http://www.theproposalguys.com Jon and B.J.'s Proposal Blog Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:27:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I know I focus too much on words. This was pointed out to me by my good friend Henry when I commented on the poor grammar within a sub-title on a magazine. The sub-title, next to a scantily clad, curvaceous young lady in a provocative pose and sporting a “come hither” ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2012/01/16/missing-the-point/ An interesting discussion yesterday with a friend who's taken on a new role heading proposal management for a rather diverse organisation. To what extent, she wondered, do proposal managers earn commission if they help to win the deal, and does that vary by sector? It's always been a regret for me ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2012/01/10/sharing-in-the-win/ I received a mail recently, written by our friend Penny B., which had her list of what might be received by a proposal support person during “The Twelve Days of Christmas’. It was quite funny and much forwarded. Thanks for sharing that with all of us Penny. Penny’s list prompted me ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2011/12/22/the-twelve-days-of-christmas-proposals/ One of our readers, Melissa D, a co-chair of the New York Metro Chapter of APMP, recently received a commendation from her company for her work in developing the proposal support team which she manages and of which she is also a key member. In an article published by the company, ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2011/12/13/apmp-accreditation-recognized-as-contributing-to-team-development/ Interested in knowing how your remuneration compares to that of fellow proposal staff? I thought you might be! APMP's 2011/12 Global Salary Survey has just been unveiled. You can complete it anonymously here. The survey assesses eight key salary drivers and the associated compensation structure: Industry Region Gender Age Education Job Function Management Responsibility Experience The deadline for participating is 23 ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2011/12/09/are-you-paid-enough/ I came across a piece in the humor section of a popular periodical that presented a requirement that was not specific enough and which used a rather poor choice of words. The requirement read as follows: “It shall be the responsibility of the supplier to keep their private areas clean. Please refer ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2011/12/05/choose-your-words-carefully/ Last month, BJ and had some fun during our keynote opening the second day of the UKAPMP conference by finding out about the group's collective experience. With 200-odd people in the room, our spot  survey revealed that between us: over 1,000 trees had been cut down in the past year to ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2011/11/30/collective-experience/ Outside work, I’m an avid user of Twitter – finding it a great way to keep in touch with my geographically-diverse friendship group, especially when I’m off travelling for work. (I’m a more recent convert to Facebook, too, and I’m still rather wrestling with the relative roles of the two ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2011/11/16/mood-swings-and-proposal-teams/ Sometimes, as a proposal professional, our job becomes to surprise the customer - to take the evaluation team aback with the originality of  our approach and the degree of empathy that we create, often in the most subtle of ways. Now, I love trying to learn from other creative professions - ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2011/11/11/simply-brilliant/ I spent a rather lovely day out grape-picking recently - a birthday present last December from my friend Carrie that had to wait to be enjoyed until the autumnal harvest was ready. I say 'picking' - we did a little of that, but it's perhaps fair to say that the subsequent ... http://www.theproposalguys.com/2011/11/03/the-wine-bottle/