Going It Alone

Proposal editor. Proposal coordinator. Production manager. If you are a lone proposal guru, these resources can sound as mythical as a sphinx or the Nemean lion. Whether working for yourself or as the sole proposal professional in a small to midsize organization, you must wear a lot of hats to build a compliant and responsive proposal. While a formal bid/no-bid gate decision should be a fundamental process step no matter the setting, as an independent consultant, you must also be prepared to enact your own opportunity assessment when contemplating a project—or else suffer the risk of some costly pitfalls.

Assessing Opportunity

Every independent proposal consultant has been there at one time or another. Maybe you’re new to the scene and eager to get that first win under your belt, or maybe a prospective client calls you with an RFP in the pipeline that sounds just a bit too good to be true. Whatever the case, it can be hard to say no when a lucrative opportunity comes along. While it may be tempting to just sign on the dotted line, the reality is that the hidden costs of taking on a lost cause can far outweigh any commission. Reputations in our industry are not built on the volume of bids built—but on the outcome of those bids.

Moreover, by agreeing to manage a bid, you’re asking prospective clients to place the financial success of their business in your hands—a responsibility that should never be taken lightly. While a seasoned professional may possess the alchemic wherewithal to transmute lead into gold, a no-win situation is still a no-win situation. Before you take the leap, consider asking the following questions to ensure that prospective clients have what it takes to make it to the finalist stage:

1. Have you ever submitted a proposal response?
2. Do you currently have a knowledge management system in place?
3. Have you read through the RFx to verify that your organization can meet every requirement?
4. Do you possess the certifications, registrations, etc., required by the issuer to submit a bid?
5. Are you confident that you can price your products and/or services competitively?

While a “no” response to any of the above qualifiers is not necessarily a deal breaker, each should trigger a red flag. You may find that the client simply needs a bit of extra guidance during the bid/no-bid stage or stewardship through the proposal development cycle. On the other hand, you may realize that it’s in the best interest of both parties to walk away—a realization best made long before committing to the project.

While a seasoned professional may possess the alchemic wherewithal to transmute lead into gold, a no-win situation is still a no-win situation.

Lines in the Sand

Once you’re confident that the prospective client can qualify to receive a reward, the next step is to set the scope of your involvement in the process—that is, the number of hats you’ll be wearing. Will you be managing the process in its entirety, from letter of intent to final submission? Crafting new content from scratch? Creating the graphics and images necessary to illustrate data? Are there steps that you will not be involved in, such as calculating pricing? Hammering out these details early on is imperative to avoid any confusion that eats away at invaluable time. Consider the following:

• Clearly detail the project schedules, responsibilities, and deliverables of each party.
• Dictate that your client designates a project lead who will be responsible for gathering information from SMEs within the organization.
• Require at least 50 percent of the project’s total fee upfront, to ensure client buy-in.
• Establish secondary contacts who you can reach out to if your contact is unresponsive—especially important if working off-site.

Setting the ground rules early on will go a long way toward preparing the stage for a successful development process.

Solo But Not Alone

Signing up to build a contract-winning proposal response for a new client is a lot like agreeing to win employee of the month on the first day at a new job. Impossible? Not at all—but you need to be prepared to hit the ground running. By ensuring that the client is well-positioned to qualify for an award and establishing clear boundaries at the forefront of the engagement, half the battle is already won.

Lastly, even when flying solo, there’s help right around the corner that should not be overlooked. The APMP Body of Knowledge is one such resource that is chock-full of invaluable advice that can be tailored to suit the needs of organizations big and small. Likewise, leveraging APMP’s Consultants Directory is an excellent way to build a network of like-minded, certified professionals that can be called upon in a pinch.

Now, go win some business!

Michael Doyle is a senior proposal manager at 4Front Advisors, a consulting firm headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., and an independent consultant offering proposal management services. He can be reached at doylewrites@gmail.com.