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Improving bid qualification decisions may be the biggest single way to achieve a step change in win rate success, yet it remains one of the hardest areas to address. Making sound and timely bid / no bid decisions would focus scarce business development resources on those opportunities that organisations are more likely to win – […]

To quote the doyens of 80’s pop. There’s a lot of truth in the statement, particularly when it comes to transformational change. Most companies aspire to improving win rates. Many of them invest thousands of their hard earned profits in trying to attain that nirvana yet very few of them actually achieve it on an […]

British Cycling has become one of the most celebrated UK sporting success stories from the last fifteen years and now Britain is considered to be one of the top cycling nations. The enormous successes in the Olympics in Beijing and London and the Tour de France were due to what Performance Director Dave Brailsford described […]

Ghosting is the subtle method of casting doubt in the minds of the evaluators over the solutions, approaches and track records of competitors, without naming them. Ghosting draws attention to their weaknesses and provides an opportunity for bidders to emphasise their own strengths. How common is Ghosting? Once you become aware of Ghosting, you may […]

If You work in Proposal Management, here are Five Reasons Why You Should Budget for Benchmarking in 2016/17 In many sectors, benchmarking is seen as the key to continuous improvement and competitive advantage. Here are five reasons why you should consider benchmarking your proposal management capability to improve your win rates in 2016/17. Benchmarking capability tells […]

On the morning of his sixty-sixth birthday, David Bowie released the song ‘Where are we now?’ I played it the other day as I was reflecting on his music and it struck a chord. This question was at the heart of a recent discussion with an organisation looking for ways to improve their win rates […]

The other day, as I was taking my kids to school, I greeted the lollipop lady with a friendly ‘how are you?’, not expecting much of a reply. Imagine my surprise as she leaned into me as we crossed the road and told me in a conspiratorial whisper that she had dreadful ‘bowel problems’ and […]

The Government is midway through its promised Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) to review and report on the capabilities needed to defend the realm for the coming years. An update on the 2010 review that reflects the considerable changes in world threats/opportunities and a chance to re-focus budgets on the economic and political realities […]

The other day I received the oddest proposition from a well-dressed man wearing a sharp business suit. He got quite animated. Him: “Psst…You want to hear an old girl howl?” Me: “Er… Not really, thanks anyway” Him: “She’s a corker”, he went on. “Leaks like an old rust bucket, terrible ride, hear her coming long […]

Imagine what would happen if… …you could play football with the best players in the world mixed into your team. Imagine scoring goal of the season as Bale crosses to Ronaldo, who heads down for you to chip it easily over Buffon and into the net. My wife did this at the weekend. Not with […]