APMP Foundation Level 1 Flashcards
What 4 areas does the Foundation Exam Cover?
- Information Research and Management
- Planning the Proposal
- Development of the Proposal
- Management and Oversight
Exam Topics
- Information gathering
- Knowledge management
- Schedule development
- Opportunity qualification
- Winning price development
- Teaming identification
- Proposal strategy development
- Executive summary development
- Content plan development
- Requirements identification
- Compliance checklist development
- Proposal review management
- Kickoff meeting management
- Proposal development risk management
- Production management
- Lessons learned analysis and management
- Proposal process management
- Capture plan development
- Winning strategy development
Considering the typical proposal development timeline, how long should you spend on “Planning & Organization?”
25%
Considering the typical proposal development timeline, how long should you spend on “Writing?”
50%
Considering the typical proposal development timeline, how long should you spend on “Examining & Reading?”
25%
What are the 7 guidelines to win, also known as “pwin” (probability to win)
In order of importance:
- Compliance
- Competitive focus
- Strategy
- Responsiveness
- Quality of Writing
- Visuals
- Page & document design
What are the 3 parts of Infomation Gathering?
- Customer analysis + customer hot buttons + competitor analysis
- Capture strategy development
- Action planning & execution: What information is important to include in the proposal?
When do you look for gaps in information?
- Gather information early
- - Continue to gather information during and after the proposal
What are some questions to ask when information gathering on customers?
- Who is the customer; who makes the decisions?
- What do we know about the customer?
- What does the customer need to achieve success?
- What is affecting the customer and their environment?
- What are the customer’s key concerns (hot buttons)?
- Do you know the customer’s important decision dates?
What online sources can you use to research competitors?
- Search engines (Google, etc.)
- Competitor’s website
- Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
- Dunn & Broadstreet or other subscription services
- Published information (annual reports, conference/industry events, media/press)
Key term: What is a contingency plan?
A documented approach to address unplanned future events or circumstances. Negative events are often a focus, but the plan can also include unexpected positive developments. The impacts of unexpected developments are identified to the extent possible. Mitigation plans and alternative courses of action are documented.
Key term: What is a hot button?
Singularly important issues or sets of issues that are likely to drive decisions, usually associated with customer buying decisions.
Key term: What are issues?
Customer concerns that the offer will resolve. They may be the business outcomes the customer is trying to achieve.
Key term: What is knowledge management?
The discipline of enabling individuals, teams, and entire organizations to collectively and systematically create, share, and apply business development-related knowledge to better achieve their objective.
Some organizations use collaboration tools such as MS SharePoint to score and share information.
Key term: What are motivators?
A subset of issues that relate to the fundamental reasons behind the customer’s needs to make a purchase.
What are the Proposal scheduling guidelines?
Schedule backwards —-> schedule the proposal submission first. Next, schedule key milestones. Place timing of individual tasks as they are added.
Reserve contingency time —-> Allow for unexpected problems.
Maximize parallel tasks —-> Avoid bottlenecks by scheduling too many tasks simultaneously.
Estimate realistically —-> Use estimated time standards to determine schedule and milestones.
Resource optimally —-> Conserve budget by assigning start and end dates for each task.
Use standard work periods —-> When possible, leave weekends and holidays free. These days may be needed for later.
Plan for production —-> Do not force the production staff to absorb others’ delays.
Plan for reviews —-> Allow adequate time to complete reviews and revisions.
Manage the schedule —-> Develop recovery plans whenever task completions slip. Be flexible but firm.
What are the estimated times to allocate resource effort for simple graphics, complex graphics, develop new material, and adapt/tailor boilerplate; review new material?
Create simple graphics ………. 1 - 2 hours each
Create complex graphics ………. 2-4 hours each
Develop new material ………. 4-8 pages
Adapt/tailor boilerplate; review new material ………. 25 pages per day