www.apmp.org Robert Lohfeld, Lohfeld Consulting Group Capture
and Business Development Conference September 23, 2014 Top 5 Things
Every Capture Pro Needs to Know The Association of Proposal
Management Professionals
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2014 | page 2 Top 5 things to know to be a capture pro Opinions may
differ among capture professionals Customer Solution Competition
Price Process Bobs Top 5 PicksErics Top 5 Picks Team attitude it is
everything Proposal manager your best friend Poor performers fire
them fast Customer if not speaking honestly with you, you have
already lost Cant win recommend a no bid
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2014 | page 3 Two things you must know about capture Capture is an
intellectual game played by the best and brightest in our industry
and the team who plays it the best usually wins Best Informed
Wins
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2014 | page 4 My Top 5 What they are and why I believe they should
be in the top 5 Customer is everything Solution focused on
strengths and the end game Competition know what they are going to
do Price technical/ management evaluation is significantly more
important than price, not Process dont reinvent capture for every
deal, build on what you have learned before
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2014 | page 5 Number 1 Customer It is all about the customer Why
its important Customer knowledge has the highest correlation with
winning No customer knowledge = no bid Best Informed Wins! What
happens when you ignore it Your proposal is sterile, abstract,
flat, and is a dead looser
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2014 | page 6 Number 1 Customer It is all about the customer How do
you make sure you succeed with it Start early Define what you need
to know to win Capture has deliverables What are the risks to watch
out for Stagnate capture efforts no forward progress Tracking vs.
capturing
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2014 | page 7 Number 1 Customer It is all about the customer How do
I know I am succeeding with it Measure your progress on all Capture
KPIs Color score your progress monthly Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red
What leadership skills do I need to ensure success with it
Technically, managerially, and politically smart Very curious about
everything Best informed wins
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2014 | page 8 Number 2 Solution Strength based solutioning Why its
important Best value tradeoffs focus on proposal strengths,
weaknesses, and price A compelling solution is rich in features
that can be scored as strengths Convey your solution so the
evaluators can build their briefing to the Source Selection
Authority What happens when you ignore it No strengths give you a
zero score
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2014 | page 9 Number 2 Solutioning Strength based solutioning How
do you make sure you succeed with it Challenge your team to create
better solutions than they ever have before Identify your strengths
Focus on the end game draft your Source Selection Briefing What are
the risks to watch out for Stagnate capture efforts no forward
progress Inability to get leadership to invest in solutioning
Tracking vs. capturing
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2014 | page 10 Number 2 Solution Strength based solutioning How do
I know I am succeeding with it Set up a strengths budget for each
section Compare your strengths with your budget What leadership
skills do I need to ensure success with it Lead the team by saying
the solution is not good enough A compelling solution is rich in
features that will be evaluated as strengths
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2014 | page 11 Number 3 Competition Obsess about the competition
Why its important What you dont know will kill you Learn everything
about the competition Your competition is learning everything they
can about you What happens when you ignore it You have no way of
knowing if you can win You have no way to neutralize your
competitors strengths You get blindsided by companies aligning in
powerful ways
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2014 | page 12 Number 3 Competition Obsess about the competition
How do you make sure you succeed with it Create a competitive
assessment Keep up on street talk Build on prior research What are
the risks to watch out for Competitive assessments are actionable,
internet research is not
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2014 | page 13 Number 3 Competition Obsess about the competition
How do I know I am succeeding with it Black hat reviews are a good
indicator Teaming discussions can provide powerful feedback Plan to
neutralize competitor strengths and accentuate their weaknesses
What leadership skills do I need to ensure success with it
Technically, managerially, and politically smart Very curious about
everything
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2014 | page 14 Number 4 Price Constrained budgets are driving
change Why its important Everything trades off against price The
government just doesnt have the money they used to What happens
when you ignore it Your price can be 30% too high and you will
fail!
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2014 | page 15 Number 4 Price Constrained budgets are driving
change How do you make sure you succeed with it Start early and
create pricing models Research competitor pricing Do your own
tech/management price tradeoff What are the risks to watch out for
Guessing vs. knowing
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2014 | page 16 Number 4 Price Constrained budgets are driving
change How do I know I am succeeding with it Estimates and models
improve over time Pricing confidence will increase What leadership
skills do I need to ensure success with it Technically,
managerially smart with good pricing experience Be a gammer and use
the tricks
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2014 | page 17 Number 5 Process Capture is a defined and repeatable
process Why its important Good process and good review will ensure
you run a good, competitive capture No process is what some people
want What happens when you ignore it Steps are missed in the
process (think 9 KPIs) Win probabilities decline You bid deals that
you shouldnt
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2014 | page 18 Number 5 Process Capture is a defined and repeatable
process How do you make sure you succeed with it Capture is a
disciplined process follow it If you dont know where you are going,
any path will get you there What are the risks to watch out for
Capture efforts stagnate no forward progress Tracking vs.
capturing
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2014 | page 19 Number 5 Process Capture is a defined and repeatable
process How do I know I am succeeding with it Measure your progress
on all capture KPIs Color score your progress monthly Blue, Green,
Yellow and Red Create KPI color mosaics for each deal What
leadership skills do I need to ensure success with it Be willing to
follow a good process, but creative enough to continually improve
the way it is implemented
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www.apmp.org Eric Gregory, Senior Vice President Shipley
Associates Capture and Business Development Conference September
23, 2014 Top 5 Things Every Capture Pro Needs to Know The
Association of Proposal Management Professionals
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2014 | page 21 My Top 5 Team attitude is everything Your Proposal
Manager is your best friend Fire poor performers fast If the
customer is not speaking honestly with you, youve lost If you cant
win, recommend a no bid. 12345 Leadership creates the difference
between winners and losers
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2014 | page 22 Critical Thoughts Why its important What happens
when you ignore it How do you make sure you succeed with it What
are the risks to watch out for How do I know I am succeeding with
it What leadership skills do I need to ensure success with it
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2014 | page 23 Number 1 Team Attitude is Everything Winning
attitude is more important than a winning solution Creating a
winning team attitude is tough Ignore the winning attitude and lose
Create the winning attitude by Example Confidence Mentoring
Coaching Insistence
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2014 | page 24 Number 1 Team Attitude is Everything Watch for
slumps, disaffection, clear morale issues, whining, and lack of
accomplishment Energy, accomplishment, creative solutions,
self-policing, initiative, drive indicative of success Leadership:
Communication, clarity, vision, expectation, accountability,
reward, decisiveness, interference running The winners edge is not
in a gifted birth, a high IQ, or in talent. The winners edge is all
about attitude, not aptitude. Attitude is the criterion for
success. Denis Waitley
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2014 | page 25 Number 2 Your Proposal Manager is Your Best Friend
Its the team stupid! Team begins here. Vision, knowledge, planning,
action/schedule, message, tracking, solution, quality, process If
the team of 2 fails, the team of 30 stands no chance Get the best
proposal manager you can afford Working at odds. Not committed. No
fire. Not helping to drive team. No proposal plan. Not active in
capture, solutioning, and strategy.
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2014 | page 26 Number 2 Your Proposal Manager is Your Best Friend
When Capture and Proposal Manager click the team clicks Progress,
focus, good customer reactions, team accomplishments, quality
output, good questions, offers to help Leadership: Leave ego at the
door, promote the team, make it clear proposal manager is the
second, give them team face time
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2014 | page 27 Number 3 Fire Poor Performers Fast Cant allow poor
performance to drag the team down Morale suffers, productivity
suffers, energy decreases, creativity flags, actions slip, Pwin
drops Be polite, be firm, be honest, emphasize good of the team
Missed deadlines, asking same questions multiple times, poor
quality output, withdrawal from team, lack of confidence
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2014 | page 28 Number 3 Fire Poor Performers Fast Action taken
swiftly results in immediate capture improvements Team morale
improves quickly People tell you you did the right thing People
thank you for taking action Leadership: Accountability,
decisiveness, professionalism, concern, maturity, commitment In the
minds of great managers, consistent poor performance is not
primarily a matter of weakness, stupidity, disobedience, or
disrespect. It is a matter of miscasting. Marcus Buckingham
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2014 | page 29 Number 4 If the Customer is not Speaking Honestly
With You, Youve Lost Honest communication of needs, wants issues,
risks, preferences gets results When customers are evasive, they
are looking for another solution Declare honesty/trust is important
to you to help achieve a successful procurement Watch for
misrepresentations, fabrications, contradictions, prevarications,
and tales
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2014 | page 30 Number 4 If the Customer is not Speaking Honestly
With You, Youve Lost Customers are engaged, share, and converse.
They agree, disagree, suggest, advise, and debate Leadership:
Invite conversation, leaders listen, followers talk excessively.
Leaders propose ideas and look for reaction. Success is not certain
until you are obsessed by your goal. Vijay Dhameliya
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2014 | page 31 Number 5 If You Cant Win, Recommend a No Bid The
greatest sin is wasting time, money, and people on deals you cant
win. Great people turn mediocre under poor leadership and decision
making Courageous, smart, committed pros make firm bid/no bid
recommendations Beware the abdicator, the sniper, the hindsight
expert, and the toady but make your recommendation regardless
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2014 | page 32 Number 5 If You Cant Win, Recommend a No Bid First
order metric of business development healthhow many no bids are you
making? When you make clear no bid recommendations for the right
reasons Leadership: Courage, honesty, thought, accountability,
responsibility, and stewardship It is only in our decisions that we
are important. Jean-Paul Sartre Bid No Bid
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2014 | page 33 Remember. The essence of good capture is great
leadership A bad plan well executed is better than a good plan ill
executed (the ones with the bad plan will figure it out and cream
you) He or she who blinks first losesIn the end, your self-respect
is all you have left. Go Win Business
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2014 | page 34 Contact Info: Eric Gregory Senior Vice President,
Consulting-East [email protected] 703-690-9422 Images
provided through PhotoSpin subscription www.apmp.org Thank You Bob
Lohfeld CEO, Lohfeld Consulting Group, Inc.
[email protected] 410-336-6264