In this episode of the Federal Help Center Podcast, Ryan Atencio shares how his experience writing performance work statements, serving as a COR, and evaluating proposals inside DoD completely changed how he approaches opportunity identification and proposal strategy today.

The conversation dives deep into why most contractors miss opportunities on SAM.gov and how to fix it by shifting from keyword and NAICS-only searches to PSC-based custom searches. Ryan also walks through his practical framework for shredding opportunities, extracting real objectives, and using AI the right way—section by section—to build stronger, more compliant proposals without relying on shortcuts that don't work (yet).

Key Takeaways

• PSC codes beat keyword searches. One PSC can capture multiple NAICS-based opportunities—saving you from missing bids before they surface.

• Think like the end user, not the CO. Winning proposals align directly to mission objectives, not just compliance checklists.

• AI is a force multiplier—not a shortcut. Strong proposals are built paragraph by paragraph, then validated with compliance checks.

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