Frequently Asked Questions …

Q: What is it exactly you do?

A: The short answer is that I help small and medium business to grow by leveraging different sales channels.

The long answer is that I am a certified Proposal Manager who can help find, qualify, evaluate, parse, write, edit, and submit responses to RFPs and multiple award contracts.

Q: Huh?

A: There are a variety of ways you as a small business can sell your products and services. For example, if you sell buttons. Lots and lots of buttons. But you want to sell more buttons, preferably to larger companies so they can make their products, or to the Government so that they have them available for whatever the Government uses buttons for. Any time they buy anything above a certain dollar amount, they have to do it via a fair and public process. That is usually done via an RFP (Request for Proposal). My job is to help you decide on what to bid on, how to structure that bid, and all the other kinds of services that go along with that.

Q: Where do I find RFPs to respond to? Do I need an account?

A: Most opportunities will be on one of the major Procurement Portals (MERX, Bids & Tenders, etc.). You don’t need an account to find opportunities, but you will to be able to see all the details and documents. I can help set that up for you.

Q: Do you have accounts for all the platforms? Can you find opportunities for me?

A: I have basic accounts, but don’t use them when I am working with a client. Otherwise, the proposals would be submitted under my company name, not yours. But I get regular emails of recently-released tenders.

Q: Can I get a grant as a for-profit business?

A: Sometimes. The rules for grants for For-Profit businesses are very specific. The stage you are in (startup, growth, etc.), the business structure, the industry you are in, and more. Loans are more common, but there are grants available.