In This Week’s Newsletter: 03/29/24
- Proposal Perspectives: What Makes a Great Proposal Team?
- Culture Corner: Effective Communication Skills
- Competitive Intelligence & Pricing: Striking a Balance – Incorporating “Nice-to-Have” Requirements into Pricing
- AI Corner: Generative AI Vs. Open-Source Tools
- Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: NASA SEWP VI
- Four To Follow: Get the lowdown on four interesting pursuits!
What Makes a Great Proposal Team?
Welcome to the latest edition of our ‘Proposal Perspectives’ interview series! This week, we dive deeper into the realm of proposal professionals, revealing further insights and best practices from the industry. Below are some key takeaways from our most recent interview:
Q: “What makes a great proposal team?”
A: “Communication and the ability to collaborate. As you get more complex RFPs and things get larger, it is important to be able to break off and work in individual groups efficiently. Especially today with people working remotely.”
Q: “How crucial do you find Pricing and Competitive Intelligence in the proposal process?”
A: “It is usually the deciding factor. Especially with highly competitive bids. When you see very competitive scores technically, price becomes the leading factor. Being able to pull levers and see how your competitors do things is important.”
-Bryant Freeland, Sr. Proposal Manager at Incapsulate (part of Accenture)
As we continue to bring you valuable insights, we’d love to hear from you! If you have expertise, experiences, or perspectives you’d like to share with our newsletter community, we invite you to contribute.
Whether it’s a success story, a lesson learned, or a burning question, your input enriches our collective knowledge and fosters meaningful discussions. Reach out to us to learn more about how you can get involved.
Effective Communication Skills
Contact Angela: angela.marsh@hinzconsulting.com
As Bryant Freeland mentioned in this week’s “Proposal Perspectives,” communication and collaboration are key to building great teams. Even if you aren’t the leader, you can foster better communication within your group by practicing these strategies:
- Purposeful Communication: consider the purpose of each message.
- State the intent of your message quickly.
- Identify the outcomes you want to achieve.
- Describe the process you will use to accomplish your goals.
- Productive Meetings: meetings should align with clear purposes, too.
- Identify a leader and only invite necessary attendees.
- Send/follow the detailed agenda and capture non-agenda issues.
- Clarify roles and responsibilities of each team member.
- Open Environment: create a culture where people can share ideas.
- Regularly seek feedback from team members.
- Provide constructive criticism to foster growth.
- Encourage open dialogue and active listening.
Remember, consistent effort and a commitment to effective communication by any person on the team will lead to more cohesion and success. Be the change you want to see!
Striking a Balance – Incorporating “Nice-to-Have” Requirements into Pricing
Contact Chris: chris.placzek@hinzconsulting.com
Creating a compelling and successful price proposal hinges on balancing mandatory compliance with incorporating desired or “nice-to-have” requirements. When there are competitors that price only the mandatory requirements, companies need to be creative in how they incorporate additional desired requirements into their pricing.
One of the questions that I am often asked with working with clients is how they should price desired (or “nice-to-have”) requirements when they believe their competitors are only going to price the mandatory requirements. They want to know how they can possibly be competitive in these procurements.
The key is to understand and strategically address both mandatory and desired requirements not only to ensure compliance with the required aspects of the procurement but also to showcase the additional value that can set their proposal apart.
Paid Generative AI Vs. Open Source Tools
Contact Josh: josh.thiel@hinzconsulting.com
The advantages of paid generative AI tools over open-source alternatives are extensive and varied. Key benefits include improved security protocols, superior features, and dedicated customer support.
Comparing Tools:
- Paid AI tools often feature strong encryption for data and algorithms, providing superior protection against unauthorized access.
- Such tools typically include security measures like intrusion detection systems and firewalls.
- They generally offer advanced functionalities, including improved natural language processing, customizability, and software integration capabilities.
- Open-source tools may lack comprehensive documentation and support, which can complicate implementation.
- Paid Generative AI tools usually provide extensive customer support to address technical issues.
- Regular updates and maintenance services are typically included with paid tools, keeping them up-to-date and functioning optimally.
In summary, paid Generative AI tools offer benefits like heightened security, sophisticated features, and reliable support, making them a solid investment for those in need of a dependable and efficient AI solution.
NASA SEWP VI
Contact Len: len.miller@hinzconsulting.com
Originally, NASA had planned an Informational Briefing on Tuesday, 2nd April, between 1 and 3 pm ET. During this session, we anticipated learning more about the release date of the final RFP, possibly in April. Please standby for further updates. For any assistance needed with NASA SEWP VI, don’t hesitate to reach out to Hinz Consulting.
Four to Follow (including three targeted for Small Businesses):
- Missile Defense Agency Integration and Operations for Enterprise Solutions (MIOES): The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) appears to be on track to release the full draft RFP in the Sep/Oct 2024 period. The incumbent’s contract is scheduled to expire on 8 Aug 2025 so contract award is expected in Jul 2025. An Industry and potential one-on-one sessions are expected before mid-Nov 2024.
- TRADOC Operational Core Support Services (OE CORE): The incumbent contract held by Threat TEC-Yorktown JV, LLC is expected to expire in early Aug 2025. TRADOC released a revised source sought on 19 Mar 2024 and the due date was extended to 9 Apr 2024. An Advance Planning Briefing to the industry is to occur on 22-25 Apr 2024 and registrations will close by 12 Apr 2025. The final RFP is estimated for release in Feb 2025 and the contract awarded in early Aug 2025.
- HHS National Education Campaign and Outreach Contract (NEC): This $3B recompete of the M/A IDIQ contract is expected to have the final RFP released as early as Aug 2024, about a year before the expiration of the four incumbent’s contracts on 31 Aug 2025. The incumbent contracts are held by Porter Novelli, Edelman, Omnicom
- Air Force Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) JAD2 Umbrella Program: Amendment #5 for Call #3 on this ongoing open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) was released on 19 Mar 2024 and Concept Papers are now due: 29 Mar 2024, 31 Mar 2025, and 31 Mar 2026.
Find out more about all of these opportunities and more at SAM.gov.
About Hinz Consulting
Hinz Consulting provides services across the full business development cycle:
- Proposal Consulting
- AI Services
- Strategic Pricing
- Training
- Capture
- Competitive Intelligence
- BD Transformation Consulting
- Process/Methodology Consulting
- Tools and Templates
- Production Services
- Small Business
