Category: Blog

Three Keys to Good Proposal Review Comments

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The proposal review is a critical part of the opportunity lifecycle. Reviews provide feedback and guidance throughout the development process to ensure we clearly articulate our understanding of the client, present a solution to benefit that client, and properly cover all compliance criteria.

All too often, though, reviewers do not provide the types of comments that will benefit our proposals and our proposal teams. Every proposal manager I know has a litany of war stories from awful review cycles and debriefs. So what makes a good proposal comment? Here are three key ideas of what makes a good proposal comment.

 A Good Proposal Comment is Positive. Proposal reviews should be focused on enabling our collective team to improve the product and should be done in a positive, respectful manner. Provide condescending comments that tear down the team and the work product do not help make our bids better. Instead, it breeds acrimony and negativity and makes the team much less likely to consider the comment. Comments like these do not benefit anyone, except perhaps the reviewer’s own ego.

Reviewers need to put together comments that respect the contributors and look to move the project forward. This is not to say reviewers should sugarcoat criticism or softpedal the state of the project. However, they need to do so in a way that doesn’t disparage the content or those who developed it. 

Therefore, when you review a proposal, think about the Golden Rule. Develop comments that are the type of feedback you would like to receive. Provide constructive criticism and feedback to ensure the comments are received positively and acted upon accordingly.

A Good Proposal Comment is Specific. Proposal comments need to provide specific guidance on the issue identified and, where possible and appropriate, potential solutions to resolve the issue. Saying “this section needs work” does not do anyone any good! It leaves the writer questioning what needs to be changed and how to best go about improving the document. 

Reviewers should focus on providing clear guidance throughout the document. The comment should do two things:

  1. Identify the issue – specifically point out what is wrong or not clear (“this paragraph does not clearly articulate the step-by-step approach we will take for software development”)
  2. Identify a POTENTIAL solution – this should not be a dictate from upon high. Instead, it should be a suggestion on how to improve the document (“perhaps you could add a workflow diagram that shows the process and use the text to highlight steps that will make an impact with the reviewer based on their needs”)

It is important to remember that the solution identified is only one potential way to rectify the issue. The reviewer should not demand the writer make this change. In fact, the change proposed might be counter to the current plan or to the theme of the document. However, I always implore my writers to at least consider the comments made to see what is driving the comment. Even if they do not follow the proposed solution provided in the comment, it may provide insight to give them the opportunity to identify the right path forward.

A Good Proposal Comment is Timely. Finally, a good proposal comment is given at the appropriate stage. For example, making small grammatical changes at Pink Team is not the best use of anyone’s time. Similarly, ripping apart the bid solution at Gold Team really does not serve anyone’s interests. 

Use the guidance of your proposal manager in your inbrief to see what types of comments are appropriate at this point in the proposal review process given the resources available and the time remaining in the development process. Not only does this put you in the good graces of the proposal team, it also makes sure you allocate your time and energy on comments that can actually improve the document at that stage.

Conclusion. I began thinking about reconceptualizing proposal review comments when I read Creativity. Inc. by former Pixar and Disney Animation President Ed Catmull. I realized the Brain Trust model of reviews used within his organizations is a great parallel to the proposal review process. Built on trust and the goal of improving the project, the Brain Trust gives feedback to the project team to help improve the end product. Catmull summarizes their approach as:

I use this quotation in every review in-brief and reviewer training I deliver, as I feel it best summarizes what we should aspire to in our proposals. As we get closer to getting this type of feedback during the proposal lifecycle, the more confidence and higher morale our proposal contributors will have, which will enable us to develop better, more successful proposals.

Reviews are just the beginning of how we can find inspiration from organizations like Pixar and Disney to improve our proposals. For more tips on how to inject creativity and empathy into your proposal process, pick up Kevin’s latest book, Keys to the Castle, today in paperback or for Kindle. Click here to get your copy today!

Our New eBook is Live!

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Are you exploring the idea of becoming a bid and proposal consultant? If so, then our new eBook, “So You Want to be a Proposal Consultant?” is for you! In it, our President and CEO, Kevin Switaj, provides guidance on what to be aware of if you are to make the leap into consulting.

To download your copy, click here.

NOTE: this book is not meant to answer all questions or to convince people to become a consultant. Any decision made by the reader is fully their own responsibility.

Three Ways to Differentiate Yourself in Orals Q&A

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Over the past 3 years, I have seen a dramatic uptick in the number of Government procurements that include an oral presentation component. Usually, these opportunities include a chance for the Government to ask clarifying questions to ensure they fully understand your response. While these questions tend to be focused on ensuring comprehension of what you propose, there is also an opportunity for you to distinguish yourself and stand apart from the competition. Here’s three ways you can make sure your responses are memorable.

Show your team chemistry under the leadership of your PM. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post (add link), the oral presentation is a chance for the Government to see if they want to work with your team and how well your team works together. This assessment starts the moment the team walks in the door or logs into the virtual meeting room and continues until the moment you leave. The opportunity to give a positive impression continues throughout the Q&A period.

How you answer the questions provides key insight into how your team reacts under pressure. As with the entire presentation window, your program manager or team lead should take point on developing and delivering your response. If you have the opportunity to caucus in developing an answer, the PM should coordinate that quick session. They should make the introductory assignments, pull out the key parts of the answer, and determine who answers and how. This caucus provides a clear opportunity for the PM to show his/her/their understanding of the strengths of the team members through this process. Even if you do not have an opportunity to caucus, the PM can show his/her/their knowledge of the team’s individual capabilities through assigning the right person or people to answer the question.

As you develop and deliver your answers, be sure you reinforce the fact you are a team. During the caucus period, be sure you work together to develop your answer. Reinforce each other’s strengths to make the team greater than the sum of its parts. Mention the strengths of your fellow presenters as relevant to the answer. When your teammates are speaking, display supportive body language. Smile, nod, and look attentive. 

Be clear and succinct. The Government is asking you the question for a reason. They want specific information from you that they did not get in the original answer. The greatest respect we can give them is by answering the question succinctly. Your answer should focus on answering only what they have asked. We need to be clear and focused in our answer. Do not use the response as a chance to expand on ideas you either missed or forgot to include. 

At the same time, be sure you fully answer the question. Nothing is more frustrating to an evaluator than to take the time to develop and vet a question with the contracting officer and have the Offeror not properly answer it. Be sure during the answer to clearly provide a fully developed response to each piece of the question. 

Provide a clear benefit. While we do not want to use the answer to a question as an opportunity to go down rabbit holes, we should use it as a chance to reinforce the benefits our approach provides to the client. While you may not be able to quantify the benefit on the fly, you can provide the high-level benefits.

Clearly articulate the benefits you provide in terms of reduced risk, reduced cost, increased performance, and anything that provides a clear benefit to the end user/client. When we provide our benefits in these clear ways, it reinforces the fact we know who they are, what they need, and why they need it. It allows us to continue to develop a connection with the evaluators and makes clear we focus our entire effort on them.

Conclusion. Oral presentations are the procurement equivalent of a job interview. It gives insight and understanding of who you are, how you work, and how your team can best meet the needs of your client. These three tips provide a way for your team to stand out during the Q&A portion and provide a lasting, positive impression on your evaluators.

Are you in need of high-quality, focused orals coaching?  Reach out to our team today – click here for more information.

A Proposal Professional’s Reading List – Part 2 (Leadership)

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Recently, I wrote a blog post about proposal-centered books that belong on the reading list of all proposal professionals. Today, in part two of the series, I look at titles focused on a key skill for proposal management – leadership. We all know how critical strong leadership skills are to a winning proposal. Navigating the choppy waters of the bid environment while keeping the team focused, on target, and on schedule is challenging. 

The books below provide examples of strong leadership and how we can apply it to our day-to-day lives.

Leading – Sir Alex Ferguson. I am a massive Manchester United fan, but even if you are not, there are few better coaches in the history of world sport than Sir Alex Ferguson. Before his arrival in the late 1980s, Manchester United had faded from its glory days of the 1950s and 1960s to become an afterthought in the English game. Through his determination and ability, he led multiple generations in “the United way” to win 13 league titles, 2 European championships, and 5 FA Cups before his retirement in 2013. He has written several books, but this is the most appropriate for the topic at hand. It covers in depth how he dealt with success, loss, locker room struggles, and the challenges life threw at him. 

Churchill: A Life – Martin Gilbert. In 2017, I delivered an Ignite talk at the APMP Bid and Proposal Conference on how Winston Churchill would be the best and worst proposal professional (embed clip). There are countless biographies of Churchill available, and I am happy to recommend others if anyone asks (including the amazing The Last Lion series, which was my first introduction to an in-depth history of him). However, for me, Gilbert’s is the most straightforward. As the official biographer of Churchill, Gilbert does leave out some of the negative activities and interpretations of Churchill’s life. From my point of view, though, it is a good exploration of him as a leader and what made him the man he was.

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power – Jon Meacham. I proposed to my wife on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial, so the third president of the United States is a personal favorite. He was a complex man who lived in difficult and often conflicting times. Meacham does an amazing job of looking at the whole person, the contradictions between being a leader of his country and a slaveowner, and how he could move between the theoretical and the practical. It is an easy read due to Meacham’s style and serves as a great overview of the man.

Alexander Hamilton – Ron Chernow. This is on my 2023 must read list (I am about half-way through). Everyone in my house is obsessed with the musical Hamilton. Chernow’s biography of the (until recently) forgotten founding father (without a father…) was the inspiration for the incredible musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Another complicated man, and often at odds with Jefferson, Chernow’s book brings to life this amazingly brilliant self-starter and will give you a deeper appreciation for the lyrics and scenes brought to life by Miranda’s groundbreaking cast.

The Effective Executive – Peter Drucker. Drucker is widely considered the father of modern business management. This title provides great insight into his ideas and theories. It focuses on how executives can best manage their time, their teams, and their decision-making capabilities in a way to deliver value. It’s a great read for anyone interested in leadership, including eventually moving into senior leadership. 


The Effective Manager – Mark Horstman. Horstman is the now-retired co-founder of Manager Tools (include link), which is a great organization for those looking for actionable guidance on how to lead. I have been a follower of Manager Tools for years, and find their techniques and approaches to be on target. This book outlines Horstman’s basic ideas and provides a great introduction to their approach. A new edition is due out this spring that includes management in the post-COVID world. 

I hope these titles provide you with some resources and tools for developing and refining your own leadership style.

Lessons Learned as a Proposal Content Editor from Decades of Experience Serving on Proposal Teams – Part II

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In my previous post, I walked through three key lessons learned from my time as an editor for proposals. Based on this experience, I have developed a general checklist that defines the key needs and areas that need to be defined before handing off your proposal to your editor. 

  • Does your proposal follow the instructions precisely? An editor needs to check for proper font type and size, page margins, line spacing, and page limit specifications. One hundred percent compliance is necessary. If anything is off, it will affect the page count, which alone eliminates your proposal from being fully read or even considered. If your proposal runs over, try to ensure that it runs over by no more than 1 or 1.5 pages for every 25 pages. Anything greater than that amount of text can be daunting to eliminate. This helps free your editor’s time and energy toward making substantive improvements.
  • Is your proposal text-heavy with little to no supporting graphics? Remember that it can be exhausting for evaluators to point score proposals, especially when they are doing so in addition to their day jobs. A modern, colorful, and readable format will engage the evaluators. Having white space on the page is easy on the eyes. Remember that graphics can be just as if not more effective as words.
  • Does your proposal contain technical jargon? Eliminate as much of this as possible. Selected proposal reviewers may not be experts. Moreover, plain English guidelines are the adopted standard in Government and private industry.  
  • Is your proposal specific and detailed throughout? Your proposal should reflect your experience and your branding. It should not sound like any other proposal. Have you included innovative approaches and highlighted the strengths of your staffing team and management plan in concrete terms that stand out? Is it clear that you apply best practices in your work? Have you woven in your accomplishments and awards performing similar work? 

 Is any area of your proposal too vague? Is any section of the proposal too generic? Instead of saying, “[we] or [X company] will manage the research and development of a product,” does your proposal identify a specific person, wherever practicable, who will perform the tasks (e.g., Program Manager)? Did you cross check the proposal for contradictory information? A common error is for one area of the proposal (e.g., technical approach) to say, for example, that the Program Manager will oversee personnel, and another area (e.g., the staffing section) to indicate that the Project Director will perform that role. 

Conclusion. Strong proposal teams use all hands on deck to flesh out the barebones Statement of Work to create a winning proposal. Write each section at the appropriate level of effort with the funding agency proposal reviewers in mind. Can you instill confidence that your team is the most qualified and experienced for the job, and that your team will expertly mitigate any barriers that might come along? Bringing in a strong content editor can help your team maximize your chances for success.

Beth Rabinowitz is a consultant with BZ and has devoted a significant portion of her 30-year career helping clients produce successful proposals. Many of her clients are on a mission to improve public health, children’s welfare, and/or educational outcomes. When she isn’t working on proposals, she’s often writing, content editing, or copy editing training tools and educational resources; white papers; brochures, fact sheets, and blogs; case studies; annual reports; evaluation reports and policy papers; and dallies into creative writing.  If you’d like to engage Beth on your next opportunity, reach out to BZ here.

Key Questions to Ask as a Consultant – Part 1: Your Vision

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Congratulations! You’ve taken the first step on the road to becoming a consultant. By choosing to read this blog series, you have decided to explore the opportunities available to you in consulting. Throughout this series, I will be addressing the key questions you need to ask yourself prior to making the leap. I’ll start at the beginning with a fundamental question:

WHAT IS YOUR VISION OF YOUR CONSULTING CAREER?

The first thing any consultant needs to do is identify what type of consulting career you want or need. This basic vision of how you want your career to develop is critical to answering all the other questions I pose. Here’s some guiding questions to help you begin the process of defining your life as a consultant.

Is this temporary or permanent? Some people (like myself) choose to go into consulting as a permanent move. If this is the case, then you need to put into place a formal process to develop a market and clientele for your services. You need to develop a structure to enable your success (which we will talk about over several blog posts). Others get into consulting for a short period of time for a variety of reasons (unemployment, family commitments, need for temporary flexibility, etc.). In these cases, you may not want or need a formal approach to succeed.

Where are you in your career? Understanding where you are in your professional development is critical to knowing how your consulting career will develop from the beginning. If you are nearing retirement, you may be looking at consulting as a part-time engagement to keep your skills and mind sharp. You may only engage in the types of opportunities you find most desirable. If you are a senior proposal professional but not quite ready to stop working full-time, you will likely take on more work but can usually demand greater pay due to your expertise and experience. If you are a more junior professional, you might not have the flexibility of the others and will likely need to prove yourself to command a higher rate.

How much do you want/have to work? This is closely related to the previous point. If you are the primary or sole provider for your family, you have an obligation to work a significant amount. On the other hand, if this is a side hustle or part of a semi-retirement plan, your required hours for the year will be significantly less. Knowing the target number of hours you have for a year helps set you up for success.

How strong is your network? This question is critical to knowing where your next project will come from. If you have a strong, deep, diverse network you can use it to cultivate and develop opportunities. On the other hand, without solid connections, it will be a struggle to find work on your own. Prior to founding BZ, I spent 12 to 18 months actively growing and tending to my network, including expanding my reach outside of the proposal space to include more BD and executive level individuals across industry. I attended industry events, used LinkedIn to comment on posts and connect with individuals, and reached out to people in my personal network who were in Government contracting. This sustained effort allowed me to leverage those new relationships to find work and grow the company. 

What type of work do you want to do? This may sound like an easy question, but it’s not. Even with traditional proposal development job titles, there’s a lot of wiggle room. If you are a proposal manager, do you want to focus on process or be what most of our clients need, a Swiss Army Knife professional who can tackle multiple roles on a bid? If you are a writer, what are your area(s) of expertise (not just technical functions but do you prefer to write management volumes or resumes or past performance)? Are there agencies or technical subject matter you want to focus on? Are there certain types of firms you want to engage with (small businesses, large businesses, certain socio-economic categories)? Knowing the answers to these questions is critical to how you will engage as a consultant.

Do I want to work for consulting firms? A final question to ask up front is how do I want to get work. Some consultants simply work as independent 1099s with their own, small client base and carve out a comfortable living. For the vast majority, however, there is a need to engage with one or more consulting firms to get work. Unless you have a significant pipeline of work through your own network, I highly recommend you engage with consulting firms and get your resume in their hands. It allows you to leverage their depth and expertise to find work. Remember that in these situations you may need to accept a lower rate than if you are directly billing the client yourself. I also highly recommend you do not commit to exclusivity with one firm, especially at the beginning. This provides you the ability to cast the widest possible net with which to get new work. 

Conclusion. Before you begin consulting, you need to clearly define what you want out of a consulting career. Only when you have a clear vision of your goals, desired areas of focus, and time commitments can you begin looking at how to implement that vision.

Next time, I will cover the second key question: “What is your financial framework?”

Lessons Learned as a Proposal Content Editor from Decades of Experience Serving on Proposal Teams – Part I

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I have been involved in proposals for nearly three decades. This depth of experience provides me with three key lessons on how to best support efforts from my role as an editor.

Lesson 1: It pays off in spades to assemble a well-rounded proposal team and not skip important steps. 

Is your proposal team suited up with the right people? Are you not only proposing the right people in your actual proposal and demonstrating their qualifications but also engaging a proposal team that nails an understanding of the work and the level of effort needed? 

Successful bids bring together the right mix of people with contract and program management and subject matter expertise who can evaluate whether the proposal “answers the mail.” You need the bench strength to gauge how well your company tells its story and puts its best foot forward. The combined expertise is critical to producing major, complex proposals where the competition is cut-throat. Given that proposals have a million moving parts, an experienced proposal manager is also vital to orchestrating all of the steps and problem solving when inevitable curveballs are thrown in the path. Your writers, editors, graphic designers, and production team play important roles in developing the content and creating the polished product. A great proposal team really is greater than the sum of its parts.

Lesson 2: An experienced content editor can help you through many stages of the proposal process. 

The proposal’s technical content learning curve is far less steep the earlier you get a content editor involved throughout the proposal process. That’s because skilled content editors are inherently analytical and detail oriented. Early familiarity prepares your editor. When the final draft comes across their desk for editing, the process will be more efficient. 

It is useful to have these individuals review the RFP before the deadline for questions to the funding agency. Often they can spot unclear or contradictory information requiring clarification. 

In storyboarding sessions, they can become familiar with the proposal’s win themes. If they know a fair amount about your company or the work being proposed, they can provide creative input. They can also jog their memory for company accomplishments to highlight that you might be overlooking. 

Having editors serve as a reviewer on your proposal review teams adds clear value to your bid. They can look at it from a different vantage point than your managers or subject matter experts. They  might identify text that won’t make sense to your average lay person, who may be one of the evaluators scoring the proposal. In addition, if they are familiar with your company’s boilerplate materials, they can suggest graphics and figures to break up long text. Given their expertise as editors, they can also recommend ways for writers to tighten up their sections. 

At a bare minimum, your editor can really use comprehensive notes from these meetings. And the more they can see of actual drafts, the more they will be prepared when the real thing comes along.    

The bottom line is proposals run risks when the editorial and then the production and design team is completely uninvolved until the end. Same result applies when they are shortchanged on the original time allotted to complete the work. Working extremely late night (or early morning hours) significantly increases risk and can be a recipe for mishaps. 

Lesson 3: It’s important to define the role of your editor in a consultant agreement. 

To avoid any misunderstandings, clearly delineate the editor’s tasks. Many companies engage both a content editor and a copyeditor. Therefore, the lines between the two can blur. Generally:

  • The content editor focuses solely on the proposal content. They ensure it reads as one voice; logically flows; is clear, thorough, and cohesive; is engaging to read;  weaves in the company’s discriminators and win themes; and, if agreed to, responds to all RFP requirements.  
  • Copyeditors review the proposal with a fine-tooth comb. They check for stylistic consistency and mechanics of style, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and typographical errors. 

If it is not possible to use a copyeditor, it’s advisable to give your content editor a slight breather — and ample time — before asking them to perform this role. They will need to read through it again with a copyeditor hat. The content editing looks at different aspects of editing. 

Given these lessons I’ve learned, how can you make sure you enable your editors to be successful? I’ll detail my suggestions in my next post.

Beth Rabinowitz is a consultant with BZ and has devoted a significant portion of her 30-year career helping clients produce successful proposals. Many of her clients are on a mission to improve public health, children’s welfare, and/or educational outcomes. When she isn’t working on proposals, she’s often writing, content editing, or copy editing training tools and educational resources; white papers; brochures, fact sheets, and blogs; case studies; annual reports; evaluation reports and policy papers; and dallies into creative writing.  If you’d like to engage Beth on your next opportunity, reach out to BZ here.

Key Questions to Ask About Consulting – Part 1 (Introduction)

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January 20, 2023 marks the fifth anniversary of BZ Opportunity Management. I started BZ as a way for me to move from full-time employment to independent consulting. Today, the company is a full-service proposal consulting and training firm with a roster of over 40 talented proposal and contracts professionals. Over the last 5 years, I have consistently seen the need for highly qualified, high quality consultants, and the team at BZ works hard to fill that need for our clients.

Given our success, I often receive questions about beginning or continuing a career in consulting. It is a topic I love talking about. As I received invaluable support and advice when establishing  BZ, I do my best to pay that forward by freely sharing any knowledge and wisdom I’ve developed on my path as a consultant. The number of requests I receive for such advice and the number of people entering the consulting ranks made me realize it would be a great topic for a blog post series.

To me, there are four key questions anyone interested in consulting needs to consider. Each of these questions will be the topic of its own blog post in the coming weeks.

  • What is your vision? You need to know what type of consulting career you want.
  • What financial framework do you have? In order to succeed, there are several key financial considerations you need to be aware of.
  • What tools do you have? Knowing the basic tools you require is critical to success.
  • How do I stay connected and communicate? At its core, a consulting career is about remaining engaged.

There are multiple reasons why now is a good time to consider becoming a consultant, especially in proposal development, including:

  • The increased recognition of proposal development as a profession. Over the past decade, there has been an increased recognition that proposal development is not just a function but a profession with clear skills and value. The work of our professional organization, APMP, and the continued development of certification opportunities continue to help define proposals as a clear area of specialization and expertise.
  • The increased acceptance of remote work. Especially since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased acceptance that people can do the vast majority of jobs for proposal development virtually. We have seen clients who used to demand people be onsite now willingly request remote support. The removal of geographic barriers allows consultants to support many more clients and opportunities.
  • Client willingness to engage consultants. I believe there are multiple reasons more growth professionals see value in using consultants today. There are economic benefits to bringing in consultants. Consultants are the perfect solution for surge support or to avoid staff burnout. Small and mid-sized firms often leverage consultants for critical efforts to maximize their chances of success.
  • Other factors. There are multiple other small factors that influence people making the move to consulting. The Affordable Care Act provides people an easy way to acquire health insurance without being  employed somewhere. Recent tax reforms provide significant incentives to being a small business owner, including consulting. Finally, the increased focus on wellness and work-life balance has opened people’s minds to careers that are not bound by the traditional office model.

This series of posts looks to provide people interested in consulting with some insight on what questions, issues, and opportunities are out there today. While consulting has worked well for me and many others, it is not for everyone. There is risk inherent in going out on your own. Therefore, even with the information laid out in these posts, I encourage you to take time and make sure you consider all the options, positives, negatives, and risks associated with consulting before making your own decision.

 

Want to learn more about BZ and our full-service proposal consulting services and training offerings?  Visit us here.

A Proposal Professional’s Reading List – Part 1 (Proposal Related)

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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.

 

How Many Types of Contracts Are There, Anyway?

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When I first set out in federal contracting over 15 years ago, I remember feeling underwater, swimming in a vast ocean of foreign terminology.   Abbreviations like “IDIQ” and phrases like “Firm Fixed Price” were constantly volleyed around my office. I was just supposed to know what they meant!

As I quickly learned, the type of contract used by the Government in executing a program impacts many aspects of the work itself.  Most importantly, there must be a balance between incentivizing the contractor to work efficiently and cost-effectively, while hitting all the vital benchmarks for the federal government customer.   

For the uninitiated, every Federal Government opportunity will fall into a pre-selected type. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) defines a dozen different contract types. The contract type dictates how the work is performed, how payment to the Prime contractor is delivered, and how the Government anticipates receiving the goods or services they are seeking through the program. Almost always, contracting boils down to a question of risk.  What is the Government willing to take on regarding performance risk? Is the schedule proposed attainable? Is the goal achievable?  

Here are five of the most conventional contracting types and how they impact both the Government and contractors:

Firm Fixed Price (FFP):   This contract sets a cost for the work performed prior to the work beginning.  This places the largest risk on the contractor performing the work, as there will be no reimbursement for costs incurred exceeding that budgetary threshold.   This type of contract is often used in the commercial space where costs can be fairly estimated and assumption of risk reasonably forecasted.  Best used when: Requirements are clearly defined. 

Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Level-of-Effort (LOE) : If the work prescribed is quite vague, and the Government isn’t assured the task is achievable, this approach may be best applied.  It allows the set cost parameters of FFP while the Government must assume the risk associated with the administrative burden of tracking the contractor’s best level of effort to achieve the desired results within the specified LOE.  Best used when: Requirements can be somewhat defined and the Government is willing to assume some administrative obligation. 

Cost Reimbursement:  Within this framework, the incurred costs are reimbursed as described in the contract language.   The contractor may not exceed the pre-established ceiling without the approval of the contracting officer. This type of contract places emphasis on expediency in starting the work, thus placing markedly more risk on the government’s side.  Best used when: Requirements are unclear, and success isn’t guaranteed.  

Time and Materials: If the Government’s goals and required approach is vague and the timeline or goals are equally undefined, this is the optimal approach.  It allows for flexibility in defining labor types but does require a more precise knowledge of the cost for any billable labor.  The Government will pay for hours worked and any Other Direct Costs (ODCs) incurred all at cost pursuant to accepting a Statement of Work (SOW) that gives some outline to the anticipated work. Best used when:  No other contract type is suitable, and it is possible to estimate labor rates (as well as overhead/profit), but not hours or material required to satisfy the goal.

Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity:  When the Government isn’t sure about the specific number of ‘widgets’ they need for a project, but can create a basic contract upon which an indefinite number of delivery orders or task orders are placed.  This allows the Government to attempt broad specialization with selection of a strong Prime, while simultaneously granting the government inherent risk in that gameplan. Best used when: the project is a service contract and works as a base year plus option-year structure. 

The vital takeaway from any Government contracting discussion is to remember the assessment of risk.  Who is taking on the most risk? What is the goal, and is it reasonably achievable? Ultimately those are the answers that will take you the furthest in your understanding and help you and your firm determine if the opportunity is worth pursuing.  

Kazia Levin is an Assistant Director of Contracts at BZ.  She is a federal contracting professional with extensive experience guiding program management, policy implementation and financial goal-setting.

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