. Filled with enthusiasm, we submit a new proposal—then fail spectacularly. This is an example of the gambler’s fallacy, a key concept from the science of behavioral economics. This session will cover how key ideas from its practical offspring, behavioral pricing, can be put to use, improving the likelihood that you will win and be able to perform post-award.
Randy Richter, Chairman, Richter & Company LLC
Randy is Chairman of Richter & Company, the leading Price To Win consulting firm in the Federal market. His work has helped clients win over $30 billion dollars in new contract awards across the world. He has developed and taught formal classes and informal webinars on a wide variety of pricing and competitive intelligence topics and is highly-requested speaker at APMP and industry events. He’s a thought leader in the field, entertaining and informative, and is NEVER shy about voicing his opinions…August 9: Effective Leadership Practices
As if the process of developing a proposal, under resource and time constraints, isn’t hard enough, those who need to influence and motivate others have additional challenges. It may surprise you that the proposal manager is not the only person who can benefit from using effective leadership practices on a proposal team. This presentation will focus on researched best practices that confirm many of my observations of effective leaders.
Steve Koger, CPP APMP Fellow, Sr. Manager, Capture & Proposals, Aerojet Rocketdyne
Steve provides senior-level leadership and process expertise in capture and new business proposal development for space and defense propulsion systems. He has been an active member of APMP since 1998, holds Professional Level certification and is an APMP Fellow. He served on APMP’s Board of Directors and held multiple positions with the California Chapter, including Chapter Chair.September 20: Six Proven Ways to Get Technical Content From Your SMEs
Discover the six best interviewing techniques to use to get the technical content from your subject matter experts with ease so you can get the content faster, your credibility increases, and you help your firm win more work as a result. You learn how to be agile, adaptive, and flexible when developing technical content to be more successful as a professional and as a firm.
Angie Wolfe, CP APMP, Owner, Ideas at Dawn Marketing Consultants
Angie is a creative and analytical proposal professional and business owner with 18 years of experience at large Fortune 500 companies in business development and marketing. Based in Denver, she is now the owner of Ideas at Dawn Marketing Consultants, which she started in 2019. Ideas at Dawn brings large civil engineering and construction firms a competitive advantage with their proposals to win more work without adding more payroll. These services include proposal management, writing, editing, graphic design support, and training to meet the increased demands on the proposal staff.October 11: So You Think You Have Value Proposition? Exposing the Truth
Like strategy, value proposition means everything to everyone. Related but unique, terms further complicate our ability to clearly identify and communicate our organizational and product value propositions. We will examine definition, clarity and layering of terms; repeatable approaches to identifying organizational, program, and product value position; and tools to effectively communicate value proposition as well as communicating related terms and activities internally and externally.
John Prior, Vice President of Management Consulting, SMA, Inc.
John Prior is the Vice President of Management Consulting at SMA, Inc. He is a 15-year strategy consultant and specializes in market analysis, growth strategy and strategic planning.November 15: Program Architecture, a Must for Any Proposal
Program Architecture is a critical part of any proposal and must highlight the win themes and tell a consistent story. It defines the work that is essential to complete and its completion dates. It estimates the resources required, exposes risks and obstacles with a plan to mitigate those issues, and highlights opportunities to improve the schedule or other aspects of delivery. The Program Architecture defines the roles and responsibilities of each team member (prime contractor and subcontractors). It also ensures that cost and schedule are aligned and that tie back to the Basis of Estimate (BOE). Program Architecture is the primary vehicle for communicating how the strategy is executed and gives stakeholders visibility into how the program will be managed.
Jacque Keats, CF APMP, Chief Operations Officer, SMA, Inc.
Jacque is an accomplished software engineer and recognized as a subject matter expert (SME) in proposal management and project management. He supported pursuits and execution of some of the largest US programs including Missile Defense Agency Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), US Coastguard Deepwater, Department of Defense (DoD) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) IT Consolidation (ITC), International Space Station (ISS), and the US Space Force Global Positioning System (GPS).December 13: Sales Optimism, PWin, Forecasting Revenues, Aha’s and Other Paradoxes
Join Ajay as he takes us on an interesting journey of some of the paradoxes of the capture and proposal world. Why is it that it becomes so obvious to us why the winner won, after we lost a competition? Why do we always estimate our PWin as above 50% in our sales pipeline? Attend this informal year-end discussion to explore these questions and others.