How exciting!
A big new RFP has surfaced, and your company is perfect for it.
Immediately, an RFP response team is organized and tasked with developing the proposal.
You have more than a month to get it done.
Plenty of time, right?
Not necessarily. Unless your company is dramatically different from most, you don’t have an “RFP response team” waiting in the wings for the next opportunity.
So what typically happens?
You want the proposal done well, so you’ve tapped your best people. But they already have way too much on their plates because, well, they’re your best people. With good intentions everyone pledges to get started… soon.
The due date looms, and you’re playing catch-up. You’re unable to give the proposal the time and thought it deserves.
At the 11th hour you throw everything (and everyone) at it. The goal shifts, from “make it great” to just “get it done”. You make the deadline.
But it nags at you that the proposal doesn’t present your qualifications in the best light.
Sound familiar? It’s actually a common occurrence.
We even know one recent case in which the president of the company had to step in to rally the proposal team. Now who wants that?
What’s the alternative?
Take the responsibility for the finished response off of your team.
Have them generate the meat of the proposal, because that is their expertise. But hire a professional proposal writer to pull the content together in a timely manner.
Someone who has been through this drill hundreds of time and can manage the clock. An RFP specialist who can organize the proposal, make sure it aligns completely with the RFP requirements, and write the finished product in a clear, professional voice.
Great teams leverage individual strengths to achieve a common goal.
By assigning responsibilities according to expertise, and empowering an RFP specialist to get you ahead of the process, you give your team the best possible chance of winning.
Now that’s exciting!
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