Top 10 tips for doing more with less

In these days of corporate belt-tightening and layoffs, we all are being called on to do more with less or generate more wins with fewer resources. So, we assembled 10 easy tips for expediting bids and proposals with fewer resources.

1. Create a budget and spending plan for every bid. Your ability to predict costs and identify savings will increase after every bid. Identify metrics that will help control costs, too, such as costs or hours spent on proposal milestones.
2. Take advantage of free resources. Here’s a link to our recent blog, the Top 10 free government websites and databases for supporting your bid. These resources are also somewhat helpful for commercial bids.
3. Use existing company tools to increase productivity. View free YouTube videos or visit our recent blog about writing tools to leverage their power and increase efficiency.
4. Keep your house in order to limit rework. For example, project managers must update their past performances regularly using a standard format and store them in a central location. Proposals managers can create standard templates and outlines.
5. Identify content for reuse, so you don’t reinvent the wheel each time. Candidates for reuse include proprietary tools or solutions, graphics, and standard project or subcontract management approaches. Tag the resources to make them easy to find.
6. Create a service catalog for your company that becomes your bid team’s single source of truth. Refer to our blog on setting up a service catalog for details.
7. Create a master services agreement with a bid and proposal consulting firm so you understand their costs and schedules and can budget for consultants when you need to call in the calvary to support a bid.
8. Train your direct charge team to support bid and proposals operations efficiently. They can serve as backups and force multipliers when your full-time bid team is otherwise engaged, or consultants are not an option.
9. Keep your bid and proposal team updated on the latest industry best practices, many of which are communicated for free on Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) webinars.
10. Decide on an acceptable price or price range early. Late-breaking changes to the pricing derail progress and cause avoidable re-work.

Of course, use artificial intelligence (AI) as approved by the company to expedite any facet of the bid and proposal lifecycle. For additional suggestions to do more with less, check out 20 ways to reduce B&P costs and still win by Bob Lohfeld.

By Brenda Crist, Vice President at Lohfeld Consulting Group, MPA, CPP APMP Fellow

Lohfeld Consulting Group has proven results specializing in helping companies create winning captures and proposals. As the premier capture and proposal services consulting firm focused exclusively on government markets, we provide expert assistance to government contractors in Capture Planning and Strategy, Proposal Management and Writing, Capture and Proposal Process and Infrastructure, and Training. In the last 3 years, we’ve supported over 550 proposals winning more than $170B for our clients—including the Top 10 government contractors. Lohfeld Consulting Group is your “go-to” capture and proposal source! Start winning by contacting us at www.lohfeldconsulting.com and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

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