Proposal Reflections

With ever increasing demands to do more with less, we may find ourselves working regular 10- to 15-hour days. However, this work pace may be doing more harm than good. Researchers studied the work habits of more than 600,000 people in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, and found that people who work more than 55 hours a week are 33% more likely to suffer a stroke and have a 13% greater risk of heart attack than those who work between 35 – 40 hours weekly. However, in addition to taking a toll on your health, relationships, and well-being, overworking may also be making you less productive overall. In this week’s article, I’ll explore the negative effects of overworking and two key ways you can improve your productivity, enabling you to tackle and complete your demanding work tasks, while leaving sufficient time for yourself, your family, and your personal well-being. 1. Take Regular Breaks Working for more than 60 – 90 minutes at a time can actually decrease y...

Last year I posted an article series comparing the cutthroat environment of Game of Thrones to the familiar world of business development (BD). The show is about a web of alliances and conflicts among the various parties involved—all of whom are seeking to gain control and power. In the series, I noted that within the world of business development, it is much the same. Various companies are competing against one another for work—each wanting to gain more and more control and power over their sector(s). Within these organizations, individuals are similarly fighting for power and control—some with the company’s interest at heart, and others looking out only for themselves. And within this world, we develop a web of partners and competitors—both at the individual and corporate levels. Following that series, I received requests from a few avid readers to post a similar article comparing business development to the world of Harry Potter. It took me a while to catch up enough wit...

As many of you know, I recently moved to Nashville, Tennessee—otherwise known as Music City. The other day, as I walked along Broadway (the main strip in Nashville), I stopped in to listen to the different bands and artists. As an English major in college, I have long appreciated the similarities between songwriting and poetry writing, but this time, as I listened to the various artists with my new perspectives and experiences, I couldn’t help but think about the similarities between a great proposal and a great song. 1. A Great Song (and a Great Proposal) Connects with the Audience When you hear a great song, you typically connect with it emotionally. If the song about is about a broken heart, and it connects you to a time when you had a broken heart, you’ll be connected and interested. Similarly, if a proposal can successfully connect an evaluator to their pain points about a current or upcoming contract, they will be connected and interested. This is why the capture ph...

As we enter a new proposal season, many of us are looking to find ways to improve our proposals and win more. As we look for areas to focus our improvement efforts, it’s helpful to remember that in the vast majority of cases, proposals are scored, not read. Therefore, as bidders looking to win work, to maximize proposal performance, we should aim to help evaluators award us as many points as possible. This article presents five easy ways to focus your content so that it scores higher. 1. Take Time to Understand the Customer The first real step to scoring higher is understanding your customers and their needs—and it is critical to take the time to understand the customer needs before the RFP is released. Remember that building a relationship with your customers and understanding their underlying concerns takes time. Without solid customer relationships, you won’t have the opportunity to understand their programmatic concerns or determine what really keeps them up at night. ...