This course covers the spectrum of the most important topics—from preparing for a proposal effort and making a bid-no-bid decision, to orchestrating a great proposal kickoff, driving subject matter experts to produce winning content, exhibiting superb leadership and team management skills, managing conflict, setting the right expectations, optimizing proposal team performance, getting the most from the proposal color reviews, and mitigating proposal risks at every stage to reduce stress and increase your proposal’s Pwin. The course also focuses on measuring and improving cost-efficiency and effectiveness of the proposal team.
This course is also available in a self-paced virtual format that you can take anytime. To learn more click here.
This course is for those who have several years of experience with proposal management. It builds advanced skills by offering a deeper understanding of the theory and practice of proposal management, expanding abilities through best practices-based methodologies, and provides tool sets for immediate implementation.
This self-paced course includes interactive lessons with lectures, exercises, case studies, and discussion activities designed to simulate a workshop learning experience.
The experts who created 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. Through the course materials, they address common challenges, provide real-world examples, and share their experience based on the most current industry realities. Check our instructor bios on our About page.
Course Curriculum
Learning Objectives
The participants will learn and practice skills in:
Understanding how to avoid proposal mistakes even mature companies make • Mastering tools and techniques for making a bid-no-bid decision.
Determining whether an RFP is wired.
Planning and managing proposal budget and resources.
Conducting a highly effective proposal kickoff.
Scaling the proposal process up and down for different size pursuits.
Applying the techniques to produce the most compelling proposal content that makes a winning difference.
Mastering rapid learning techniques in a new subject matter to provide ample guidance to subject matter experts who develop innovative solutions.
Initiating and facilitating rapid solution and section development for every part of the proposal.
Tracking volume and section progress and quality.
Applying leadership and proposal team building techniques to achieve optimum performance from proposal contributors.
Applying effective communication methods to the proposal team.
Getting results from difficult proposal team members.
Working effectively with remote participants.
Getting the most useful inputs from the color reviews.
Mastering techniques for quickly integrating reviewers’ input into the proposal.
Managing proposal risk.
Applying metrics for proposal effectiveness.
Conducting an effective lessons learned session.
Making use of personal and organizational proposal process optimization.
Module 1: Introduction
Introductions and learning objectives.
Recap: Overview of the proposal process from an advanced big-picture perspective.
Module 2: Preparing for the Proposal Effort
Top proposal mistakes even mature companies make, and how to avoid them.
Tools and techniques for making a bid-no-bid decision.
Tell-tale signs for when the RFP is wired.
The most important and often missed step before initiating a proposal effort.
How to plan for proposal resources to manage your team to the budget, and ensure adequate resources for proper proposal quality.
Typical failures and complications at the proposal preparation stage and how to navigate through them successfully. determine correct and incorrect courses of actions as applicable to a real-life scenario.
Exercise: Develop a proposal resource plan.
Module 3: Orchestrating a Great Proposal Kickoff
Psychology of a great proposal kickoff.
Determining appropriate size and level of proposal kickoff.
Scaling the proposal process up and down for pursuits of different sizes, including proposal teams with more than 50 participants.
Tailoring proposal process to the specific pursuit.
Planning just-in-time training sessions.
Preparing the kickoff handouts for best communication and team integration.
Advanced techniques for reaching the nine kickoff goals.
Typical failures and complications at the kickoff stage and how to navigate through them successfully
Case Study: Determine correct and incorrect courses of actions as applicable to a real-life scenario.
Module 4: Driving the Team to Produce Winning Content
Rising beyond the administrative task of running the proposal process.
Six steps to owning proposal content and making a winning difference.
Techniques for becoming an expert at being an expert in any proposal’s subject matter.
Professional techniques for interviewing subject matter experts and capturing content effectively.
How to provide ample direction and guidance to subject matter experts.
Typical failures and complications at the content development stage and how to navigate through them successfully.
Exercise: Practice rapid learning techniques and determine content quality.
Module 5: Overseeing the Development of Winning Volumes and Sections
How to initiate and facilitate rapid solution and section development sessions.
Paying attention to the cost volume – one of the most important parts of your bid.
Managing simultaneous orals and proposal processes.
Getting to the winning content: executive summary, management, technical, past performance, resumes, and other sections.
Tracking volume and section progress and quality.
Exercises: Compare proposal and non-proposal resume. Build an optimized past performance template.
Module 6: Proposal Leadership
Advanced skills for leading a proposal team effectively on a daily basis.
Team-building techniques.
Key management skills that distinguish great proposal managers from the rest.
Keeping the excitement, motivation, and momentum for your proposal team.
Methods of effective communication with the proposal team.
How to coach and train your proposal team.
How to get results from difficult proposal team members.
How to work effectively with remote participants.
Mastering data calls.
Typical failures and complications of proposal leadership, and how to successfully navigate through them.
Exercise: Practice proposal team building techniques.
Module 7: Getting the Most from the Proposal Color Review Teams
Rules of thumb for selecting the right number and types of reviews.
Setting the right tone for the review regardless of your company’s review process.
Preparing directions for reviewers.
Various methods for conducting reviews and their suitability for your proposal.
Techniques for quickly integrating reviewers’ input into your proposal.
How to get the most useful input from reviewers.
Typical failures and complications as related to proposal color reviews, and how to successfully navigate through them.
Discussion: Troubleshooting organizational review processes and identifying improvements.
Module 8: Improving Proposal Performance
Troubleshooting your proposal development plan and proposal risk management.
Navigating through difficult proposal interfaces.
Facilitating smooth transition from capture to proposal team.
Transitioning from story boards to draft.
Scaling the proposal effort up and down depending on the natural lifecycle.
Effective management of proposal budget.
Metrics for proposal effectiveness.
Conducting an effective lessons learned session.
Personal and organizational proposal process optimization.
Exercise: Allocate resources based on the proposal lifecycle, and identify risk areas.
Module 9: Summary
Additional resources and bibliography.
Summary.
Recap.
Meet Your Instructor
Olessia 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
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
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
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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Francisca Hep
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
11/06/2024
The BD and capture using AI course what is comprehensive and effectively taught.
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
