Rockville, Maryland, United States (U.S)
•Speaks English
GovCon Business Development & Proposal Leadership | PhD
Rob Polster runs the GovCon Revenue Explosion Program, enabling government contracting companies to systematically win almost every bid.
The solution solves the 3 biggest problems faced by GovCon companies:
SLOW GROWTH caused by an inability to win business in agencies where they don't know anybody.
ONGOING BID LOSS. Losing 80% of contract bids is typical.
PROPOSAL HELL. Having to write LOTS of proposals just to get one win that will keep the company afloat, because most bids lose.
Rob developed this solution after more than 40 years of seeing GovCon companies struggle to win contracts the wrong way.
He holds a Doctorate degree in Operations Research from The George Washington University and is President at Polster Consulting LLC. Previous positions were at Nortel Government Solutions, Northrop Grumman, TRW, and Price Waterhouse.
The solution solves the 3 biggest problems faced by GovCon companies:
SLOW GROWTH caused by an inability to win business in agencies where they don't know anybody.
ONGOING BID LOSS. Losing 80% of contract bids is typical.
PROPOSAL HELL. Having to write LOTS of proposals just to get one win that will keep the company afloat, because most bids lose.
Rob developed this solution after more than 40 years of seeing GovCon companies struggle to win contracts the wrong way.
He holds a Doctorate degree in Operations Research from The George Washington University and is President at Polster Consulting LLC. Previous positions were at Nortel Government Solutions, Northrop Grumman, TRW, and Price Waterhouse.
Questions I can answer:
How can we win business in government agencies where we know no one?
How can we win government business without having to compete on price?
How can we get out of Proposal Hell?
Keywords
Other
Experience
Polster Consulting LLC • United States (U.S)
President
2014 - Present (9 years, 8 months)
Developed an understanding of the business development problems of many companies;
Creator of the GovCon Revenue Explosion Strategy for accelerating government market success.
Creator of the GovCon Revenue Explosion Strategy for accelerating government market success.
Blackdragon • United States (U.S)
Proposal Manager
2016 - 2019 (3 years, 12 months)
Providing (1) Proposal Management, (2) Win Theme Development, and (3) Proposal Writing. As a proposal manager, he guides writers to produce the right material the first time. As a win theme developer, he applies a formula for teasing out a client’s special value to develop a compelling story. And as a proposal writer, he combined technical, business, and writing skills, have enabled him to win large contracts. His experience as a systems developer and data architect has enabled him to comprehend a wide range of Leading Edge Technologies.
Turning Point Global Solutions • United States (U.S)
Senior Director, Capture Management & Proposals
2009 - 2014 (5 years, 4 months)
Built a team with a reputation for consistently delivering compelling proposals and marketing content. My team’s excellent content was a key factor in the firm’s 750% revenue growth and recognition by Washington Technology as one of the 50 fastest growing small businesses in the Government market (FAST 50).
Nortel Government Solutions • United States (U.S)
Director, Divisional Business Operations
2006 - 2009 (3 years, 3 months)
As deputy to the Vice President of this 140-person division providing software engineering and IT infrastructure support to Government agencies, his focus was business development process improvement, capture management, and proposal development. An example of their success was a successful bid for an $11 million Department of Education contract in which I guided the capture and proposal teams.
IQ Solutions • United States (U.S)
Vice President
2005 - 2006 (7 months)
IQ Solutions (IQS) specializes in providing health information, communication, and education services, primarily to Federal agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Annual revenue was $40 million with 170 employees;
Created a vision for leveraging commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products to enhance the depth and range of services offered to customers with needs related to collaboration, training, and providing health information to citizens effectively and at low cost. I identified available and emerging COTS products to support that vision.
Created a vision for leveraging commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products to enhance the depth and range of services offered to customers with needs related to collaboration, training, and providing health information to citizens effectively and at low cost. I identified available and emerging COTS products to support that vision.
Northrop Grumman Corporation • United States (U.S)
Program Manager
2004 - 2005 (11 months)
His role was to grow the solutions business within the company’s $100 million per year staff augmentation practice with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). He established a steady stream of intelligence about USPS needs and acquisition plans, and added opportunities to the pipeline;
Based on knowledge acquired about USPS’s needs and challenges, he developed a White Paper about how USPS could leverage our unique capabilities to comply with a key Federal initiative: Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). HSPD-12’s purpose was to create an identity management system for Federal employees and contractors. He uncovered technology that the company had developed but had not yet fully exploited, and he collaborated with the technology’s developers to articulate how it could help USPS. The paper won praise as an excellent marketing tool from within the company’s Business Development organization.
Based on knowledge acquired about USPS’s needs and challenges, he developed a White Paper about how USPS could leverage our unique capabilities to comply with a key Federal initiative: Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). HSPD-12’s purpose was to create an identity management system for Federal employees and contractors. He uncovered technology that the company had developed but had not yet fully exploited, and he collaborated with the technology’s developers to articulate how it could help USPS. The paper won praise as an excellent marketing tool from within the company’s Business Development organization.
Richard S Carson & Associates
Program Manager / Business Process Reengineering Facilitator
1994 - 1997 (3 years, 1 month)
Led project to streamline the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) process of reviewing the voluminous data submitted by pharmaceutical companies seeking approval for new products. Built broad consensus for solution by including more than 200 medical and scientific personnel in the solution-finding process;
He initiated and conducted research for building a healthcare consultancy. The contacts and knowledge I acquired from this experience later helped me build the public health systems practice at EME.
He initiated and conducted research for building a healthcare consultancy. The contacts and knowledge I acquired from this experience later helped me build the public health systems practice at EME.
MCI
Network Planner
1983 - 1988 (5 years, 1 month)
Conducted projects to support planning of a national telecommunications network and won praise for department by enhancing network planning software. I advised senior management on potential uses of emerging technologies and forecasted network capacity requirements.
PriceWaterhouse
Consultant
1981 - 1983 (2 years, 1 month)
Used CASE technology, Yourdon Data Flow Diagramming (DFDs), and Entity Relationship Diagramming to plan a U.S. Army payroll system;
Redesigned an administrative process for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). The process involved the refunding of overpayments paid to PBGC by pension plans. Engagement involved DFDs, statistical sampling, and forms design. He researched legal ramifications under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Also at PBGC: He participated in an engagement to define requirements for an improved accounting and financial management system; and participated in a project to estimate, through statistical sampling, PBGC’s revenue loss on delinquent accounts.
Redesigned an administrative process for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). The process involved the refunding of overpayments paid to PBGC by pension plans. Engagement involved DFDs, statistical sampling, and forms design. He researched legal ramifications under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Also at PBGC: He participated in an engagement to define requirements for an improved accounting and financial management system; and participated in a project to estimate, through statistical sampling, PBGC’s revenue loss on delinquent accounts.
UC Berkeley
Research Assistant -- Education Department
1979 - 1980 (1 year, 1 month)
Supported a prominent Public Finance Economist in evaluating state mechanisms for distributing vocational education funding to school districts. I evaluated the fairness of formulas used to allocate funds.
Education
Doctorate, Operations Research
The George Washington University
BA Economics
Tufts University
Masters Public Policy and Economics