Description
We teach virtually and/or in a group setting at the OST Global Solutions offices in Rockville, MD. We place maximum emphasis on hands-on practice and discussion. Remote participants learn via Zoom or Teams and are part of the live exercises using technology such as OWL to better see and hear the entire group of course participants.
We explain complex concepts in clear language and answer questions so that you learn the subject matter and apply it to your job right away.
We provide the tools and templates that will help you achieve better results as you engage in business development tasks.
Right now, you can invest in new skills and tools that will pay off in contracts won and help you succeed in your business.
This course will give you a proven methodology that, combined with your diligent efforts, is sure to yield success in winning highly competitive Government contracts.
Course Curriculum
Day 1
Module 1: Introduction
- Introductions and learning objectives
- Introduction to capture and overview of the capture process to offer you a big-picture perspective
- Overview of the case study
Module 2: Laying the Groundwork for Competitive Analysis in the Capture Process
- What if there is no competitive analysis and PTW?
- Competitive analysis elements.
- Ethics of competitive intelligence and the information you must not touch.
- Four steps for developing a repository to collect knowledge on competitive intelligence.
- Other competitive analysis tips.
Module 3: Identifying the List of Competitors and Preparing for the Black Hat
- Techniques for determining the list of prime contractors.
- Techniques for overcoming challenges in determining the teaming partners.
- A typical Black Hat setup.
- A sample Black Hat agenda.
- Black Hat groups organization.
- Determining Government customer’s hot buttons leveraging AI.
- Analyzing the potential Source Selection Board members.
- Competitive analysis overview process as part of capture planning.
- Developing viable competitor profiles.
Exercises: Determine a competitor list for the case study; capture the viable competitor profiles.
Module 4: Performing the Competitive Analysis
- Qualitative questions to answer about each competitor: the most useful capture information.
- Competitor analysis: company information gathering using AI.
- Mining a variety of data sources for relevant competitive intelligence on Government contractors using various LLMs.
- SWOT analysis leveraging AI.
- Determining competitors’ postulated win strategies with AI.
- Ranking competitors individually and as an aggregate competitive field analysis.
Exercise: Go through the competitive analysis steps and develop competitor rankings against the home team.
Module 5: Developing a Competitive Analysis-Based Win Strategy
- Comparing competitors with the “home” team’s win strategy, augmented with AI insights.
- Developing the resulting action items and win strategies applicable during your overall capture process.
Exercise: Devise the home team’s win strategy based on the Black Hat results and determine the resulting strategic action items.
Day 2
Module 6: Price to Win Principles and Process
- Why Price to Win?
- Understanding the tradeoff between value and price.
- Understanding the best value continuum in Government proposal evaluation.
- PTW development process steps.
Module 7: Gathering Information for the PTW Effort
- Mobilizing information sources for situational assessment of the PTW, including AI research tools and techniques.
- Determining the funding budget for the target contract.
- Analyzing customer trends and behaviors and how this information impacts your PTW analysis decisions.
- Analyzing your competitors’ financial decisions and trends.
- Filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for cost proposals.
Exercise: Gather information to prepare for the PTW analysis.
Module 8: Performing the PTW Analysis
- Identifying the price to compete.
- Developing a solution-based PTW.
- Pricing competitors’ solutions based on Black Hat findings and information gathered specifically for the PTW effort.
- Pricing competitors’ offerings per the RFP and competitors’ postulated win strategies.
Exercise: Develop a solution for a proposal segment and document in a capture plan.
Module 9: Mastering the Labor Rate Analysis for Government Proposals
- The process for performing a labor rate analysis for Government proposals.
- The process, tips, and tricks for matching labor categories including AI tools.
- Determining the competitors’ wrap rates.
- When and how to use GSA rates as data points.
Exercise: Practice labor category matching and labor rate analysis.
Module 10: The Next Steps for PTW: Developing Your Pricing Strategy
- Continuously updating the PTW model to iterate your solution.
- Creating the win.
- Course recap and summary.
Meet Your Instructor
Olessia Smotrova, CF.APMP Fellow
Olessia has more than 25 years of experience in business development. She led winning bids for four out of the top five Government contractors, winning more than $26 billion over the course of her career in single award contracts. She is an AI developer and strategist, pioneering the use of generative AI in Government contracting. She has created and implemented AI tools for business development processes, proposal strategy formulation, and competitive analysis. She is an AI super-user and thought leader in the practical application of generative AI in synthesizing complex data, generating innovative solutions, and driving decision-making in high-stakes Government BD environments.
She is the author of the book How to Get Government Contracts: Have a Slice of $1 Trillion Pie and seven other books. She has taught a graduate course for the Stevens Institute of Technology, and she provided training to Treasury and NASA. She has served for 2 years as the President of the National Contracts Management Association (NCMA) Bethesda/Medical Chapter and for 2 years as the President of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) National Capital Area Chapter.
Olessia is recognized as an APMP Fellow for her contributions to the field of capture and proposals – the highest honor in the business development profession. Her skills span every aspect of business development, sales, and marketing. Prior to supporting Fortune 500 companies and small businesses as a proposal consultant and growing OST, she worked as a business developer for Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and wrote for the Financial Times of London.
