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

Achieving certification sends a message to the world that I’m dedicated and accomplished as a proposal manager. I feel proud of earning this title and I encourage others to join our ranks.

Jessica Davis, CF APMP

Being a part of APMP, I get access to the knowledge and experience of great leaders and mentors from the community. I have learned a great deal from the webinars and conferences I attended on diverse topics from career progression in Proposal Management, trends (such as automation) in PreSales to achieving work-life balance, and handling burn-outs – all real-life experiences.

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Shubhada Kulkarni, CP APMP

My experience, combined with the APMP Body of Knowledge, helped me obtain both the APMP Foundation exam and the Practitioners exam within a week.

Sonal Bhatnagar, CP APMP, PMP

Receiving Practitioner-level certification boosted my confidence and validated my experiences and professional growth in the bid and proposal industry. The badge is something that I see each day, and it motivates and encourages me to keep networking, learning, and elevating others in our combined professional development goals.

Kim Ruff, CP APMP

Without APMP, I would not have the tools or knowledge of the industry to have the career I have today and the success I have experienced.

Liz Megli, CF APMP

Acquiring this micro-certification allows me to expand my aperture regarding the collaboration between capture and proposal management to develop more robust, customer-centric Executive Summaries for future pursuits. It allows me to advance my skill set, evolve my knowledge, and reflect my commitment to continuous learning.

Stephen Yuter, ES-M 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

The certifications, starting from the foundation to the professional level, help individuals from diverse timeframes in their careers.

Mayura Ravishankar, Proposal Associate

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