Mark will share his advice for proposal managers working with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and SMEs themselves: Leverage your expertise in your technical volume to win more business. Develop clear communication habits that influence decision makers. Make sure you don’t damage your credibility with technical jargon overload.   

1. Thought Leader Webinar
How to get the most value out of your SMEs
Mark Amtower

2. ˇˇ
WEBINARHOUSEKEEPING
• Our call will last approx. 1 hour.
• Please ask your questions in the ‘Question’ facility.
• We have a Q&A session at the end.
• Please complete the survey at the end of the session.
• The recording will be shared a few days after this webinar.
Evelyn Wolf
CMO @ VisibleThread
Evelyn.wolf@visiblethread.com

3. MEET
According to Guy Timberlake, CEO of The American Small Business Coalition, Mark
Amtower is the “Godfather of government marketing.” Government marketing
veteran Bob Gosselin called Amtower “the best of the best of government
marketing gurus.”
OUR THOUGHT LEADER
Mark Amtower, Founding Partner of Amtower & Company
Author, consultant, speaker, LinkedIn coach and radio host Mark Amtower has focused on one market – Global One –
doing business with government for more than thirty years. Known in Washington, DC for his all-black attire and extreme
candor, Amtower is by far the most influential and candid voice in business-to-government marketing, quoted in over 250
publications, doing interviews on business-talk radio around the country, speaking at 20-30 conferences and seminars
each year.

4. THE POWER OF CLARITY
Improving pWIN rates through plain language

5. ˇˇ
LANDSCAPEBID CENTER

6. ˇˇ
COLLINS AEROSPACECASE STUDY
• Largest aerospace industry supplier in the world with 150 locations
• Responding to RFPs is part of day-to-day business
• RFP authors / SMEs are engineers
• “They’re busy implementing projects. Writing is not what they want
to be doing.”

7. ˇˇ
COLLINS AEROSPACECASE STUDY
“Engineers are busy.
They don’t know where or how to start writing.
They have trouble meeting deadlines because they’re so busy.
We also end up with multiple ‘voices’ in the writing. This causes our documents to be fragmented.”
Jessica Conrad, Senior Proposal Manager

8. ˇˇ
COLLINS AEROSPACE
Technology leads improvements:
1. Writing is more fun
• Scoring, improving and healthy competition
• Objective system – no more red pen
2. Support structure in place for SMEs
• Simpler to meet deadlines
• Can focus on strategy instead of writing style
3. Reviewers understand the RFP response better
• “We’ve had feedback from customers where we’ve
submitted several RFPs. Comments since using
VisibleThread have been that our copy is easier to
understand now.”
RESULTS

9. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
How to Get the Most Out of Your SMEs
We’ll cover
- What is a SME
- Market Research
- Why it should be part of your game plan
- Elements of the SME Platform
- Deployment

10. WHAT IS A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT?
OPM: A subject matter expert, or SME, is a "person with bona
fide expert knowledge about what it takes to do a particular
job.
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11. LET’S START WITH
A LITTLE MARKET RESEARCH
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16. 16October 12, 2018

17. WHEN YOU’RE ESTABLISHING A
SME’S CREDENTIALS
Developing and sharing content becomes an
integral part of the process.
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18. THE PROBLEM
Many companies have SMEs but do little to highlight them.
Many companies specialize in particular agencies and/or
technologies but do little to emphasize that.
Some smaller companies feel compelled to claim multiple
areas of expertise.
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19. Key Elements of Subject Matter
Expertise
§Deep current knowledge of a particular subject
§Shares that knowledge in many venues with a defined
community
§Can make a complex subject understandable
§Can be sought out by media for comments on breaking news
§Live networking (seen in public)
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20. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Key Elements
§Are sought for speaking engagements
§Are more likely to high on any recommendation list
§Enjoy what they do and let it show
§Easily found during online searches
§Write frequently and may have published a book
§Are accessible

21. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Steps to building the SME platform
§Know what you do well: list your strengths
§Determine and define your market/niche position
§Identify the competition
§Differentiate from your competitors

22. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Steps to building the SME platform
§Build the content library
§Start building key relationships and a network
- Online networking
- Live networking

23. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Steps to building the SME platform
§Determine the best venues to share
§Engage
§Keep your learning process going
§Start the process again

24. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Your SME market position must
§Be an area where you have demonstrable expertise
§Have a definable market/audience
§Preferably be an area where you already have a
beachhead
§Be an area where you can stand out
§Above all- you must be visible and vettable

25. MARKET POSITION:
MAINTAIN AN UP-TO-DATE SWOT
ANALYSIS
On your SMEs.
Always know where they rank in your
niche.
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27. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
SWOT Examples
§ Strengths
- Market knowledge
- # of recent speaking gigs
- Recent articles published
- High name recognition
§ Opportunities
- Develop better relations at X
(company, agency,
association, media outlet)
- Other places to share
content
§ Weaknesses
- Less time to keep up with
market trends
§ Threats
- Market niche maturing and
sub-dividing
- More people focusing on this
niche

28. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
What can make your SME stand out or
apart from the competition?
§Do they “own” the intellectual real estate necessary to
proceed?
§Have you determined the “food chain” in your niche?
§Will the SME devote the time?
§Will they create the content?
§Will they engage?
§Will they sustain the effort?

29. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Any claim to intellectual real estate you
make (from Hinge Marketing Studies)
§Must be true
§Must be important to the audience
§Must be supportable
§You need to be visible enough to be vetted

30. MANY COMPANIES DO LITTLE TO
DIFFERENTIATE
Either on their web site or through social media
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31. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
I call it the “Waldo Factor”

32. MANY SMALLER CONTRACTORS SEEK
BUSINESS BY CASTING A WIDE NET
Their intent is to attract clients by
the breadth of offerings
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33. IN REALITY, WHEN THE “WIDE NET” IS
CAST
You end up looking like 90% of the
other smalls out there and you get lost
in the crowd
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34. WHEN A CONTRACTING OFFICER SEES
A COMPANY WITH 12 EMPLOYEES
CLAIMING EXPERTISE IN 20 AREAS…
Doubt occurs, and you become one of
many, not the select few
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35. THIS TRIGGERS THE
“WALDO FACTOR”
And you are classified as a generalist
with hundreds of other faceless and
nameless contractors.
You become anonymous.
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36. THE COST OF ANONYMITY
is irrelevance.
You are simply one more face in the crowd.
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37. CONTENT DEPLOYMENT
Once your SME starts developing content
(articles, white papers, blog posts, etc)
You need to deploy these where they will
most likely be found by those you need to
influence.
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38. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Sharing via LinkedIn
§As an article on your profile
§Sharing the link as a post
§In your Groups
§Throughout your profile where it is germane

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42. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Other Venues for Content deployment
§Through Facebook
§Twitter
§Speaking engagements
§Articles in trade publications
§Through your website

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45. IF YOU KNOW OR SUSPECT AN RFP
IS “COMING SOON” FOR A
SPECIFIC PROBLEM
Deploy your content early
to influence the process
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46. Copyright 2020, Mark Amtower (SME workshop, short version, for VisibleThread)
Dare to see things differently

47. FOUR MAJOR GOVCON STUDIES
Show that emphasizing key skills are an integral
part of growing your company and winning
business.
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48. RESEARCH PROVIDED BY
www.marketconnectionsinc.com
www.hingemarketing.com
www.govexec.com
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49. I CONSULT WITH COMPANIES
REGARDING
building the SME platform,
Content development and deployment,
And social selling/LinkedIn training.
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50. ˇˇ
YOUR QUESTIONS

51. ˇˇ
Register Now For Your Free Ticket

52. ˇˇ
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US & THANK YOU TO MARK
To learn more & your additional questions
Mark Amtower Learn about VT Docs Get in touch with us
https://www.visiblethread.com/
products/visiblethread-docs/
Demo:
info@visiblethread.com
Your Questions:
evelyn.wolf@visiblethread.com
MarkAmtower@gmail.com
301 854 9493
www.linkedin.com/in/markamtower
@amtower