Strategy
Helping a Small Business Enter a New Office
Situation: We worked with a small public relations firm to help them be more successful on an indefinite quantity contract for a large government agency
What we did: We identified an upcoming re-compete of an established communications campaign and helped them team with a large business to augment their capabilities. We met with the project officer for the campaign, established a relationship, presented the firms' capabilities and explored the needs in her office. When the RFP hit, we knew how to position the team and managed the collaboration to develop the RFP on a compressed timeline.
Results: Because of our understanding of the client needs and our creative strategy to meet them, we upset an entrenched incumbent and gave this small firm its first win in this office.
Creating a Successful Strategy to Enter a Market
Situation: We worked with a large company to create an entry strategy for a new market in a major public health agency. The company was not on the right mechanism to directly access most of the targeted work. We created a multi-year strategy to build up a reputation in the agency in advance of the re-compete of the mechanism.
What we did: We did a market assessment to create a brand statement and leveraged work in other agencies as well as company connections to the target agency. We worked with underperforming contractors on the mechanism to help them identify and pursue opportunities.
Results: Over 14 months we won 4 task orders in 6 attempts including the first task orders for two of our prime partners on the mechanism. As a result of this work, we tripled the large business' revenue in this agency and market segment.
“As Deputy Director of AED’s Center for Health Communication, Jim helped grow a new center from an intial staff of 4 to a thriving group of 46 professionals generating over $25 million in gross revenue. His technical, managerial and business leadership were instumental to the success of the Center.”
Partnerships
Mobilizing Foundation Resources for Wellness
Situation: Members of the National Education Association (NEA) suffered chronic health problems due to environmental hazards, policy constraints and lack of support for making healthy life choices. Their health subsidiary identified school employee wellness as a priority program area. While NEA members and leadership recognized the problem, we needed to find a connection to NEA's core mission to get full buy-in for a programmatic solution.
What we did: We conducted numerous conversations with members and leaders to clearly define the problem and identify a solution they could support. We co-created a plan with Kaiser Permanente for convening a conversation with union, district and health plan leaders to develop a framework for addressing school employee wellness through collective bargaining.
Results: We obtained in-kind support from three divisions within NEA and funding from two foundations to support the planning for the wellness framework as well as a pilot project in one NEA local.
Using Strategic Partnerships in a Tough Recompete
Situation: We were the incumbent on three large communications contracts in one office and the client was under pressure to try new contractors. One was up for recompete in 6 months. While we had a good track record, we felt vulnerable in that we were not on the forefront of new technology. We knew our competitors could exploit that weakness.
What we did: We sought out and partnered with a national ad firm which had an interest in expanding their federal work. When the RFP dropped there were unexpected requirements that drove us to quickly add two other team members. We worked with the team members to develop a completely new solution to the client needs.
Results: We won the recompete in what was reported as the most competitive procurement ever for this office.
“Jim’s leadership role at NEA Healthy Futures created innovative opportunities for partnership with Kaiser Permanente to address the health and well being of school employees. Jim demonstrated his ability to develop strategies that could be a win-win-win for unions, districts and health plans. He was able to leverage internal support from NEA and find champions in the state affiliates. ”
Execution
A Long Term Development Strategy Pays Off
Situation: As a result of a corporate re-organization, a new group was created with 4 staff, a tiny project portfolio and held a single contracting mechanism.
What we did: We committed ourselves to excellent service delivery, differentiating our offering by focusing on our strengths, protecting our incumbent work and expanding thoughtfully and deliberately. Over time our clients called on us to provide new services which we first accomplished through partnerships and then by expanding our internal capabilities.
Results: Over a 10-year period we grew from 4 to 46 staff and saw gross revenue increase from $400K to $25MM. We consistently ranked in the top 3 contractors for revenue on a key IQC mechanism. Because of our steady growth curve, we were able to offer new opportunities to staff and experienced a high retention rate.
SOUND PROPOSAL MANAGEMENT NETS A $13MM WIN
Situation: A large business had a strong reputation in a communications office based on a long term project that was winding down. A comprehensive support contract with broader requirements was coming up for recompete. To win we would have to convince the review panel that our team had the capabilities and content expertise to handle all the office's needs as well as differentiating ourselves from a well-entrenched incumbent.
What we did: The RFP was complex requiring subcontractors and a large internal team each working on discrete tasks and sections. We took on the proposal management functions, working with the capture manager to define win themes, give specific assignments to staff and run the draft reviews. We took the lead on the pricing proposal submitted under the GSA-FSS schedule. We knew that price would be a factor and made sure we re-worked our budget until we arrived at our most competitive offer.
Results: We won this single-award IQC with a ceiling value of $13MM over 5 years. We also successfully defended the award from a protest by the previous incumbent.