Preface
In a 100-meter dash of world-class athletes, the margin of victory is inches and fractions of a second. Even in a grueling marathon, the difference between winning and losing is often measured in feet rather than in meters or miles. Athletes appreciate the value of competitive advantage. Knowing that a modest performance enhancement can make the difference, they diligently seek an edge—that extra “something” that will speed them across the finish line ahead of the competition. Lighter-weight shoes, clothing with less wind resistance, training regimen, diet, strength training, meditation—anything that might enhance performance is seriously considered.
This is a book about competition. The contestants, however, are not athletes but companies eager to capture business from the federal government. Nor is the field of battle a sports stadium; instead, it is the marketplace of new business. Despite obvious differences that distinguish these arenas of competition, there are some relevant parallels between the two.
For each competition, only one player emerges the winner. The winner of each respective contest is not necessarily the best, but merely the one whose performance was better than the other assembled competitors. And finally, the thin margin of performance that often separates victors and vanquished in athletic events is mirrored in the competition for government contracts.
The quest for that margin of victory is the subject of this book, and the battle for federal government business is its substance. My intent is to equip readers with the skills and knowledge they need to capture government business effectively and efficiently. Toward that end, the book provides an easy-to-read tutorial on the entire business capture and proposal development life cycle. It is crammed full of tips, guides, recommendations, and examples to guide each stage of the new business development process. Yet, it is more than just another book on business and proposal development. It uniquely adopts, in analogous fashion, the mindset of the world-class athlete by searching out every conceivable opportunity to gain advantage over the competition—that extra something that enables one to edge ahead and win the contest. At every step, the book offers tried-and-true methods and tips that will enable readers to capture competitive advantage.
Perhaps of greater importance is the fact that the information, advice, and examples presented here are not academic. Their source is neither the pages of a textbook nor the outgrowth of untested theory. Instead, they are based on more than three decades of real-world experience, forged by the fires of battle and shaped by the unforgiving consequences of success and failure. Thus, the book’s content is vouchsafed by a cumulative win rate of over 90 percent amassed over the past 25 years. Built upon a broad cross section of customers, program types, and clients, this represents about $12 billion in new business—all captured using the knowledge shared in this book.
The intended audience is everyone who participates in the battle for new business. Gaining competitive advantage is not a task that can be assigned. It is a mindset—a business philosophy and an attendant process that will be most successful when they permeate the entire organization. Indeed, the book’s content will most benefit capture team leaders, proposal managers, program managers, marketing personnel, and members of the proposal team. Yet senior and functional managers will likewise find value. Ultimately, they set the tone and direction for an organization. Hence, they must be on-board to support and approve processes and procedures that will enable their organization to capture competitive advantage and thus win federal contracts. And finally, those who provide proposal support will do well to understand the process and philosophy of their organization’s new business initiatives.
Any size organization can use the information in this book to effectively pursue government contracts. Whether you are a small business chasing a $300,000 contract or a major player vying for a multibillion-dollar opportunity, the contents of this book will prove beneficial. However, one size does not fit all. The book’s guidance will need to be scaled to accommodate the size of your organization and the type and value of business opportunities it pursues.
For the inexperienced, the book provides an end-to-end exposition of the business and proposal development process. Accordingly, it contains a wealth of information useful to build and improve processes, increase proposal win probability, and reduce bid costs. Again, all is underpinned by the concept of gaining competitive advantage and the goal of winning federal government contracts.
For veterans, the book will verify and reinforce much of what they already know, yet still highlight some changes to enhance their organization’s ability to capture new business. Perhaps this will ignite or reawaken a passion long dormant to implement what they know but do not currently practice.
NEW IN THE SECOND EDITION
Much has happened since the original book was published in 2002. In the aftermath of 9/11, spending by the Department of Defense (DoD) has ballooned, rising from roughly $320 billion to well over $700 billion for fiscal year 2011. Our country is fighting two foreign wars and is engaged in a full-scale battle against terrorism. The attendant tidal wave of federal government spending has tended to lift all boats afloat in the sea of government contracts. Capturing new business has been decidedly easier over the past decade than it was during the preceding decade. But what lies ahead for those of us whose livelihood depends on winning new business from the federal government?
Making predictions in this arena is like predicting the weather in the Midwest: Mostly you are wrong, and when you are right it is more the result of luck than of expertise. Nonetheless, trends afoot suggest that some significant, if not draconian, changes await us ahead. The current Secretary of Defense has canceled several major weapon systems programs and is looking to reduce defense spending by more than $100 billion over the next five years. Some members of Congress are seeking cuts many times that amount. We are also now more than a year into an initiative to replace private-contractor employees with civil servants. These are just the tip of the iceberg.
Just behind entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, defense spending accounts for the largest share of federal spending. A flagging economy, massive budget deficits, and looming entitlements will put considerable pressure on defense and other federal government spending. I suspect that beginning in fiscal 2012 or 2013 we will see serious cuts to DoD budgets and federal spending on outside contracts. Initial cuts will most likely come from spreading existing weapons system procurements out over time and either delaying or canceling new programs. Buying innovative, leading-edge technology will give way to accepting technology that is good enough. Likewise, I think we will see changes in the government acquisition process. Cost-reimbursement contracts will go the way of the dinosaur, being replaced with their fixed-price equivalents. I also expect the evaluation pendulum will swing from an emphasis on “value” toward one of cost.
As the federal spending pie shrinks, competition will increase as more bidders vie for each piece of new business. Profit margins will get squeezed, and contractors will be asked to assume more risk on new contracts. In an era of increasing competition, new business will be harder to win. Making money after contract award could be harder still.
After a decade of relative competitive complacency spawned by lavish spending, federal government contractors will be shocked back to reality. Bid and proposal budgets will be strained as margins decrease and the rate of new contracts diminishes, which, in turn, will put further pressure on those budgets. In short, contractors will be tasked to do more with less.
If my view of the future is accurate, gaining competitive advantage could become exponentially more important than it is today. What would happen in your organization, for instance, if you went from winning one in three new bids to one in four? This is exactly what occurs when fewer contracts are divided among existing contractors. Winning will become critically important and ever more difficult, just to maintain your organization’s status quo. Growing your business in this environment will be way on the other side of hard and will require heroic efforts. This may sound extreme. Yet those of us who have been around for awhile have seen it happen before. The decade facing us could easily witness the biggest downturn in defense spending we have ever experienced.
The second edition of Winning Government Business is at its core a treatise on gaining competitive advantage. Those who battle for government contracts may find that it represents a timely addition to their business capture arsenal. Rewritten to reflect changes in federal acquisition policy, it has been strengthened throughout and contains even more vital tips on how to gain the competitive upper hand. An expanded explanation of government source selection shows how to emerge the victor in the technical evaluation war. New practical examples and scenarios lead you through the bid decision process and provide step-by-step guidance on how to develop a winning bid strategy. Additional examples have been included in the proposal development sections, and a new chapter now provides tools and guidance for effective proposal management. An updated chapter on proposal reviews includes new tools and templates to score proposals and record the results, and a postscript explains how to apply the information in the book once you have read it.
HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED
The book consists of four parts. Overall, it provides information on topics ranging from learning how to navigate your way around a government request for proposal (RFP) through attending a proposal debriefing after contract award—and everything in between. In each case, specific instructions are given to enhance proposal effectiveness and improve the efficiency of your bid and proposal process. Along the way, you will discover tactics and strategy for optimizing the time allotted to prepare a winning proposal and avoiding unnecessary rework due to false starts. These will soothe the sting of proposal work and allow you to stretch your bid and proposal dollars.
Part 1 of the book includes a walk through the structure of federal government RFPs and an overview of the government’s source selection process. These will familiarize you with the lay of the land and the rules of the game.
Part 2 covers pre-proposal activities, from strategic planning up until the time you receive the final RFP. The focus here is on performing the myriad activities necessary to position yourself strategically with your customer, develop a winning game plan, and accomplish the actions and planning required to capture a new piece of business. Key topics include pre-proposal marketing, making informed bid decisions, performing competitive assessments, fashioning an effective bid strategy, organizing the capture team, and handling customer interactions such as attending a pre-proposal bidders’ conference or responding to a draft RFP.
Part 3 addresses in detail the proposal development phase, starting with receipt of the final RFP and ending with submittal of your proposal to the customer. It provides instructions, tips, guidelines, and examples of how to analyze a government RFP; create proposal management documents; build guides and templates to assist authors in preparing storyboards; develop proposal and section themes; analyze the features and benefits of your approach; develop and polish effective, hard-hitting proposal sections; perform proposal reviews to detect shortcomings and fine-tune the final product; and produce and deliver the final proposal. The focus throughout this portion of the book is on planning and preparing responsive, easy-to-read proposal narrative that convinces government evaluators that you are the best choice. Separate chapters address the basics of proposal management; a key chapter focuses on how to prepare the cost volume, including some valuable insights into how to gain competitive advantage with your cost proposal.
The final part of the book deals with post-proposal-submittal activities. Essential guidance is provided to keep you from stumbling during this critical phase of the acquisition process. This guidance includes how to prepare and deliver a program-winning oral presentation to your customer and how to respond effectively to customer inquiries concerning your submitted proposal. Additional topics address the value of using information gained from an evaluation debriefing from the government after contract award to improve future proposal performance, along with some necessary housekeeping chores required to close out the proposal.
Anyone who reads this book will be able to glean enough new insight to justify its cost and the time to read it. Those who choose to take it seriously will gain ample information to seize competitive advantage consistently and enjoy the spoils of victory far more frequently than they experience the sting of defeat.
Steve Osborne
February 2011