Virtual Proposal Development Go Virtual, or Go Home! Proposal Development Go Virtual, or Go Home!...
Transcript of Virtual Proposal Development Go Virtual, or Go Home! Proposal Development Go Virtual, or Go Home!...
Virtual Proposal DevelopmentGo Virtual, or Go Home!
Southern Proposal Accents Conference
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Go Virtual, or Go Home!
Presented by: Brad DouglasShipley Associates
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• More than just electronic submittal
• Contributors are not all co-located
What do We Mean by “Virtual Proposal Development?”
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co-located
• Dependent on technology to communicate and manage
Is This a Trend or Fad? Why?
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Discussion:
Are There Some Generational Issues that Influence Virtual Proposal Management?
How so?
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How so?
Millennial Generation Job SatisfactionTwo major motivators of Millennials in the workforce:
1.Freedom to negotiate their job description/role
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– Often leads to virtual work (home office)
– Flex time is a big deal
2. Management’s recognitionthat they have a life outside of work
Are Remote (Virtual) Workers More
Discussion:
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Are Remote (Virtual) Workers More or Less Engaged?
Proximity breeds complacency
“I've worked with leaders who sit in the same office with those they
manage but go for weeks without having any substantive face-time with
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manage but go for weeks without having any substantive face-time with
them. In fact, they may use e-mail as their primary source of
communication when they sit less than 50 feet away. It's even worse if they
sit in different parts of a building—or all the way on another floor.”
by: Scott Edinger, HBR Blog Network; August 24, 2012
Absence makes people try harder to connect
“When I managed a team of professionals in nine different locations, I made a
point of deliberately reaching out to each of them by phone at least once a week,
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point of deliberately reaching out to each of them by phone at least once a week,
and frequently more often. I'm not an anomaly here. Most leaders I work with
make an extra effort to stay connected to those they don't ordinarily run into.
They can see that taking even a few minutes to talk about what's happening in
their respective worlds before addressing the tasks at hand makes a difference in
maintaining the connection with a colleague.”
Leaders of virtual teams make better use of tools
“Because leaders of far-flung teams have to use videoconferencing, instant
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“Because leaders of far-flung teams have to use videoconferencing, instant
messaging, e-mail, voicemail, and yes, the telephone, to make contact, they
become proficient in multiple forms of communication, an advantage in
leadership that their traditional counterparts could well develop but not so
automatically.”
Leaders of far-flung teams maximize the time spent together
“Having had to make such an effort to get the team together, these leaders naturally want
to make the best use of their precious time. They take care to filter out as many distractions
as possible so they can focus on the work to be done together. They also typically spend
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as possible so they can focus on the work to be done together. They also typically spend
more than an ordinary work day together, socializing at planned luncheons, dinners, and
activities. This level of focused attention is hard to replicate day to day.
None of this is to say that working remotely is better than coming to the office. Or that
virtual teams are better than traditional ones. On the contrary, I'm suggesting that they are
exactly the same in this regard: Someone working in the same office with their leader
needs just as much effective communication as someone located in a different office. It's
just that, ironically, they're less likely to get it.”
What About
Personal Work
Preferences?
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Activity: A Virtual Kickoff Meeting Gone Bad
Listen to this virtual proposal kickoff meetingWhat went right? Wrong? Is this common?
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Discussion
What are Some Pitfalls (things to avoid) for Managing Proposals Virtually?
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• Often, no defined process to manage the proposal
• Decision gates often “short-changed” (or left out)
• No clear understanding of roles and responsibilities
• Little consequence for late task completion
Common Challenges of Virtual Proposal Development
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• Little consequence for late task completion
―Long distance accountability
• Rewards often go to the non-contributors
• General view that the proposal is not important
• Perception that “…proposals are free” – those deciding to bid do not pay for the proposal or do the work
What are the “Super Hero Best Practices” when Managing a Virtual Proposal Effort?
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1. Produce Schedule Early – make highly visible to team
2. Clarify and publish team roles and responsibilities
3. Hold an Effective Kickoff Meeting
The Seven “Musts” for Effective Virtual Management
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3. Hold an Effective Kickoff Meeting
4. Write and Develop Great Content
5. Develop Quality Theme Statements
6. Conduct Content Reviews and Edits
7. Facilitate Effective Color Team Reviews
Establish Leadership:
Plan an Effective Kickoff Meeting
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• Separate the initial core team planning call from the proposal kickoff call
• Establish clear lines of authority
• Establish a detailed, written agenda and distribute it early
Apply These Best Practices for Virtual Proposal Kickoff Meeting
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• Establish a detailed, written agenda and distribute it early enough to permit participants to prepare
• Take the time to poll participants for acceptance after each agenda item
• As tasks are assigned, ask the responsible individuals to restate their understanding and acceptance
• Assign someone other than the person chairing the call to keep detailed minutes—or record the call
More Best Practices
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call to keep detailed minutes—or record the call
• Check progress of dispersed teams frequently (how?)
• Test your submission process for hardware and software compatibility
Writing Content: POWeR™
• Plan – Use customer hot buttons, issues, and needs to help plan your section – use a storyboard template
• Organize – Use a structured organization tool to outline and storyboard your message
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• Write – Be customer focused and persuasive in writing
• examine – Let your content “cool” before examining for accuracy and responsiveness
• Revise in three stages – 3 Cs
Revision Stage 1: Be Clear
• Use informative section headings• Use informative section headings
• Preview content• Preview content
• Place important points first• Place important points first
• Keep setups short• Keep setups short
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• Keep setups short• Keep setups short
• Write effective captions• Write effective captions
• Emphasize key information• Emphasize key information
• Create an appropriate tone• Create an appropriate tone
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Revision Stage 2: Be Concise
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Revise
ParagraphsRevise Sentences Revise Words
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Revision Stage 3: Be Correct
� Consult references
� Check spelling, punctuation, and grammar
� Resolve word problems
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� Resolve word problems
� Verify consistency with requirements documents
� Confirm nomenclature and identities
� Double-check arithmetic
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Basics of a Theme Statement
Cascadia Timber can reduce the cost of forest management in remote, roadless areas by selecting a partner to supply 20 versatile Cascadia Timber can reduce the cost of forest management in remote, roadless areas by selecting a partner to supply 20 versatile
Benefit
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remote, roadless areas by selecting a partner to supply 20 versatile ultralight aircraft that also offers long-term support.remote, roadless areas by selecting a partner to supply 20 versatile ultralight aircraft that also offers long-term support.
Feature
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A “Value Proposition” Theme is Stronger
EuroWidget can obtain a competitive edge by implementing a customer information system that will improve effectiveness of EuroWidget can obtain a competitive edge by implementing a customer information system that will improve effectiveness of
Feature
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customer information system that will improve effectiveness of your field sales team 25 percent within 6 months, measured in terms of customer appointments kept.
customer information system that will improve effectiveness of your field sales team 25 percent within 6 months, measured in terms of customer appointments kept.
Quantified
Return
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Cascadia Timber can reduce forest management costs $1 million annually by purchasing 20 versatile Jenair ultralight aircraft forCascadia Timber can reduce forest management costs $1 million annually by purchasing 20 versatile Jenair ultralight aircraft for
A Detailed Value Proposition is Stronger Yet
Feature
Quantified
Benefit
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annually by purchasing 20 versatile Jenair ultralight aircraft for$198,888, a 588% ROI and 78 day payback period.annually by purchasing 20 versatile Jenair ultralight aircraft for$198,888, a 588% ROI and 78 day payback period.
Cost
Quantified
Return
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Gotham City can reduce the cost of employee prescription services 13.5 percent by selecting the only benefits management Gotham City can reduce the cost of employee prescription services 13.5 percent by selecting the only benefits management
Turn a Feature into a Discriminator
Quantified
Benefit
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services 13.5 percent by selecting the only benefits management organization backed by Smart ClaimsTM software.services 13.5 percent by selecting the only benefits management organization backed by Smart ClaimsTM software.
Discriminating
CharacteristicFeature
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Theme Statement Litmus Test
Factor/
Subfactor
Unsatis-
factoryPoor Fair Good
Excep-
tional
1 2 3 4 5
M.4.1
SCORE?
CAN I USE
THIS THEME
TO JUSTIFY
A HIGH
SCORE?
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M.4.1
Subfactor 4 –
Time required
to train new
users of the
system
XJustification of Score:
The Acme Corporation solution reduces our training time from 4
hours to 1 hour due to the intuitive, graphical user interface of their
Easy Link software.
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Should Any of These Key Color Team Reviews Be Left Out? Why?
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Can We Ignore This?
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How About This?
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Do We Disregard the Pink Team on a Virtual Effort?
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Do We Need a Red Team Review?
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Virtual Proposal Development
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• The trend is here to stay! Go Virtual or Go Home
• New generation of workforce comfortable with virtual tools/approach
Summary
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tools/approach
• Pitfalls to avoid
• Best Practices
• Lessons learned from participants
Contact Information:
Brad [email protected]
888.772.9467 (wins)
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