The following articles on various capture and proposal development-related topics are intended to offer you a few tricks, tools, and techniques of the trade. We will continue to post new articles regularly, so be sure to check back for updates.

2013

June 11, 2013 - Do's and don'ts of risk management sections
June 6, 2013 - What people are the main ingredient in winning contracts consistently
May 28, 2013 - Public bid posting doesn't mean a level playing field
May 22, 2013 - Employ a strategic business development planning process
May 16, 2013 - Three categories of win themes
May 14, 2013 - Why you need a proposal process
May 9, 2013 - Keeping your IDIQ team on the same page
May 7, 2013 - Five reasons subject matter experts struggle with proposal writing
May 1, 2013 - How is FedBizOpps useful in business development?
April 12, 2013 - Seven (almost) deadly proposal review sins
April 2, 2013 - Dealing with fiscal constraints and the increased competitive edge
March 28, 2013 - Your proposal's overall professional look and feel
March 27, 2013 - Seven cardinal rules of proposal graphics
March 21, 2013 - Can you outsource capture to consultants?
March 19, 2013 - Seven signs an RFP is wired
March 15, 2013 - Earning a trusted advisor status
March 13, 2013 - Multiple award contracts trends
March 8, 2013 - The scoop on government procurement teaming, affiliation, JVs, and more
February 28, 2013 - What to prepare prior to RFP issuance
February 26, 2013 - Don't let errors undermine your credibility
February 14, 2013 - Proposal editing: the key step to selling in your proposal
February 12, 2013 - Developing information dominance over your competition
February 5, 2013 - Know when to talk to government customers
February 1, 2013 - Relationship between strategy and themes
January 30, 2013 - Pros and cons of using boilerplate in proposals
January 25, 2013 - Secrets of persuasive proposal writing
January 23, 2013 - Winning proposals is a team sport
January 18, 2013 - The scoop on GSA schedules
January 16, 2013 - How to grow your business development capability

2012

December 3, 2012 - How good teaming partners are like parking spaces
November 5, 2012 - Olessia’s new book excerpt: How to shape the contractual, procurement, and evaluation matters
October 30, 2012 - Rules of interfacing with government personnel that you don’t want to break at any cost
October 24, 2012 - Why worry about what your competitors do?
October 9, 2012 - Tips and tools for improving proposal readability
September 20, 2012 - After award debrief as a tool for winning proposals
September 18, 2012 - What does aerobatics have to do with business development organizations?
August 23, 2012 - How to succeed in the current resource-strapped environment?
August 22, 2012 - Government is relying on IDIQs more than ever
August 16, 2012 - Back to basics: Understand the full cycle of business development to get more contracts
August 10, 2012 - Three major problems with business development
July 6, 2012 - Proposal mastery: affecting proposal outcomes through content and leadership
June 29, 2012 - Win themes development techniques
June 14, 2012 - How to manage proposal consultant costs
June 11, 2012 - Avoiding business development budgeting pitfalls and proposal cost cutting blunders
June 1, 2012 - Traditional capture is wasteful – long live capture-less proposals?
May 24, 2012 - Redefining proposal professionals?
May 23, 2012 - How much do consultants charge?
May 18, 2012 - When do you need a proposal consultant?
May 17, 2012 - How do capture and proposal consultants charge for their services?
May 12, 2012 - Capture management: the right way of gathering intelligence
May 4, 2012 - Win strategy for your proposal
May 2, 2012 - Proposal manager’s midlife crisis?
May 1, 2012 - Where to find good proposal consultants?
Apr 28, 2012 - How to recognize IDIQs and task order patterns and use them to your advantage
Apr 26, 2012 - How to benefit the most from working with proposal consultants
April 25, 2012 - Success factors in federal business development
April 5, 2012 - FOIA, I hardly know ya! (Yearly Report Card on Federal Government’s efforts to track and manage Freedom of Information Act requests)
April 3, 2012 - 6 Steps to put your proposal team on the same page
March 28, 2012 - Frontload your cost proposal strategy and raise your Pwin
March 21, 2012 - 7 Pitfalls of unprepared proposal kick-off
March 16, 2012 - How to effectively read a request for proposal (RFP)
March 13, 2012 - The six aspects of capturing Government contracts
March 9, 2012 - If we just had done a few things differently. OR 3 main problems with capture management
Feb 23, 2012 - Task order proposal management best practices
Feb 10, 2012 - Successful planning for your BD Strategy. Interview with business development expert
Jan 31, 2012 - Developing your 2012 pipeline and preparing for a great year of winning business
Jan 25, 2012 - Overcoming difficulties in calling government customer
Jan 20, 2012 - Top 7 problems with proposal win themes
Jan 10, 2012 - Obtaining senior management buy-in
Jan 06, 2012 - Capture wars

2011

Dec 01, 2011 - 5 Tips for proposal professionals
Nov 19, 2011 - Roadmap to winning in proposal cost volumes
Nov 16, 2011 - Creating job security, higher pay, and developing high-functioning proposal teams
Nov 7, 2011 - Rules of thumb for proposal win themes
Nov 2, 2011 - Proposal procrastination flowchart
Oct 28, 2011 - Nothing is great right out of the can, proposal resumes Included
Oct 26, 2011 - Tips for overcoming proposal writer’s block
Oct 21, 2011 - How to organize to win every task order on an IDIQ
Oct 03, 2011 - When you don’t have time for capture
Sep 15, 2011 - FY12 forecast
Sep 01, 2011 - Do you have a task order manual for your IDIQ?
Aug 24, 2011 - Where are we going with proposals – federal contracting trends
Aug 16, 2011 - The only way to make money on IDIQ contracts
Jun 09, 2011 - Conference notes and future predictions for proposal profession
May 25, 2011 - How will proposal industry change
May 20, 2011 - Federal business development strategy
May 18, 2011 - Parenting and proposal parallels

2010
Dec 14, 2010 - It was a dark and stormy night...
Nov 05, 2010 - Mediocrities complain, superstars don't... True?
Oct 27, 2010 - Proposal lessons from an aerial forest adventure park
Oct 21, 2010 - The scoop on the new rules for woman-owned small businesses
Oct 07, 2010 - Latest federal acquisition news you don't want to miss
Oct 04, 2010 - GTSI suspension and small business teaming
Aug 25, 2010 - Proposal manager's tips for running fast turn-around proposals
Aug 05, 2010 - Lessons learned from a proposal disaster
May 06, 2010 - What's in it for me? - Lessons in proposals from a 5-year old
Apr 30, 2010 - Why finding rock star government proposal managers is tough

2009
Dec 11, 2009 - Four executive summary mistakes that hurt your chances to win
Oct 01, 2009 - How to vet potential teammates to prevent teaming pitfalls
Jul 07, 2009 - Building a proposal center of excellence
May 14, 2009 - Six aspects of capture
Apr 29, 2009 - Virtual proposal secrets: interview with Ben Rowland
Feb 19, 2009 - Power verbs for writing winning government proposals

2008
Decr 09, 2008 - Proposal writers beware - a confused mind says "no"
Oct 30, 2008 - 10 tips for winning fast turn-around proposals
Aug 12, 2008 - Speak your customer's language
July 15, 2008 - How effective Is your capture process?
Apr 22, 2008 - Make life easier-teach your proposal team to write

2007
Nov 28, 2007 - "Picasso method" for great proposal graphics
Oct 10, 2007 - Do's and don'ts of risk management sections