Blog
Jan 17, 2023
A Proposal Professional’s Reading List – Part 1 (Proposal Related)
by Kevin A. Switaj
Like most of us, I spent the holiday season figuring out my personal goals for 2023. And, like most of you, one of mine is to read more books. While blog posts and articles are good, there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of picking up a book and feeling that sense of accomplishment when you close the back cover upon completion. Yes, I am old school and prefer real books (although my Kindle is good for my nighttime reading).
I often get asked what books are on my reading list and for suggestions on potential titles. I would like to share some of my past favorites and most anticipated books on my list for 2023. I plan to split this into two posts -the first with proposal-centered books and the second with other titles offering significant benefits to those of us in government contracting.
Writing Business Bids and Proposals For Dummies by Neil Cobb and Charlie Devine. A must have for any proposal professional. Published in coordination with APMP, this book provides key insights and great advice for anyone who is involved in bid development. It is a great reference tool to keep on your shelf.
The In Plain English series by Christoph Mlinarchik. Christoph has three books in the series (focused on Government Contracts, the FAR, and contracts negotiation) to help those in Government contracting understand the legal side of the business. The series isa good overview of the topic and offers a starting point for further study.
Secrets of Strategic Pricing for Government Contractors by Marsha Lindquist. This title is next up in my professional reading queue. Marsha is an expert in pricing and bid strategy. I am very excited to read her insights and tips for developing quality, winning pricing strategies.
Game Changers for Government Contractors: Insider Tips and Advice from the Industry’s Top Experts by Michael LeJeune and Joshua P Frank. Mike hosts one of my favorite podcasts of the same title. This book, also on my must read list, takes insights from 29 industry experts and boils it down to a single volume that’s easy to read and helps guide your strategies.
Zero to a Billion: 61 Rules Entrepreneurs Need to Know to Grow a Government Contracting Business by David A Kriegman. David has been in the GovCon space for more than 3 decades. He provides a lot of great tidbits to help me guide my clients with their growth strategies, and I know you would too.
Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts by Tom Sant. A central work in our field that I am slightly embarrassed to admit I have not read yet. It’s on the list for 2023 – I know the ideas and key themes of this work will continue to improve my writing and my proposal leadership efforts.
Unleash the Power of Storytelling: Win Hearts, Change Minds, Get Results by Rob Biesenbach. This is another 2023 read for me. Given my recent focus on empathetic and creative proposal development (see the nextbook on this list), I am sure there will be key ideas and tips to bring into my writing process.
Keys to the Castle. Shameless plug alert! Yes, I put my own book on here. If you are looking to improve your storytelling capabilities and put together proposals that have the client at its core, I recommend you give it a read.
I know there are many, many more books in our field that I’ve missed. Use the comments below or send me a note with some of your favorites and we will look to add them into a future post.
Next time, I’ll dive into books on a topic near and dear to all proposal managers – leadership.
Learn more about Keys to the Castle and pick up your copy today by visiting https://keys.bzopportunity.com.