FEDERAL SECTOR REPORT

What Proposal Consultants Do

Selecting an appropriate proposal consultant will affect outcomes--including the success of the proposal. This month, the newsletter focuses on what proposal consultants do. The purpose of this discussion is identify some of the key differences between the roles and skill sets of proposal consultants so that prospective clients--contractors and grantees--can select the best match for their specific proposal requirements. Hopefully a better match between consultant and client will increase the chances for winning proposed revenues. The term "proposal consultant" will be used, regardless of whether one or more consultants are on the team.

"Proposal consultant" is a very broad occupational category, and it encompasses many roles, skill sets, and areas of specialization. No proposal consultant is equally effective in performing all proposal development tasks or in supporting all types of proposals. "To thine own self be true" is a quotation that can be applied aptly to proposal consultants: Matching personal strengths with client requirements can increase the success rate both for the consultant and client.

Roles

Proposal consultants may fill a variety of roles, and they need to make certain that they are filling a role for which they are qualified. Most fill such roles as proposal manager, writer, editor, proposal coordinator, red team reviewer, or subject matter specialist. A few consultants are corporate advisors who review the work of proposal development teams. Especially in smaller organizations, contractors and grantees may not be clear about what type of proposal consultant they need to hire. The consultant and the client need to define roles before selecting proposal consultants.

While on the subject of roles, let us make a distinction between capture manager and proposal manager. A capture manager is responsible for identifying the contract or grant opportunity, gaining visibility and credibility with the funding agency, gathering background information about the agency's preferences for technical approaches and key personnel, and helping to define a strategy to win. A proposal manager is responsible for orchestrating a proposal response (and perhaps an oral presentation) that powerfully and effectively executes the strategy for winning. The proposal manager may collaborate on a winning strategy with the capture manager, but the timing of most proposal development activities is too late to begin the capture process. It is theoretically possible for the same person to fulfill the role of both the capture manager and proposal manager, but the capture process usually needs to begin months before the agency releases the official request for proposals.

Skill Sets

Many skill sets are needed for developing a winning proposal. A few proposal consultants, like myself, are generalists who may single-handedly prepare an entire small- or medium-sized proposal. But, for large proposals, we work in teams and use our strongest skill sets:

• The proposal manager must have strong planning, managing, monitoring, scheduling, and critiquing skills. The proposal manager is usually the person who studies the agency's Request for Proposals and the intelligence gathered by the capture manager to develop the proposal outline and storyboard. The proposal manager maintains the schedule, oversees proposal development and staff assignments, evaluates the quality of work, oversees feedback from review teams, insists on improving the proposal until the competition is winnable, and schedules proposal production activities.
• A proposal coordinator must juggle a broad range of proposal activities and assist the proposal manager in keeping everything on track.
• A proposal writer should be able to define the key points that the text needs to make, synthesize diverse source information, and write original text clearly. A proposal writer can also develop materials based on interviews, Internet research, and background fact finding.
• A proposal editor should be able to make heavy revisions of technical and scientific text without changing the meaning. Most proposal editors are also responsible for defining or enforcing a pre-determined proposal style and format, checking facts, conducting quick research to fill "holes" in the proposal, reformatting resumes and project summaries, and assisting with proofreading.
• Subject matter specialists are individuals knowledgeable about technical or scientific topics, or they are individuals who have senior-level experience with the agency's programs and operations.
• Proposal reviewers are individuals who critique drafts of a proposal. A review team usually includes an experienced review team manager, senior executives of the client organization, technical/scientific specialists, and several people who are knowledgeable about the agency and/or its programs (including the capture manager).
• Graphics editors, desktop publishers, and proofreaders provide obvious types of support.

Areas of Specialization

Some proposal consultants are very specialized. A few do automated project management planning for large, complex aerospace or military engineering and manufacturing contracts. Others focus on a single funding agency or department. Some proposal consultants work with many different agencies or programs.

Should a client use a specialist or generalist? A large proposal team should usually include both. A client with a very small requirement may need to opt for one or two generalists who collaborate with subject matter specialists and the capture manager.

When to Say "Yes" and "No"

As a proposal consultant, I have found that it is very important to know when to accept a consulting assignment for proposal development. Lately, I have been turning down about three times as many offers as I accept. Some offers are rejected because my time is already committed to other work. But other offers are rejected because I don't feel that there is a reasonable chance of winning the identified contract or grant. And sometimes I feel there is not a good match between my strengths and the prospective organization's requirements, such as when a medical research center inquired about my developing a very specialized proposal. My reputation for successful proposals would suffer if I said "yes" to proposals that are not a good match.

A Self-Assessment

OK, I said that no proposal consultant is equally effective in performing all proposal development tasks. For clients, prospects, and the world, I will present what I consider to be my own outstanding and not outstanding skill sets:

Outstanding	Not Outstanding
Proposal strategies, plans, outlines, storyboards, proposal management, team leadership, proposal reviews, and consultation with senior executives	Administrative details
Technical and management proposal volumes; detailed spreadsheet models for the cost proposal Formats for resumes, past performance history, schedules, technical presentation, business information	Any repetitive task that becomes boring, such as formatting and polishing 40 resumes.
Proposal writing, background research, interviews with technical people, rewriting poorly written technical text, synthesis of information from multiple sources; preparation of tables, schedules, flow charts, diagrams, and ideas for illustrations	Proofreading, copy editing, production typing, final illustrations and graphics, checking details
Subject matter involving information technology, capital planning, budgets, acquisition, survey research, performance measurement, information management, education, training, and community programs.	Any subject matter that requires a specialized expert--such as an agency "insider," a communications engineer, physicist, weapons specialist, or medical researcher

Prospective clients can explore my experience with agencies, programs, and technical areas by looking at my web resume, available at http://www.p2c2group.com/results.htm. There are some topics that I do decline because I don't have the expertise: Energy research, cancer research, and weapons engineering would be examples of proposals that I consider beyond my reach.

When carrying out a proposal assignment, I do seek to combine my strengths with those of client personnel (or other consultants). Often this encompasses working with the client's capture manager, technical experts, a copy editor/proofreader, a graphics specialist, and the client's administrative personnel.

By being honest with prospective clients about my skills sets and experience, I am more successful ... and so are they. We concentrate on work where there is a likelihood of a win-win situation.

CONSULTING SERVICES

We provide enterprise-level management consulting services for federal agencies and the contractors who support them. Our areas of specialization are Capital Planning and Investment Control, Enterprise Architecture, strategic planning, performance evaluation, and acquisition support including work statements. Our consulting specialty includes experience in many related areas such as CIO program support, earned value management, risk management, the C&A process for security, and customer satisfaction surveys.

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