Qualities of a Successful Proposal Manager

Competing for a federal contract means to go through a long and complex process in order to be able to deliver a compelling, persuasive product. A whole team of professionals with diverse tasks, purposes and processes are needed, including: business development consulting, capture management process, proposal management, reviewers, etc.

Today we’re going to explain the importance of an effective proposal management team and the qualities that the proposal manager must have to produce a winning proposal. Proposal manager is responsible to implement the right processes and practices adequately during the proposal development. They should be able to coordinate the proposal writing team by giving them access to different resources needed to prepare the content. They must ensure that tasks are divided properly, make sure the proposal is compliant and relevant to the requirements of the request for proposal solicitation.

Core Responsibilities:

• Ensure that proposals are produced professionally within schedules and budget defined by the Federal agency (the customer);
• Organize and review the proposal from a variety of point of views in order to make sure that best practices were executed, including win themes, win strategies, compelling graphics, and discriminators;
• Communicate, collaborate and support the proposal writing team during the entire development process with information and consulting;
• Instruct subject matter experts in persuasive writing and proposal best practices.
• Manage, analyze and prepare documents in line with the terms and conditions of the company and customer requirements;

The value that the Proposal Manager must bring

The Proposal Manager should be competent and have the needed abilities to coordinate and produce an effective response to the RFP, whilst bringing together the proposal team with the required knowledge required winning. Effective managers include introduction and implementation of all necessary proposal processes and sophisticated practices.  

The most successful proposal managers are excellent communicators and they collaborate with the writing team on a consistent basis. This they make it very clear for your team to understand what you expect from them and save time for both parts.  

Effective proposal managers focus greatly on brainstorming and outlining before the writing process begins. They know the importance of having a structures plan before creating the content. Although it requires lots of effort and time in the beginning, if you use this method you’ll facilitate the job of review teams. The key to a flawless proposal is to avoid mistakes in the first place. And this can only be achieved with a successful proposal manager.