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About APMP Fellows Graham Ablett
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Graham Ablett, CPP APMP Fellow (Class of 2022)

Director
Strategic Proposals

Bio

Graham is a Director at Strategic Proposals - part of an award-winning team helping sales, marketing, and proposal teams to win bids.

He has over 20 years of bidding experience, helping his clients to win more and win more easily by delivering a broad range of proposal, bid, pitch, and presentation services, including:

  • Supporting proactive sales campaigns
  • Creating compelling RFP and Tender responses
  • Developing engaging bid presentations
  • Training and coaching bid, proposal, marketing, sales and technical teams
  • Benchmarking proposal capability and uncovering opportunities to improve
  • Designing efficient and effective proposal teams
  • Building winning proposal processes
  • Creating proposal content libraries
  • Developing document templates and efficiency tools

He also holds PPM. APMP, is an APMP Approved Trainer and is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales Management - FISM.

At home, he is married to his amazing wife, Hilary, and they have three incredible children. They live in London. Graham plays tennis and touch rugby and enjoys coaching at Twickenham Rugby Football Club.

What does being an APMP Fellow mean to you?

Its the highest level of accolade in our world, so it makes me feel immensely proud.

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

Some of the headline speakers at UKAPMP have been very memorable and inspirational: McCoy, Campbell, Grainger, et al. The bid-related presentations I've seen that have taught me, entertained me, and inspired me also stick out. Among the best are ones delivered by my supremely knowledgeable and experienced colleagues: Jon Williams and BJ Lownie, and very recently Richard Buijs and Janneke Orriens, who were just stunning at BPC Europe 2023. But I think the best memory, perhaps slightly selfishly, was presenting with Jon Williams at UK APMP, where we presented on best practices using a Fifty Shades of Grey parody - 50 Shades of Great. I had such a good time co-delivering that!

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

  1. Our profession is constantly evolving, so it's important to stay up-to-date on the latest thinking. Go to APMP events but also ones in related sales, marketing, and perhaps project management disciplines.
  2. Build a network: Bidding can be lonely, so build a network in your organization and outside. APMP events are a great way to do this, as well as the numerous online forums.
  3. Speak up: Often engaging with senior folks, you must be confident in your experience and knowledge of best practice. Additionally, don't be afraid to ask for advice or guidance from more experienced professionals.
  4. Always be learning and developing your skills: Proposal professionals need a wide range of skills, from project management and writing to research and analysis. Identify areas where you need to improve and seek opportunities to develop those skills. Support your development with APMP certification and use tools like My Proposal Coach to help.
  5. Be flexible, and be ready for long hours, but don't let it consume you. The proposal profession can be unpredictable, with tight deadlines, last-minute changes, and unexpected challenges. It's important to be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances while maintaining a focus on delivering high-quality work. However, you need to learn to respect your own time, health, and well-being... so give yourself recovery time.

Anything else you would like to share?

Winning can feel like everything, but you have to have fun and enjoy working with colleagues if you want to get the most out of bidding.

The Executive Summaries Micro-Certification exam was easy to follow and clear in what was required. I found the learning materials to be very informative, and they will be a great tool to use while in the exam and for future executive summary tasks.
SarahChapman
Sarah Chapman, CP ES-M APMP
APMP has been instrumental in my success and has given me a framework in which to coach and mentor the bid and proposal stars of the future.
Mescall Ceri Photo
Ceri Mescall, CPP 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
Sonal Bhatnagar, CP APMP, PMP
The time was a good investment, and I expect to reap benefits now and in the future!
Kelly Erickson
Kelly Erickson, CF APMP
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
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.
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Dénes Máthé, CF ES-M APMP
APMP Certification is an important milestone in the bid and proposal profession. It helped me upgrade my knowledge and be competitive in the industry. You can achieve your dream career with APMP certifications. Thanks to APMP India.
Swapnil Patange
Swapnil Patange, CF APMP
The certifications, starting from the foundation to the professional level, help individuals from diverse timeframes in their careers.
Mayura
Mayura Ravishankar, Proposal Associate
I never want to be complacent in my career, so it has been beneficial to have this group of peers who are going through similar trials and tribulations in the proposal world on a day-to-day basis.
jill zander
Jill Zander, CF APMP
Acquiring the executive summary micro certification has helped to build my confidence in producing best practice Executive Summaries. I also benefit from the social media badge for my LinkedIn profile and certification to add to my resume. Both of these allow me to verify my Executive Summary capabilities.
LauraRispin
Laura Rispin, CP ES-M APMP