In 2010 ProposalCafe.com enters its third full year of operation. Here are our musings and recommendations as we make our way into the new year.

1. Sponsorships: Advertise your proposal-related business on ProposalCafe.com. We offer three affordable sponsorship levels: Premium, Plus, and Basic. For sponsorship info, see http://www.proposalcafe.com/information/our-sponsors/68-sponsorship-information.

As a special offer: pay to become a new Premium Sponsor by March 1, 2010, and receive a free copy of Proposal Writing: The Art of Friendly and Winning Persuasion co-authored by Chuck Keller. (To buy this book with a ProposalCafe.com discount, see "Featured & Discounted Items" in the "Shop" section.)

Thanks to our current sponsors.

Premium Sponsors:

Adam McArthur, Actia Consulting
Benjamin Services Corporation, Inc.
Bill Andre, Proposal Consultant
Keller Proposal Development & Training

Basic Sponsors:

Mike Parkinson, 24 Hour Company
Linda Mahnke, Mahnke Consulting
Jayme Sokolow, The Development Source, Inc.

2. ProposalCafe.com Activity: We now have over 850 registered members. The average "traffic" for ProposalCafe.com is 90,000 hits and 3,000 visits per month.

3.  A Bungled Bid: There's been an ongoing controversy over a bungled sealed bid process in Chuck's home county of Escambia County, Florida. We think it would make for a great case study of the do's and don'ts of government procurement. (Chuck, as a county resident, finds the situation entertaining ... and disturbing.) For more info about this developing story, see the links being posted on the Home Page of ProposalCafe.com.

4. CapturePlanning.com: We often post links to articles by Carl Dickson of CapturePlanning.com. He's a talented writer, but more importantly a talented proposal expert. His proposal advice is very informative and practical -- the kind of advice you can read and then apply to a real-world proposal. We recommend that you check out his web site CapturePlanning.com, and in particular a page of his products available for purchase: www.captureplanning.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=1. (Even you don't buy his proposal products, there's a lot of free -- and good -- advice on his web site.)

5. APMP: We are both big supporters of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP). If you're not an APMP member, we encourage you to see the APMP web site (www.apmp.org), join (which you can do online), and then become affiliated with an APMP Chapter (which you can also do online). To find the APMP chapter nearest to you, see www.apmp.org/ca-11.aspx.

6. Proposal Accreditation: The APMP offers three levels of accreditation to proposal professionals: Foundation, Practitioner, and Professional. For more info about the APMP Accreditation Program, see www.apmp.org/ca-16.aspx. This year there have been least 15 public training and exam sessions scheduled in the U.S. and Europe for earning Foundation Accreditation, the first level. To learn about scheduled sessions and other accreditation events, see www.apmp.org/av-108.aspx. (Chuck is also the APMP Accreditation Program Director. If you have questions about the program, please contact him via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)

7.  Reading Pleasure: For your reading pleasure, we are posting links to new articles more frequently on ProposalCafe.com. Suggest an article for posting by e-mailing the article link to Chuck ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

8.  More Reading Pleasure: For more of your reading pleasure, we recommend that you see the blog (www.theproposalguys.com/) of the Proposal Guys: BJ Lownie and Jon Williams of Strategic Proposals. Both guys are experienced and skillful proposal professionals with a great sense of humor -- and their blog reflects it.

9.  Job Seekers: The ProposalCafe.com list of job seekers continues to grow; see http://proposalcafe.com/jobs/job-seeker-list. There are more than 140 on the list, representing 27 states and Washington, DC. Most are seeking contract work, however, many are available for full-time employment (or both). If you're looking for someone to help you with your proposals, check out our job seeker list for job candidates. You can search for job seekers in your area by sorting the list by state.

10.  Job Postings: In addition to searching the job seeker list for candidates, if you're looking to fill a proposal job opening (contract or permanent), post that opening on ProposalCafe.com for a little as $20/job (assuming the use of a 20-job package deal). For info about posting jobs on ProposalCafe.com, see http://proposalcafe.com/jobs/job-opening-input.

11. Help for Small Businesses: If you work for (or own) a small business that needs business/proposal development help, we recommend that you seek help from a Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) and Small Business Development Center (SBDC). These centers provide free or inexpensive assistance to small businesses. To learn about PTAC and SBDC services and to find a center near you, see www.aptac-us.org/new/ and www.asbdc-us.org/.

Regards,

Chuck and Bill
the ProposalCafe.com gang
"Have a winning day at the Proposal Cafe!"

Have a winning day at the ProposalCafe!!!

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