Competitive Analysis: Black Hat and Price to Win (PTW) with AI Insights
$1,195.00
Learn at your own pace and master the real skills, strategies, and tools needed to consistently prevail over competition and win Government contracts. Right now, you can invest in new skills and tools that will pay off in contracts won and help you succeed in your business. This course will give you a proven methodology that, combined with your diligent efforts, is sure to yield success in winning highly competitive Government contracts.
We teach through engaging, instructor-led video lessons and guided exercises that replicate the feel of an interactive classroom experience. Each module emphasizes hands-on practice and reflection, helping you apply concepts directly to real-world business development tasks.
Complex concepts are explained in clear, practical language, with examples that make it easy to understand and immediately apply what you learn on the job.
You’ll also gain access to the same tools and templates used by successful proposal professionals, designed to help you achieve better results as you engage in business development activities.
Right now, you can invest in new skills and tools that will pay off in contracts won and help you succeed in your business.
This course provides a proven methodology that, combined with your diligent efforts, is sure to yield success in winning highly competitive Government contracts.
Course Curriculum
Day 1
Module 1: Introduction
Introductions and learning objectives
Introduction to capture and overview of the capture process to offer you a big-picture perspective
Overview of the case study
Module 2: Laying the Groundwork for Competitive Analysis in the Capture Process
What if there is no competitive analysis and PTW?
Competitive analysis elements.
Ethics of competitive intelligence and the information you must not touch.
Four steps for developing a repository to collect knowledge on competitive intelligence.
Other competitive analysis tips.
Module 3: Identifying the List of Competitors and Preparing for the Black Hat
Techniques for determining the list of prime contractors.
Techniques for overcoming challenges in determining the teaming partners.
A typical Black Hat setup.
A sample Black Hat agenda.
Black Hat groups organization.
Determining Government customer’s hot buttons leveraging AI.
Analyzing the potential Source Selection Board members.
Competitive analysis overview process as part of capture planning.
Developing viable competitor profiles.
Exercises: Determine a competitor list for the case study; capture the viable competitor profiles.
Module 4: Performing the Competitive Analysis
Qualitative questions to answer about each competitor: the most useful capture information.
Competitor analysis: company information gathering using AI.
Mining a variety of data sources for relevant competitive intelligence on Government contractors using various LLMs.
SWOT analysis leveraging AI.
Determining competitors’ postulated win strategies with AI.
Ranking competitors individually and as an aggregate competitive field analysis.
Exercise: Go through the competitive analysis steps and develop competitor rankings against the home team.
Module 5: Developing a Competitive Analysis-Based Win Strategy
Comparing competitors with the “home” team’s win strategy, augmented with AI insights.
Developing the resulting action items and win strategies applicable during your overall capture process.
Exercise: Devise the home team’s win strategy based on the Black Hat results and determine the resulting strategic action items.
Day 2
Module 6: Price to Win Principles and Process
Why Price to Win?
Understanding the tradeoff between value and price.
Understanding the best value continuum in Government proposal evaluation.
PTW development process steps.
Module 7: Gathering Information for the PTW Effort
Mobilizing information sources for situational assessment of the PTW, including AI research tools and techniques.
Determining the funding budget for the target contract.
Analyzing customer trends and behaviors and how this information impacts your PTW analysis decisions.
Analyzing your competitors’ financial decisions and trends.
Filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for cost proposals.
Exercise: Gather information to prepare for the PTW analysis.
Module 8: Performing the PTW Analysis
Identifying the price to compete.
Developing a solution-based PTW.
Pricing competitors’ solutions based on Black Hat findings and information gathered specifically for the PTW effort.
Pricing competitors’ offerings per the RFP and competitors’ postulated win strategies.
Exercise: Develop a solution for a proposal segment and document in a capture plan.
Module 9: Mastering the Labor Rate Analysis for Government Proposals
The process for performing a labor rate analysis for Government proposals.
The process, tips, and tricks for matching labor categories including AI tools.
Determining the competitors’ wrap rates.
When and how to use GSA rates as data points.
Exercise: Practice labor category matching and labor rate analysis.
Module 10: The Next Steps for PTW: Developing Your Pricing Strategy
Continuously updating the PTW model to iterate your solution.
Creating the win.
Course recap and summary.
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.
Why This Course?
Understand Price to Win principles and process
Conduct SWOT analysis and postulate competitor win strategies
Organize and conduct the Black Hat exercise
Develop a competitive analysis-based win strategy
Understand how to lay the groundwork for competitive analysis during the capture process
Gather information for the PTW effort using a variety of paid and free sources, including filing FOIA requests
Perform the PTW analysis
Develop pricing strategy based on the Price to Win
Perform the labor rate competitive analysis, including reverseengineering competitors’ wrap rates
Use a variety of data sources to determine and correlate information about competitors
Identify three to five competitor teams and prepare for the Black Hat Analysis
Perform the competitive analysis before and during the Black Hat session
Rank competitors against the stated requirements and Government customer hot buttons
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.
