The PBJournal
The number of government procurements is down and the government seems to be migrating more and more to the Lowest Price, Technical Acceptable (LPTA) model. Contracting officers feel that LPTA is an acceptable model, even for complex technical procurements. This makes sense fiscally, but can cause p...
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How did we land on the colors pink, red, and gold for the primary reviews of proposal non-pricing volumes? My own research has failed to find this answer. The colors are non-intuitive. A pricing review could be called "Green" or "Silver" or "Gold" and that might make sense. Some companies call their...
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In honor of Independence Day, a few words about independence. Many independent contractors will identify with Michele Williams: "I was born with a fierce need for independence." Some of us simply want to make it on our own. Certainly, we work in teams and rely on partnerships and the help of colleag...
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With April Fool's Day upon us, I wonder, have you ever been fooled by proposal requirements or by an agency who doesn't really know what they want? Most of you have seen how government contracting officers have a really difficult time creating a solicitation that is coherent and makes sense througho...
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Planning your proposal with the end in mind is an intuitive task for most proposal professionals that I know and work with. This is such an important idea that it bears repeating and reinforcing.
I thought of this recently due to a bad experience. We hired a fencing contractor to build a secure pri...
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Last time I talked about the current work slowdown. I've kept pretty busy and I'm sure most of you have too. This is the key for independent proposal contactors. Staying busy during slow periods is a possible indicator of several things:
Strong client relationships. Strong relationships help whe...
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Have you noticed a slowdown in proposal work? I have and it's starting to become a disturbing trend, I fear. This can lead to a few unpalatable things for independent proposal contractors:
A decrease in the number of contracts being bid will result in fewer billable hours.
Fewer billable hours...
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Proposal writing is one of the most challenging undertakings. It takes a special person to be able to write technical content, make it compliant with solicitation requirements, and make it compelling and interesting. There are many good writers out there who struggle with the idiosyncrasies of propo...
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