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Proposal Preparation

June 25, 2012

Anyone who has invested hours of time and precious manpower into writing a proposal – and has not been successful in winning the contract award — knows the frustration involved. You wonder what you did wrong, what you did right, and what you should do differently next time. Sometimes it just takes a few tries before you’re able to get your foot in the door, but there are steps you can take to better position yourself for when the next time rolls around.

The first thing you should do is ask the buyer for a debriefing to provide you with an overview of your unsuccessful proposal’s strengths and weaknesses. If possible, arrange for a face-to-face meeting so you can ask questions; otherwise, request a written report. When you’re working on your next submission, take all the feedback you receive to heart.

Proposal preparation takes a lot of time and effort, and you want to expend your energies wisely. Assign someone the task of searching for opportunities and have a mechanism in place to quickly determine if the opportunity is right for your company. Only go after work that you know your company can handle well, and that includes having the time and resources to prepare a winning proposal as well as being able to meet both the specifications and the schedule. (more…)

Three Ways to Help Customers Find Your Veteran-Owned Business

June 20, 2012

If you are a military veteran running a small business, we have some good news for you. Americans want to purchase from a veteran-owned business. It’s true.

In fact, two-thirds of the respondents in a national poll revealed that they’d be more likely to buy from a veteran-owned business, according to the National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA). They trust veterans, appreciate their skills and respect their work ethic.

Now that you know most people would prefer to do business with a veteran, how do you get the message out that you are a veteran-owned business?  Try implementing these three strategies.

1. List your business in veteran-specific online directory listings. You can tap into several free online business directories specifically for veteran-owned businesses. Consider listing your business in: (more…)

Why Building Actual Relationships Is Essential In Marketing Your New Product

June 18, 2012

So you’ve spent a large amount of time and money creating and launching a great new product yet you’re still eagerly waiting to generate sales. You have high volumes of targeted traffic, plenty of fancy banner ads and you’ve done everything just right. Or have you?

How could it be that launching a high quality product that’s relevant to your audience, implementing a robust online marketing effort with heaps of hits, banners & text links posted all over the place -and still it’s only half the battle?

It might seem hard to believe after investing so much effort. This is not always the case in the world of online marketing and business but truth be told if you really want to seal the deal & sell your product, you may have to be more proactive and engage in actual conversations with potential new customers and clients. That means either talking on the phone, one-on- one emails or, dare I say it, in person. (more…)

What Happens After Someone “Likes” Your Facebook Page?

June 13, 2012

Sally Field is famous for getting excited at the 1985 Academy Awards ceremony about the fact that her peers like her. And these days, that’s the reaction you may have when people choose to “Like” your business and organization’s Facebook Page. But what happens after the Like?

Yes, when it comes to Facebook, it’s important to be Liked. After people Like your Page, you need to engage them and drive them to take action. That’s how you’ll get results. How do you actually do that? Here are some tips:

1. Feature an exclusive offer. One of the best ways to see results from your Page is to frequently run special offers specifically for your Facebook fans. In fact, in a study of consumer behavior on Facebook we found that two of the top 5 reasons people Like a Page were to receive discounts and promotions, and to gain access to exclusive content. (more…)

Trying To Access Your Office Network With Your iPad? Here’s 3 Solutions

June 11, 2012
By Ramon Ray

The iPad continues to be the leading tablet for consumers and businesses. And for business professionals who want to use their iPads and still access their corporate networks securely, LogMeIn, GoToMyPC and similar solutions all help you access your computer from a remote connection.

A new technology, from iSimplyConnect, says it’s an better solution – instead of a “screen scrape”, iSimplyConnect is a virtual private network (VPN) solution that gives you direct access to the files on your corporate network. It’s $15 a month and might make IT managers heroes to their colleagues. (more…)