Blog
RFP analysis, win themes, scoring tables and more: practical guides for people who write proposals.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP18
Headings: Let Evaluators Find the Answer and Get the Message
Headings are how evaluators navigate and score a proposal. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on RFP headings, active headings, section introductions, hierarchy and parallel form.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP17
Writing Clearly: Help Evaluators Understand You on the First Read
Clear writing is a competitive edge. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on storytelling, active voice, plain words, tight paragraphs, jargon and planning time to revise.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP16
Persuasive Writing: Start From the Reader's Pain, Not Your Product
A proposal is a written argument aimed at one reader. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on urgency from real pain, argument structure, claims and proof, emotion and removing reasons to say no.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP15
Proposal Organization: Decide the Shape Before You Write
Evaluators scan, so a proposal has to be easy to navigate. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on content plans, following the customer's outline, roadmaps, layering and bottom line up front.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP14
Effective Presentations: Winning the Room, Not Just the Page
Orals and bid presentations are won by designing for the audience, not the presenter. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on structure, visual slides, the right format, rehearsal and questions.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP13
Cost and Pricing Data: Explaining Your Price as Value
A price volume is not a table of totals; it is an argument. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on price, value and added value, cost summaries, graphics and fact-based pricing data.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP12
Compliance Matrix: The Blueprint Behind Every Compliant Proposal
A compliance matrix ties each RFP requirement to the place in your proposal that answers it. How to shred the RFP, build the matrix early, keep it current and use it to sell, per the APMP Body of Knowledge.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP11
Competitive Price to Win: Find the Position, Not Just a Price
Price to Win is not pricing and never just a number. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on cPTW: the Big S solution, Price to Compete vs Price to Win, independence and common misconceptions.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP10
Proof Points: What Makes Evaluators Believe Your Proposal
Features and benefits are claims; proof points are the verifiable facts behind them. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on sources, data calls, the persuasive-tangible-credible test and a reusable proof library.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP09
Features, Benefits and Discriminators: What, So What, Why Us
Customers buy benefits, not features, and discriminators decide whose benefits they pick. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on the So what? test, the discriminator sweet spot and quantified, provable benefits.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP08
Proposal Theme Statements: The Sentence Evaluators Can Score
A theme statement is one sentence that tells evaluators why to choose you: a customer need, your discriminator, a quantified benefit and proof. How to write, test and place theme statements, from the APMP Body of Knowledge.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP07
Strategy and Win Themes: Give Evaluators a Reason Beyond Price
When evaluators can't tell bidders apart, they compare prices. The APMP Body of Knowledge on strategy vs. tactics, strategy statements, the unifying concept, the competitor litmus test and carrying win themes into every section.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP06
Executive Summaries: Winning the Evaluation on Page One
An executive summary is not a shorter proposal; it is the case for choosing you. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on the five-box structure, timing, length, pitfalls and the name-swap tests.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP05
Customer and Competitor Intelligence: Seeing Your Bid Through the Customer's Eyes
Customer intelligence explains what the buyer needs; competitor intelligence explains how the buyer sees each bidder. A practical guide to the APMP Body of Knowledge on collection plans, sources, ethics, bidder comparison matrices and SWOT.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP04
Value Propositions: Give the Customer a Reason to Choose You
A value proposition says how your offer will improve the customer's business and how that will be measured. The APMP Body of Knowledge on its five elements, stakeholder value propositions, quantifying payback and proof points.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP03
Capture Strategy: How Professionals Win Before the RFP
An opportunity/capture strategy is your plan to win one specific bid. A practical walkthrough of the APMP Body of Knowledge on strategy vs. tactics, hot buttons, the three buyer types, the bidder comparison matrix, strategy statements and ghosting.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP02
Customer Relationship Management: Win Before the RFP Is Released
Customers pick the bidders they know, like and trust. A practical walkthrough of the APMP Body of Knowledge on CRM: starting early, RFP shaping, contact plans, strategic customer meetings and a consistent message.
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APMP Foundation, explained — EP01
Compliance vs. Responsiveness: The Two Things Every Winning Proposal Gets Right
Compliance keeps your proposal from being eliminated, and responsiveness is what beats the competition. A practical walkthrough of the APMP Body of Knowledge on identifying requirements, building compliance and response matrices, and handling non-compliance.