The South African chapter of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals is a young one, founded in October 2009. It took its lead from the international chapter, now more than 21 years in existence, to offer members:  

·         Networking opportunities - meeting and talking to your peers.

·        International accreditation - that can help your career (attend members only study groups once a month, free of charge).

·        Professional support - from the global organisation.

·        Opportunities to develop leadership skills - by taking on committee positions.

·        Access to member publications.

·        Increased reputation among peers.

·        Global best practice knowledge exchange.

 

To date, it appears as if the association is living up to its mandate to make a real difference in its members' careers.

 

Said Aurecon's Sonja van Rensburg: "Initially, the most valuable response joining the APMP provoked was one from senior management: 'Oh ... so what you are doing is actually recognised internationally as a career, huh!' Seriously, joining up gave me more 'cred' when it came to what we as an organisation needed to do to improve our win rates and proposal management processes. I regularly quoted APMP, and their partners like Shipley, in our attempts to establish professional recognition for our Proposal Unit, one which contributes to the business's success and one which is no longer seen as a mere 'overhead'. For me personally, the access to the APMP's body of knowledge has proven invaluable in numerous training and motivational sessions: there's no need to reinvent the wheel because someone, somewhere, sometime in the proposal world has done it before!" 

 

PD Naidoo & Associates Consulting Engineers' Neil Philipson has had an equally positive experience: "Joining the APMP - after 20 years in business - has given me a whole new take on winning new work. It has 'formalised' my sales process and put it into perspective. I meet like minded individuals who are open to discussion, which improves our collective body of knowledge. I grow on a daily basis and I am having fun in a highly stressed environment."

 

nFold's Sandy Pullinger concurs: "For me, the APMP has been an absolute inspiration. Our growing community of proposal professionals has so much passion and energy. I enjoy sharing ideas and meeting members at our speaker events, study group and conference. Not everyone likes writing proposals but we do. And it's nice to know we're not alone."

This opportunity to learn from like-minded individuals has been one of the APMP's strong draw cards. "We aren't taught how to write sales proposals in school or in most sales training interventions. For me, being part of the APMP has been like opening Pandora's Box. I have learnt so much about, not just how to write effective proposals but, how to communicate with the buyer's psyche, said nFold's Theresa Monoyoudis.

 

"I did not realise how important getting it right from the proposal stage was until I got involved in the APMP way of looking at business," said Shirley Gwen Moss from Admast. "From a hit and miss and rather haphazard approach, I now have a clear, defined and professional way of improving my win rate and gaining that business."

 

For others, it's recognition from peers and bosses that is important. "APMP has brought a sense of belonging and an appreciation of the value of the bid professional's role in winning new business," said Lynne Phillips from KPMG Services. "More and more, bosses are allowing bid advisors to assist in a tactical and strategic way, and seeing increases in the overall winning rates as a result."

 

Emerson Network Power's Frans de Kock put it another way: "The APMP cannot change anything, the people belonging to APMP can. When I joined, I thought that the company I worked for was the only one worldwide that had someone like me: stressed, over-worked and under-resourced. Since joining, I have met wonderful people who are in the same boat - and their advice is always pertinent. In addition, I'm now better at my job - and not so stressed: when I went through the Shipley Proposal Guide in preparation for accreditation, I found a lot of information that helped guide the way I approach preparing proposals."

 

"In summary," said Izane Cloete-Hamilton from M-IT, "I've benefited from the 'technical stuff', there are years and years of research and theory that proves that it is The Right Way; the networking, I have learned from my peers; and the accreditation, and the doors it can open. Watch this space."'

 

If you are involved in bid or proposal management or writing, visit www.apmp.org to see what it - and these open-minded people - are doing for your profession in South Africa.

 

Ends

Issued by:	C-Cubed Communications
Contact:	Cathy van Zyl (021) 852-7198 Petra Peacock (011) 794-4665
On behalf of:	nFold (Pty) Ltd
Contact:	Sandy Pullinger sandy@nfold.com / (011) 486-2418
Date:	13 April 2011

 

 

Petra Peacock

+27 11 7944665; +27 83 3031778

petrap@iafrica.com