OM DENNE EPISODE
Ep. 12 In government contracting, the biggest deals aren’t won by who submits the longest proposal—they’re won by who built the right relationships long before the RFP ever dropped.
In this episode of Elevating Enterprise, Jazzy T and RJ Williams sit down with Nick Lopez, CEO of Prosal, to unpack how AI is changing the game for small and mid-sized enterprises, not by replacing human connection, but by strengthening it.
This conversation explores how intelligent research, market mapping, and relationship-driven strategy help SMEs stop chasing opportunities they were never positioned to win, and start showing up early, informed, and credible with the people who matter.
Key Takeaways:
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Why relationships win contracts—not last-minute proposals
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How AI helps SMEs identify who to talk to and when
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How most RFPs are written for someone long before they’re released
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TTC (Time Talking to Customer) as a business development metric
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How to shift from vendor to trusted partner before competition even begins
Because success isn’t overnight. It’s strategic.
About the Guest:
Nick Lopez is the Co-Founder & CEO of Prosal, an AI-powered capture intelligence platform helping government contractors identify, shape, and win opportunities earlier in the procurement process. A former Lockheed Martin engineer, Nick brings firsthand experience in defense contracting and is focused on modernizing business development by prioritizing relationships, strategy, and actionable intelligence over reactive RFP chasing.
🔗 Connect with Nick
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Website: https://prosal.com
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LinkedIn: Nicholas Lopez
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Email: nick@prosal.com
Chapters:
00:00 – The Old Way Is Broken
01:22 – Meet Prosal: “ChatGPT, but Trained for Government Contracting” 03:27 – The Truth About RFPs Written for Someone Else
05:08 – RFIs, Market Research & How Relationships Shape Outcomes 06:23 – Why Relationships Win Contracts
09:03 – People Buy From People: Mapping the Human Side of Procurement
11:17 – How Prosal Guides You Instead of Making You Guess
13:13 – FAR Changes, Faster Timelines & New Federal Opportunities
15:07 – CSOs, BAAs & Breaking Into Federal Work
21:01 – Teaming Partners, Implied Incumbents & Competitive Intelligence 25:29 – From Weeks to Hours: Compressing Decision-Making Timelines 26:02 – TTC Explained: The Only Metric That Actually Matters
30:31 – What a 33% Win Rate Really Means
37:26 – Final Word: Stop Selling. Be Curious. Be Genuine.
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