Strategic Proposals Latest News
Houston Chapter APMP Newsletter Now Published
May 2008
BJ Lownie and Jon Williams, our Principal Directors, are the subjects of an article in the latest issue of "Final Draft", produced by the APMP in Houston. The article previews their Featured Presentation which will open the 2008 APMP conference on 28 May.
APMP Conference 2008 - Featured presentation
April 2008
"You won't want to miss Jon and BJ - our featured speakers at the 19th Annual APMP International Conference and Exhibition…"
"To ensure we perform at a high level and benefit from the conference, we asked two favorite presenters, Jon Williams and BJ Lownie of Strategic Proposals, to help with team building and get us to a great start."
APMP announcement, 15 April 2008.
We're proud that our Principal Directors (and the co-authors of The Proposal Guys blog) have been invited to give the 'featured presentation' that will open this year's APMP conference. Full details of the conference schedule are available on the APMP website.
Business Partner of the Year Award
March 2008
We're delighted to announce the presentation of the Strategic Proposals "Business Partner of the Year" trophy for 2007 to Kall Kwik, Windsor. This award is presented to the organisation who we feel has contributed the most in terms of delivering proposal excellence to us and our clients during the past year.
Richard Jenkins, Consulting Director of Strategic Proposals, explained that "The support that we and our number of major clients have received from Kall Kwik during the past year has been magnificent. The professionalism, dedication to quality, and flexibility of the whole team ensures that, whatever the size of scope of the print, production or design job, we receive a high quality output every time. Having worked with them for nearly 5 years, it is wonderful to be able to recognise for their great support and work."
Paul Goodwin, Managing Director, Kall Kwik Windsor, commented: "We're thrilled to be recognised for the work we do in the proposal space. We appreciate the deadlines and stress associated with the back-end of bidding. We are specifically set up to manage such short run jobs - delivering high quality documents in tight timescales. It's fantastic for the whole team to receive such an acknowledgement from Strategic Proposals and in turn their clients."
Public course for APMP Examinations
March 2008
Strategic Proposals is pleased to announce our first public courses for the APMP Foundation Level examination, in London on May 21st and Manchester on June 12th.
Run in conjunction with our partner Bid Solutions we are offering a special discounted rate of £390 plus VAT per person for members of the APMP who are registered with Bid Solutions. (The price includes course fees, materials, a copy of The Proposal Guide and examination fees).
Proposal Team of the Year Award
February 2008
We’re delighted to announce the presentation of the Strategic Proposals “Proposal Team of the Year” trophy for 2007 to Norwich Union’s Intermediary Business. This international award is presented to the team with whom we have worked during the past year who, in our opinion, have achieved the most in terms of delivering proposal excellence for their organisation.
Jon Williams, UK Managing Director of Strategic Proposals, explained that “We were unanimous in agreeing that the Norwich Union IB team fully deserve to win this year’s trophy. From a standing start at the beginning of 2007, they have been outstandingly successful in the quality of their proposals and their win rates. It has been a pleasure working with them, and we congratulate them on the award.”
David Skinn, who heads the team for Norwich Union, commented: "We're absolutely delighted. It's been an amazing year for us and it's great to get independent endorsement for what we've achieved so far. In turn, I'd like to thank Strategic Proposals for helping us to develop so rapidly and successfully. Their strategic guidance has been invaluable, allowing us to embed best practice from the outset and avoid many a pitfall on the way."
Dutch magazine features Strategic Proposals
December 2007
The cover story of this month’s issue of Dutch magazine “Sales Management” is written by Richard Buijs, who heads Strategic Proposals NL. “Win more, win more easily - a strategic approach to proposals” shares practical tips for Dutch readers on how companies can improve their proposal capabilities. If you’d like more details, please contact Richard
Donation to UKAPMP
December 2007
Strategic Proposals have donated the proceeds of the APMP Accreditation courses that we ran at the 2007 UKAPMP Annual conference. Our UK and US Managing Directors, Jon Williams and BJ Lownie, were delighted to hand over the cheque to UKAPMP CEO Pat Thomas at the most recent UKAPMP event. The money will help to support, promote and develop UKAPMP in 2008."
The Winning Proposals Masterclass: a Free Course
October 2007
“One of the best training courses I have ever attended” - a quote from one of the many people who’ve attended our “Winning Proposals Masterclass” training event.
On a first come, first served basis, we are now uniquely offering a free opportunity to anyone wanting to experience this highly acclaimed training event. So if you are looking to kick start your proposals in the New Year then why not sign up to join us at Wembley Stadium on the 16th January 2008. Find out more by downloading the flyer.
Accreditation Training - UK APMP Conference 2007
October 2007
Jon Williams and BJ Lownie are leading workshop sessions on 9 October, prior to the UKAPMP conference, for candidates hoping to achieve APMP professional accreditation. A daytime course will prepare candidates to sit the Foundation Level exam, whilst a free evening workshop will discuss “APMP Practitioner – “The Next Step”.
All profits from the events will be donated to UKAPMP funds. For further information, please see the UKAPMP website; a few places are still available on each event.
UK APMP Annual Conference
September 2007
This year's conference on the 10 and 11 October in Bournemouth is set to be the biggest and best yet. As usual, Strategic Proposals are fully supporting the event as Gold Sponsors with both of our Fellows of APMP, Jon Williams and BJ Lownie, delivering main stage presentations.
As UKAPMP Marketing & Communications Director, our Director Richard Jenkins has been instrumental in organising the conference. He says "The conference will be a hugely valuable two days for anyone involved in helping their organisations win or retain business".
A new partnership agreement
July 2007
Strategic Proposals is pleased to announce our partnership agreement with Bid Solutions, the leading provider of bid and proposal recruitment services in Europe. This new agreement provides our clients with a high quality service to find professional staff to support live deals, and for permanent and interim recruitment.
"The Very Best of The Proposal Guys" Brochure
June 2007
A brochure-format version of "The Very Best of The Proposal Guys", our popular proposal management blog, is now available for download.
Knowledge Base Practice
May 2007
Strategic Proposals is pleased to announce the launch of our Knowledge Base Services practice. We have a long-standing track record of helping clients to implement and maintain libraries of pre-written proposal content. Services include content design, writing/editing, training, project management and process development.
We work with all of the leading players in the proposal content software market, including Sant and Proposal Software, and are well-placed to provide impartial, objective advice.
US Managing Director BJ Lownie commented that, "Our new team builds on this strong base, allowing us to provide technical software services, initially for the Pragmatech 6.x suite of products."
APMP Worldwide Conference
May 2007
Strategic Proposals is once again a sponsor of the APMP worldwide conference, this year held in Savannah, Georgia from 29 May - 1 June. Our principal directors, Jon Williams and BJ Lownie, are proud to have been selected to present in the main hall on the final morning of the conference.
'Creating Winning Proposals': a Workshop
April 2007
BJ is once again presenting a workshop - 'Creating Winning Proposals - A Strategic Approach' as part of the upcoming International Institute for Research (IIR) 'Mastering the RFP Process'.
In this highly interactive, informative and engaging workshop participants have the opportunity to explore, learn and better understand -
* How to maximize the impact of the proposals you develop.
* How to develop a plan to ensure you meet the deadline and produce
a
high quality response.
* The roles, responsibilities and appropriate measurements for those
involved.
* How to determine your proposal capacity and get buy-in from your
user community.
* Tips and techniques to get sales and subject matter experts to
actively participate contribute and meet their deliverables.
* 10 writing tips that will make your response stronger and ensure it
receives the highest score possible.
The conference is being held at the Marriot at the Brooklyn Bridge,
New York
City, April 4th and 5th. Additional information can be found at the
address below.
APMP Chapter Meeting
March 2007
Our US Managing Director, BJ Lownie, is the guest presenter at the next APMP Nor'easters chapter meeting, on Thursday, March 8. BJ's sesion is entitled "What's Your Win Rate? (Goals, Objectives and Measurements for the Proposal Support Function)". More details can be found at the chapter's website.
APMP Committee Appointment
January 2007
Richard Jenkins, Senior Consultant for Strategic Proposals, has been
appointed to the UK APMP (Association of Proposal Management Professionals)
steering committee, with responsibility for Marketing.
Richard will be working with the committee to develop the UK APMP marketing
plan, which will focus on raising UK APMP's profile and enhancing the
relationship with the membership and sector vendors.
Festive Best Wishes
December 2006
The Strategic Proposals team worldwide would like to pass on our greetings to all of our friends in the proposal industry. We hope that you enjoy the festive season, and wish you every happiness and success in the new year ahead.
Another Strategic Proposals “Professional”
November 2006
UK Managing Director Jon Williams, already a Fellow of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals, has recently joined the ranks of senior proposal staff to gain the coveted Proposal Professional status via the APMP Accreditation scheme.
Strategic Proposals Sponsors Conference
October 2006
Strategic Proposals sponsors the fifth annual conference of the UK Association of Proposal Management Professionals. Senior consultant Richard Jenkins chairs the event over the two days, whilst colleague Graham Ablett co-presents with Liz Pocknell of Dell on "Creating and managing a multi-language Pre-Written Content library."
World Wide Approved Training Organisation
October 2006
Strategic Proposals is recognised as a worldwide Approved Training Organisation by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals.
Highest "Professional" Level in APMP
August 2006
Congratulations to BJ Lownie, head of our US operations, on being one of the first people worldwide to reach the highest "Professional" level in the APMP accreditation scheme.
Strategic Proposals L.L.C
July 2006
Our North American operation, previously known as The P3 Consulting Group, formally renames itself "Strategic Proposals L.L.C.". "We've been working in close partnership with the European team since it was set up five years ago, and it's great that we can now offer a consistent global branding to our clients," comments managing director BJ Lownie.
Dutch Branch Opens
June 2006
Our Dutch business, Strategic Proposals NL, opens its doors - managed by Richard Buijs, head of the Dutch APMP chapter.
Business Floats as Stand-alone
June 2006
Our UK business, a practice within PMMS Consulting Group for the past five years, floats as a stand-alone company. Paul Steele, Chairman of PMMS, writes: "The new organisation will continue to work closely in partnership with PMMS, co-operating on projects and client work where appropriate. We are pleased to have provided support to the team over the past five years and I am sure you will join me in wishing them every success for the future."
Published in Marine Trader
May 2006
"Win More, Win More Easily" is published in Marine Trader magazine - the first of a new series of five articles on proposal management best practice.
Jon Williams Elected Fellow of APMP
May 2006
Jon Williams, head of our UK team, is elected as a Fellow of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals at an awards ceremony at the association's annual conference.
Exhibit in New Orleans
May 2006
The Strategic Proposals team exhibits at the APMP annual conference in New Orleans. BJ Lownie and Jon Williams pack in nearly 200 people for "Two Proposal Managers Walk Into A War Room". Richard Jenkins and Jon present a well-received session entitled, "But It's All About Price - Right?"
New Blog Launched
April 2006
Our new blog, The Proposal Guys, goes live, providing proposal hints and tips in an entertaining, often irreverent way.