The President's Corner

With clear, benefit-driven graphics and captions, publication-grade templates, and well thought out content, government proposals now resemble national business magazine feature articles. They are highly organized, easy to read and have a unified message. As professionals, our jobs depend on producing consistently better, compliant proposals that get top scores. This issue of Executive Summary looks at some of the tools, process and requirements that get us to the high scores that win, with articles contributed by active APMP NCA members.

Schlomo Katz, an attorney who specializes in Government Contracts and Technology at Epstein Becker & Green, delves into cross walking technical and cost proposals, a necessary step to mitigate risk after the contract is won.

Mike Parkinson from the 24 Hour Company provides an overview of how to achieve those elusive, but compelling graphics our teams are demanding. Michael Jakab from Map ROI suggests using enhanced processes and tools to help get you out of the office on weekends and for vacation. John Bender from Advantage Consulting led a forum at our May Roundtable that focused on how and why to use automated proposal tools. We’ve included some especially useful slides from that forum that talk to incorporating proposal tools into your organization, never an easy task.

The table stakes have been raised, just being compliant won’t do. We hope this quarter’s issue will give you some things to think about, and some ideas to carry with you as you leave for vacation.

Russell Smith is the NCA Chapter President for 2005.

Plan Ahead to Enjoy Your Summer Vacation

It’s ironic, but proposal season and family vacation season fall in the same calendar months. And if approached without a plan, proposal season usually has a way of taking priority. While we can’t control RFP release dates, we can influence the process we apply to completing the proposal effort.

Keeping vacation commitments requires advance planning. When planning ahead, keep in mind the desired end state is predictability and repeatability. Executives want to report with confidence on the progress of proposals and business development activities. And proposal staffs want a predictable work day and schedule that doesn’t include requirements for heroic efforts.

Predictability and repeatability are direct results of agreeing to a proposal process, publishing the process, and using the appropriate tools to automate and manage the schedule.

Today, there are a number of tools available to assist the proposal manager in creating, publishing, and automating the numerous tasks associated with developing a winning proposal.

The foundation of a good proposal system consists of document management, workflow, collaboration, and reporting. Document management provides a single system of record with version control, security, editing, search, and configuration management. Workflow supports process creation, automated scheduling and reporting. Collaboration provides communication with virtual team members and additional reporting. Combined, these tools effectively help maintain schedule control and add balance to your work life.

Most companies already have fairly well defined proposal processes. But the vast majority of these processes live outside the proposal workspace which creates a dis-connect that can lead to schedule breakdown and crisis management. A good proposal tool will allow the user to easily establish process flow and milestones for schedule automation, alerts and notifications.

Many proposal tools begin by “shredding” or parsing the RFP for the creation of an accurate compliance matrix. Then they support launching a process appropriate to the job. You can’t expect a small task order to be treated with the same attention and expense that a 60 day RFP generates. Insure whatever tool you select has the flexibility to avoid re-inventing the wheel every month.

After teams have been formed and tasks are assigned, real-time communication through instant messaging, on-line editing functions and email become great time savers. A good proposal system will store all comments and document types and expose them to search mechanisms. Some systems display what team members are on-line and further streamline your communication. Make sure your proposal tools are well integrated with your desktop environment and don’t require the user to be constantly entering and exiting the application to publish content. Small gestures that must be repeated again and again are productivity killers and cause people to stop using systems.

Virtual teams, sub-contractors, and remote subject matter experts are routine. Insure that your proposal tools accommodate this category of user with minimal training requirements. The cost savings alone in reduced travel for remote team members can be quite surprising. And pay special attention to system level reports and logs that are available. They provide detailed information to support audits.

Schedule integration alone is not enough to prevent crisis management and ruin vacation plans. Proposal contributors fall behind if they have to look too hard for the proper template, information link, and other supporting documentation. Make sure that you can assign a task and deliver to their desktop all the supporting information required to complete the work. They too have a day job.

Real-time reporting and visibility of the entire process minimizes manually updated project plans and highlights bottlenecks. It increases confidence with managers and executives and can reduce reporting requirements.

Using standard desktop computer software to manage this process is a start and has value. However, if your division is challenged with balancing top line growth while achieving greater operating efficiencies you owe it to your organization to research what commercial off the shelf options exist.

So go ahead, plan for that summer vacation. And next time, leave work early!

Michael Jakab is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for MAP ROI Systems Inc. MAP ROI provides the Privia Capture and Proposal Software products used by many government contractors in the Washington DC area. Michael has more than 20 years of software experience as an executive in Sales, Marketing and Product Management. He began his career as a Lieutenant in the US Navy and has participated in numerous capture and proposal processes throughout his career.

Cost is Cost and Technical is Technical, and Never the Twain Shall Meet…or Do They?

Should you ever include technical information in the cost proposal or hint at costs in the technical proposal? Does an offeror that includes technical information in the cost proposal risk being accused of exceeding the technical volume page limits? Conversely, can the Government downgrade a proposal for not including some technical information in the cost proposal?

The answer to these questions relates to a concept sometimes called “traceability” or “cross-walking.” In short, this means that your technical proposal must explain the technical approach that is anticipated to result in the cost savings promised by your cost proposal. For example, if your cost proposal shows that you plan to use only 10 full time equivalents (FTEs) for a task that currently requires 12 or 15 FTEs, your technical proposal had better explain how this reduction will be achieved without degrading quality and service. If your customer is expecting the job to take one year and you propose to finish in nine months, you must explain how that will be accomplished. Will the reduction result from a process being automated? Are you expecting to obtain a waiver of some legal requirement that currently requires a greater workscope? For example, if it is an environmental cleanup contract, are you hoping to persuade authorities to relax a regulatory cleanup standard, thus reducing the workscope and costs. All of these scenarios require a certain amount of quantitative information to be included in the technical proposal. As long as you don’t mention actual dollars and cents, including such information in the technical proposal may often be proper.

On the other hand, a certain amount of technical information may also belong in the cost proposal. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) §15.305 states: “When contracting on a cost-reimbursement basis, evaluations shall include a cost realism analysis to determine what the Government should realistically expect to pay for the proposed effort, the offeror's understanding of the work, and the offeror's ability to perform the contract.” FAR §15.404-1 explains:

A cost realism analysis is the process of independently reviewing and evaluating specific elements of each offerors cost estimate to determine whether the estimated proposed cost elements are realistic for the work to be performed, reflect a clear understanding of the requirements, and are consistent with the unique methods of performance and materials described in the offeror’s proposal.

In order for your customer to perform a cost realism analysis, you must include enough information in the cost proposal to demonstrate that you do understand the requirements and have a realistic plan for meeting them.

In practice, this may mean that your cost proposal should include a “basis of estimate” in which you demonstrate that you recognized all cost and non-cost aspects of your technical approach. On the simplest level, this requires explaining where you expect to buy steel for only $1 per ton or printer paper for 25 cents a ream. However, it also means explaining why you believe you can extend the life of the customer’s mainframe computer in order to save the cost of replacing it. It may not be enough to assert that you can do it. Your customer wants to know how you will do it so he (the customer) can determine whether your proposal is realistic and your costs are consistent with your unique technical approach. If the contract involves work in which employee turnover is traditionally high, your customer may be expecting your proposal to include costs for recruiting and hiring replacement workers. You, on the other hand, may believe you can retain your employees and therefore save these costs. If so, does your proposal explain your strategy for employee retention? Does it recognize the costs associated with that plan, e.g., bonuses or extra vacation? Have you properly evaluated the risks of the plan? Depending on the specific instructions in the RFP, all or some of these quasi-technical issues may have a place in your cost proposal.

Not following the instructions in the RFP may be grounds for the Government to reject your proposal, but following instructions is only the first step in submitting a successful offer. You also need to read between the lines to see what other information the Government wants. And, you can and should be looking for ways to turn seemingly restrictive proposal preparation instructions to your advantage. That could be the difference between a win or a loss.

Shlomo D. Katz is Senior Counsel in the Washington D.C. office of the national law firm of Epstein Becker & Green, a Corporate Sponsor of APMP-NCA. If you have any questions about these or other proposal issues, please feel free to contact Mr. Katz at 202-861-1809 or skatz@ebglaw.com.

Designing Winning Proposals

Do you want to better communicate your ideas and win more proposals? Well, the solution is right in front of you. Take a lesson from billboards, television ads, magazines, brochures, books, and newspapers. Say it with pictures! Sound crazy? It’s not and I can prove it …

Thousands of hours of research have proven that graphics are extremely persuasive. In 1986, a 3M-sponsored study at the University of Minnesota School of Management found that presenters who use visual aids are 43 percent more effective in persuading audience members to take a desired course of action than presenters who don’t use visuals. Presenters of various skill levels participated in this study. Researchers found that average presenters who used visual aids were as effective as more advanced presenters using no visuals. In addition, the study found that the audience expected the advanced presenters to include quality visuals.

Graphics are persuasive for three reasons:

• Graphics increase our level of communication. (Research at 3M Corporation concluded that we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.)
• Graphics engage our imagination and stimulate other areas of our brain, which in turn leads to a more profound and accurate understanding of the presented material.
  
  For example, which is easier to read and understand— or ?
  
  
  
• Pictures affect our emotions and emotions influence the very mechanisms of decision-making. (Neurologist Antonio Damasio studied research on patients with damaged ventromedial frontal cortices of the brain, which impaired their ability to feel but left their ability to think analytically intact. Damasio discovered that the patients were unable to make rational decisions even though their ability to reason was fully functional. He concluded that reasoning “depends, to a considerable extent, on a continual ability to experience feelings.”)—Journal of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals, Jayme A. Sokolow, How Do Reviewers Really Evaluate Your Proposal? What the Cognitive Science of Heuristics Tells Us About Making Decisions, Spring/Summer 2004, pgs 34-50.

Imagine receiving two competing lawn care service brochures. Lovely Lawn Care’s brochure looks amateurish using clip art graphics. Miracle Lawn Care’s brochure is professional, polished, and uses quality graphics. Both companies use a process that works. Which is the better lawn care service company?

Buying decisions based on image occur frequently. Companies sell the perception of professionalism, quality, superiority, and other attributes to persuade potential customers to buy their service or product. The quality of their collateral materials, marketing materials, ads, Web site, business attire, office space, and anything that is customer facing form their target audience’s opinion. Companies know it is the overarching look of quality that significantly aids in the perception that it is a quality company. Obviously, it is the company’s responsibility to live up to the image it created or their efforts will be in vain.

Even if the potential client likes you and wants your company to win, the proposal bid could still be lost. You want everything you put in front of your potential client to be synonymous with the people/company they want to work with. Professional graphics are a great way to communicate your ideas quickly and clearly, create visual interest in an otherwise wordy proposal, and persuade your target audience that you and your company are the best suited for the project. So the next time you are struggling with a proposal/presentation, consider the importance of visuals and say it with pictures.

For more research (a lot more), contact Mike Parkinson at 24 Hour Company: (703) 533-7209 or mike@24hrco.com.

At the May NCA Roundtable, John Bender of Advantage Consulting moderated a user panel on software tools. Michelle Petty from Titan Corporation, Scott Johnson of Cherokee Information Services, Rich Mayer from STG, and Jerry Lawson of Alion Science contributed their experience to this panel. The interaction among the panel and discussion with the audience was lively.

Are You Working Smarter or Harder?

Although software tools give business development and proposal teams’ control of the process, no single tool does everything, no tool is perfect for every company and working smarter early in your process provides the greatest payback. Tools don’t win the deal, people do. The most useful functions tools perform best include identifying, positioning, bidding and performing the contract.

Whether your company is considering a new tool, upgrading to a more powerful system or adding new components, several aspects of the installation need to be discussed and resolved.

• Cost justification (short and long term)
• Overcoming resistance to a new process by company employees
• Ease of use and training for new users
• Links with other tools or info sources
• Access from remote and home offices
• Subcontractor access to tool

The challenges and successes at a small, growing company are just as compelling. These are the results of Jerry Lawson’s transition to automated tools.

Successes

• Developed interim tools to track opportunities
• Identified and purchased a COTS tool to track and manage opportunities

The planning process for the new tool also includes the existing or planned corporate information ecosystem. As shown bellow, this gets pretty complicated when you plot it against the security, data storage, network infrastructure and bandwidth needs of your organization. Everyone on the panel could tell painful stories about the consequences are when one of these elements is postponed or, worse yet, overlooked.

Any assessment of automation tools will consider the risks involved the following chart is a reference for the decisions to be made.