CommCore Teaming Quarterly Vol. 2

CommCore Blog and News

In this Issue:

Winning a Federal Contract – Does Practice Pay Off?

CommCore Quoted

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Winning a Federal Contract – Does Extra Practice Pay Off?

Often a key element of a pitch for a government contract involves an oral presentation to a panel of evaluators from the agency that released the RFP. And too often the presenters are Subject Matter Experts who know far more technical information than the evaluators need (or want) to hear. What the evaluators really want to know is:

Do I want to work with these people?
Do they have the experience this job requires?
Will they come through on time and on budget and save me money?
Will they make me look good to my bosses?

Making their eyes glaze over with scores of busy, highly technical slides and endless recitations of data that is already in the written proposal is not the way to win an oral presentation. That’s why orals coaching is an essential part of the bid response process.

Our advice to prepare for Federal Government Orals:

Designate a team captain
Create a strong opening and closing
Determine the three central messages and repeat them throughout presentation
Create brief “visual” anecdotes or stories that bring your written proposal’s data to life so evaluators can “see” the end result
Anticipate the questions, especially the tough ones
Bridge answers from challenging questions back to main messages
Above all, Practice, Practice, Practice!!! This means
- Full rehearsals
- Interviewers who can simulate questions and special decision makers
- Use a video camera and watch the play-back for critique and improvement
- Bring in professional trainers who specialize in getting a team ready

CommCore has assisted federal contractors on Orals Coaching and Value Proposition Message Development for federal and state government wins, including systems integration, defense, homeland security, telecommunications, aerospace and IT sector RFPs.

Case Study Example

CommCore Quoted

CommCore experts have been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post on matters of brand management, reputation, and crisis situations.

Among CommCore’s recent mentions, The New York Times wrote a story about their experience going through a CommCore PressureTest Crisis Simulation. Read the full article.