Deep Dive Into Capture & Proposals to Level Up Your Federal Game - 4 PDH
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Arizona Time
Phoenix Convention Center | Room 126
$99 for SAME Members / $129 for Non-Members
*Already registered for SBC? Contact registration@same.org to add this Workshop to your existing registration.*
Ready to level up your federal proposal game? This hands-on workshop will show you how to:
- Map the full federal acquisition lifecycle and time your strategy right.
- Craft RFIs and PPIs that influence—not just clarify.
- Build airtight go/no-go and compliance foundations.
- Get real answers from SMEs and turn them into evaluator-focused wins.
Walk away with tools, templates, and tactics to pursue smarter, write sharper, and win more.
Module 1 – Federal Acquisition & Execution Road Map
What it Covers: This foundational session introduces a framework that maps the full federal acquisition and execution lifecycle. Grounded in the FAR with real-world context, this session reveals how both government and industry move through each phase, what rules apply when, and how the process changes depending on where you are on the road to award and through delivery. We’ll share a customizable template to help your firm align business development and marketing efforts with each phase of the process.
Why it Matters: This session helps you stop reacting and start anticipating by clarifying how communication, compliance, and strategy evolve across the lifecycle. The FAR stops being a black box and becomes a practical playbook. Whether you’re chasing work or managing contracts, this session equips you with the clarity to make sharper decisions and deliver better outcomes.
Module 2 – PPIs & RFIs: The Art and Strategy of Tactical Questions
What it Covers: Submitting Pre-Proposal Inquiries (PPIs) and Requests for Information (RFIs) might seem like an administrative step, but done right, they’re a strategic lever. In this session, we’ll unpack how to craft questions that clarify ambiguity without triggering undesirable answers. Learn how to guide the Government’s interpretation in your favor, avoid common missteps that lead to dead ends, and develop an internal vetting process for shaping sharp, strategic inquiries that support your win.
Why it Matters: The first team to flag an issue usually sets the direction, and everyone else gets stuck with “See response to Question #1.” That’s great if it’s your question. Not so much if it works against you. This module shows how to think ahead, ask with intention, and influence outcomes. In short: bad questions get bad answers. Smart questions pave the way to victory.
Module 3 – Master your RFIs, Go-No-Go, Compliance Matrix, and Templates to Set Up Every Proposal for Success
What it Covers: This module provides a structured approach to establishing a strong foundation for every proposal. You’ll learn how to strategically plan and coordinate deliverables across your team, ensuring alignment from the outset of the proposal lifecycle. The session will demonstrate how to effectively develop RFIs to clarify solicitation ambiguities, thoroughly analyze government requirements, and leverage solicitation data to make sound, defensible go/no-go decisions.
Why it Matters: Addressing requirements and resolving uncertainties at the outset reduces the risk of rework and last-minute adjustments. Early attention to detail ensures full compliance, minimizes potential gaps, and enables your team to follow a disciplined, well-organized roadmap throughout the proposal process — improving both efficiency and competitiveness.
Module 4 – From Input to Impact: Writing Compelling, Evaluator-Focused Narratives
What it Covers: Once your proposal is organized and outlined, the next step is filling the structure with content that evaluators can easily score. This session shows you how to turn SME knowledge, boilerplate, and past performance into clear, compliant, and compelling narratives. Learn how to work backwards from the evaluation criteria, ask the right questions, and shape technical details into stories that highlight strengths, reduce risk, and align with RFP requirements.
Why it matters: The strongest proposals don’t just check the boxes; they make it easy for evaluators to see how your qualifications align with their requirements. By connecting technical knowledge directly to evaluation criteria, you can write in a way that earns the rating you deserve, focusing on the specific details your customers are looking for. This approach turns generic responses into evaluator-focused stories that move proposals from “Good” to “Outstanding.”
Who Should Attend?
SMALL BUSINESS LEADERS responsible for:
- Federal Business Development
- Opportunity/Pipeline/Capture Planning
- Proposals and Marketing
Why Should You Attend?
- You want to learn how to prepare for solicitations before they’re released.
- You are seeking tools, templates, and strategies to sharpen proposal content and SME collaboration.
- You want to cut rewrites and chaos by improving SME collaboration.
- You will walk away with templates and tactics you can use immediately.
Learning Objectives
- Participants will be able to align business development, marketing, and proposal efforts to the acquisition phase for greater impact.
- Participants will be able to write a PPI or RFI that is strategic and will help win work.
- Participants will learn how to use compliance tools to align their team early and build a smarter proposal from day one.
- Participants will be able to extract the right input from SMEs and shape it into content that earns the top technical scores.
Presenters
Michele Atkinson, CF APMP
Founder and Managing Partner, Cavalry Consulting
Michele Atkinson knows how to win. As the founder of Cavalry Consulting, she’s helped clients secure more than $50 billion in federal contracts. She’s built her reputation on straight-talking proposal strategies that deliver results. With a background spanning more than a thousand competitive proposals across construction, architecture, engineering, defense technology, and professional services, Michele brings deep insight into what government evaluators actually want to see—and what they don’t.
Known for her lean, practical approach to proposal management, Michele teaches teams how to focus on what really matters: clear, compliant, and compelling proposals that speak directly to decision-makers. Her firm’s track record says it all: a 92% win rate by contract value and a 90%+ win rate on Phase 1 proposals.
Through Cavalry, Michele leads a team of industry pros, including veterans, military spouses, and former government insiders, who have become the go-to resource for companies chasing big wins in the federal space. She’s also a sought-after speaker, trainer, and mentor, regularly sharing lessons learned from the trenches to help others sharpen their skills and boost their win rates.
Jeff Duguid
Director, Marketing & Business Development, Tetra Tech, Inc.
Jeff Duguid’s career began with a flop. His first proposal, submitted to his parents at age 16, was rejected. Fortunately, that early setback didn’t stall his trajectory. Since then, he has developed winning strategies for pursuits on five continents, supporting both primes and subs across design and construction teams. His 360-degree view of the AEC landscape gives him an uncommon insight into what it really takes to win.
Known for decoding complex federal processes and transforming technical detail into clear, compelling narratives, Jeff operates at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and structure. He blends deep industry knowledge with emerging tools, leveraging AI, data, and design thinking to help teams think smarter, move faster, and win more. As a forward-thinking leader in the proposal space, he mentors both marketers and technical staff, brings clarity to complexity, and challenges teams to rethink what a winning pursuit can be.
Outside the RFP grind, Jeff prefers his weekends analog. He loves being outdoors, has a passion for antique cars (ask him about the 1917 Buick or 1924 Franklin), and rides a high-wheel bicycle from the 1880s.
Anthony Romano
Proposal Manager, Andana Consulting
Anthony Romano, as a Project Manager at Andana Consulting, helps clients deliver federal proposals that are clear, compliant, and competitive. As a Proposal Manager, he guides clients through the front end of the proposal process—developing compliance strategies, coordinating teams, and aligning responses to complex solicitation requirements. His approach minimizes rework, reduces risk, and ensures proposals stay focused from kickoff through submission.
Anthony has worked on hundreds of proposals across the architecture, engineering, and construction industries, supporting both large firms and small businesses pursuing federal work. His experience spans a wide range of federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), FBI, NASA, National Parks Service (NPS), and others. Regardless of agency or contract type, he helps clients tailor their responses to stand out in highly competitive environments.
As a Proposal Manager, Anthony has led successful proposal efforts that have contributed to clients winning hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts. He brings a strong command of go/no-go planning, compliance matrices, and RFI development—tools that lay the groundwork for efficient and defensible submissions. His ability to translate requirements into structured, visually clear documents has made him a trusted partner to teams working across disciplines and contract sizes.
