Joe O'Neill

JoeONeill

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Joe O'Neill, CPP APMP Fellow (Class of 2010)

Proposal Consultant
Joe O'Neill, LLC

Bio

Joe has over 40 years of proposal experience, primarily DoD, with seven years of commercial experience. He has been a Proposal Manager for well over 100 major proposals and has also served as a Volume Leader, primary author, and Color Team Leader (Black Hats, Blue Team, Pink & Red Team Leader). He has delivered capture/proposal training workshops to functional groups and capture teams. Over the past ten years, this has included over 15 training sessions for over 500 students/practitioners.

Retired after 20+ years as a Business Capture Director from BAE Systems, he has provided proposal manager and consulting services through Shipley Associates and his LLC to BAE Systems and other defense organizations, including Raytheon, Harris, and others.

When not consulting, he enjoys traveling with his wife Faye to see their grandchildren in Indianapolis and Denver, and also international travel to enjoy the many 'bucket list trips' still to go. From his home in New Hampshire, he hopes for lots of winter snows to replenish the nearby downhill ski areas.

What does being an APMP Fellow mean to you?

Recognition from my peers and recognition from the premier professional proposal organization in the world that I bring something special to the proposal table at large.

What's your best memory from attending an APMP event?

Savannah, GA - May 2007 - My first international conference (18th annual APMP International Conference & Exhibits, now called Bid & Proposal Con). I was blown away by the speakers and the content of the presentations. The Gov't-Industry task force presentation on the pre-proposal RFP Q&A process sold me on the value of attending as many future conferences as I could.

What advice do you have for a proposal professional entering our field?

Learn by doing - get onto a proposal, any role, no matter how small. First-hand experience trumps all. If you run into someone who knows what they're doing in the proposal world, stick to them, and learn all you can from them.

Anything else you would like to share?

APMP is a great organization, but it needs to keep its focus on captures & proposals - the things that caused its existence.

I would advise new professionals to take advantage of the resources that APMP offers. Not only do you have access to conferences and seminars through your chapter, but the free webinars and the robust network of professionals are great benefits that can help advance one’s career.

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Valerie Kessie, CP APMP

You can expand your network by attending the local Chapter webinar and events. They provide an opportunity to collaborate with like-minded individuals locally to create and share consumable content, ideas, tools, and resources.

Sonal Bhatnagar, CP APMP, PMP

For the first time since I started my career, I felt like I was not alone in my struggles to meet deadlines, wrangle SMEs, and answer impossible questions. I’m grateful to have this community to share our wisdom and experiences.

Anthony Rossi, CF APMP

Certification has enhanced my worth as a bid professional. It has validated the skills and experience I have and is proof of my bid management qualities and capabilities. It has given me a springboard to develop my career and aim for Professional certification.

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Aynsley Davidson, CP APMP

APMP certification is the gold standard for the industry. For me, accreditation is formal recognition of my commitment to the profession, as well as an avenue for improving my performance and bid outcomes by training in APMP principles.

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Ailsa Tuck, CP APMP

APMP's techniques on proposal writing are meticulously engineered with real-life examples, and the extensive information available in their Body of Knowledge is a goldmine for bid & proposal professionals.

Anant Shukla, CF APMP

The Executive Summary is the key element of each proposal, literally the most important part of the response next to the price – this is why my focus was on this micro certification. Understanding the principles of Deal-Strategy, Win-Strategy, Competitor-Analysis, Ghosting, Persuasive Writing, Features/Benefits/Discriminators, and many more is essential and beneficial for so much more than just the Executive Summary.

Florian Lamisch, CF ES-M APMP

This topic, Executive Summaries, is way underrated. The Executive Summary is the most eye-catching document, which almost everyone on the customer side reads. Yet, in most bid teams, we don’t dedicate the attention it deserves. I want to learn about something I can immediately put into practice at my workplace, which provides a “quick win” to the team and is a long-term benefit for the company.

Dénes Máthé, CF ES-M APMP

During my association with APMP, I have been fortunate to have met and gathered wisdom from several industry stalwarts.

Karthik Koutharapu, CP APMP

Being an active APMP certified practitioner allowed me to recognize my hidden potential multifold (40u40, BPC Awards, BPC Speaker) and give back to the profession through the APMP community.

Karthik Koutharapu, CP APMP