Desktop Publishing for Proposal Professionals (On Demand)

$995.00

Government proposal desktop publishing (DTP) training teaches valuable skills in designing, laying out, and publishing Government proposals in MS Word—presenting your company’s offer in the most professional light to the proposal evaluators. The course begins with a foundation in the tools and features MS Word offers to the desktop publisher, and shortcuts to increase speed and efficiency. The course advances into the selection of color palette and styles, tables of contents, headers and footers, and elements of design to ensure your document is attractive. It culminates in teaching how to publish the document and prepare it for delivery.

SKU: ONDEM-DSKPUBPR Category:

Description

In addition to proposal desktop publishing basics and essential MS Word skills, this course addresses stabilization within documents while multiple authors contribute to proposal sections using different formatting styles, and design principles to make your proposals look more attractive.

This workshop will provide practice files as we work our way through the building of a proposal volume. This workshop is 30 percent lecture, 60 percent exercises, and 10 percent discussion. It will learn how to design and assemble proposal documents to help your company win.

The experts who teach our business development, capture and proposal training are highly experienced currently practicing proposal professionals whose years of successful experience in Government acquisition and training allow them to offer valuable insights to our students. Our instructors can answer tough questions as they come up during the course. They can also tailor the material to their students’ specific challenges, and share their experience based on the most current realities. Check our instructor’s bios on our About page.

Course Curriculum

Learning Objectives

The participants will learn and practice skills in:

  • Applying MS Word shortcuts to optimize and accelerate the desktop publishing process.
  • ​Create a color palette and design a compliant layout utilizing logos and other graphic media reinforcing your company’s brand.
  • ​Developing a proposal template.
  • ​Setting up and creating styles that are easy for contributors to apply.
  • ​Cleaning up the document to ensure multiple authors’ styles do not destabilize the document.
  • ​Understanding cut, copy, past, and paintbrush options efficiently.
  • ​Using the Section and Page Break features and understanding how they affect headers, footers, and outlining features.
  • ​Working with tables to convey information efficiently.
  • ​Inserting material from MS Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Adobe Acrobat, Illustrator, Photoshop, and other types of files.
  • ​Establishing an automated and hyper-linked Table of Contents (TOC) anywhere in the document, including several TOCs in the same document.
  • ​Creating other lists such as List of Figures, Compliance Matrix, Acronym List, and Index ​
  • Paginating the main page and sub-pages.
  • Preparing the document for submission.
Module 1: Introduction to Government Proposal Desktop Publishing
  • Introduction and learning objectives
  • ​Familiarization with what is possible in desktop publishing
  • ​Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts
  • ​Moving through the document, split screen, and three ways to accomplish the same function
  • ​Toolbars and Rulers
  • Moving the Quick Access Toolbar
  • Populating Quick Access Toolbar with your favorite tools
Module 2: Preparing for Graphics Development
  • Choosing a color palette
  • Comprehension and incorporation of the Solicitation Requirements
  • ​Styles
    – What is Normal
    – How does Normal affect styles
    – Creating and editing styles
    – Import styles into another or a new document
    – Displaying styles so other users can apply them
    – Cleaning up styles
  • Column Breaks
  • ​Page Breaks
  • ​Section Breaks
Module 3: Editing the Document
  • Table of Contents (TOC)—Part 1
    – Create your own based on your styles
  • ​Cut, Copy, Paste—Paintbrush
    – Using the Clipboard icon
    – Inserting text from another document
    – Inserting from Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe products
  • ​Tables
    – Sorting in a table
    – Formatting a table with styles
  • Create a table style
  • ​Preparing your graphics for insertion and inserting them into the document
  • ​Keeping graphics from “jumping”
  • ​Table of Contents (TOC)—Part 2
    – Inserting “context specific” TOCs in one document
    – Creating other lists: List of Figures, Compliance Matrix, Acronym List, and Index
Module 4: Publishing and Distribution Tips
  • Printing and binding
    – White Glove page check
    – Keeping the exact copy or proof copy for your company (CYA)
    – Preparing box label and receipt
    – Handling the receipt after the signature, attaching it to and archiving the Proof Copy, scanning, and making it a part of the electronic files
  • ​Creating PDF for uploading
  • ​Checking each page for legibility, errors, misprints, or degradation of graphics
  • ​CD, thumb drive or other electronic submissions files checks
  • ​Distribution List
    – Create file list all parties print and keep with Proof Copy
    – Copying of all electronic files onto storage media, including the “archive” or “old” versions, and the “raw” graphics
Module 5: Summary and Recap
  • Summary and recap
  • ​Additional resources

Meet Your Instructor

Olessia Smotrova Profile Photo 2024 Updated OST Global Solutions IncOlessia 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.

Student Reviews

Anthony Needam Avatar
Anthony Needam
12/10/2024
This was new to me. It was very I formative. We received our packets late. I was not aware of how interactive this would be.
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Nao Gamo Avatar
Nao Gamo
11/07/2024
I highly recommend the "MASTER AI TO ENHANCE BD, CAPTURE AND PROPOSAL PROCESSES" course! Not just a high-level overview of AI and its capabilities, the course is full of practical tips that you can apply immediately. All the courses I have taken with OST Global Solutions have been well worth it!!
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Francisca Celmer Avatar
Francisca Celmer
11/07/2024
The "Master AI to Enhanced BD, Capture, and Proposal Processes" class given by OST Global Solutions was truly outstanding. The instructor was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. She made the material easy to understand and directly applicable. I highly recommend this class.
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Jay Yudof Avatar
Jay Yudof
11/06/2024
The BD and capture using AI course what is comprehensive and effectively taught.
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andre downey Avatar
andre downey
11/06/2024
The class taught alot of useful information on ai & working it in to our proposal development process
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Lilliana Reyes Avatar
Lilliana Reyes
9/20/2024
Great course! Clear information and great pace.
The information was very helpful for someone getting started in the proposal world or someone just trying to learn how to easily transition from InDesign to Microsoft Word.
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Aislinn Berge Avatar
Aislinn Berge
9/20/2024
Took the full day training on Desktop Publishing For Proposal Writing with Phillip Pettet. I learned so much! Phillip was fantastic at explaining things and gave lots of tips and tricks for using Word. Thank you!
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TC Phil Avatar
TC Phil
8/28/2024
I recently completed the year-long Business Development Apprenticeship with OST Global Solutions, Inc., and it exceeded my expectations! The program is comprehensive, covering BD, capture, proposal skills, and so much more. It’s clear that OST is the best in the business—they have addressed the real skill gap in this field.

Their curriculum, aligned with Department of Labor standards for Federal Government Business Development, is TOP-NOTCH and the first of its kind in the nation! The training was practical, directly applicable to our business, and provided the expertise needed to succeed in this competitive industry. I highly recommend this apprenticeship to anyone looking to advance their career in Business Development. I plan on taking many additional courses over the next few years as they continue to stay ahead of the curve. Thank you, OST!
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George Franz Avatar
George Franz
6/13/2024
Great course from OST Global Solutions! Olessia's vast experience in this area shines through and the course is chocked full of tips, tactics, and information sources to consider to perform competitive analysis and determine price to win for opportunities.
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Tiffany & Jay Jackson Avatar
Tiffany & Jay Jackson
4/29/2024
I've taken multiple classes with Olessia of OST Global Solutions and the classes are always well-structured and informative. The lastest course on AI is phenomenal - highly recommend it if you're looking to enhance your BD, Capture, and Proposal processes via AI!
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LaKeisha Thomas Avatar
LaKeisha Thomas
4/25/2024
Alexia was a very engaging instructor. The AI class was mind blowing! The capabilities using AI to assist with BD processes are endless. I'm looking forward to implementing all of these new tools.
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Erica Blue Avatar
Erica Blue
4/25/2024
Olessia did a wonderful job of teaching how to use AI for all stages of the Biz Dev process. She had practical examples and hands on practice. Helped change my perspective of AI overall, including its capabilities and limitations.
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