Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes
IS your proposal group in need of change? Are your proposals rushed out the door at the last minute, looking like something the dog has been chewing on for weeks? Do sales people and subject matter experts both treat proposals as something to be done “if/when I have time.” Or “After I finished my ‘real job’”? Are you cutting and pasting content out of old proposals and working on a 12″ monitor that is about the size of a small doghouse?Well, you should be simply be able to point out what’s not working – the quality and effectiveness of the proposals being produced is less than acceptable and that the way in which proposals are being produced wastes time, money and energy – and the “powers that be will support your improvement initiatives, right?
Alas and sad to say, that hasn’t been my experience…and perhaps hasn’t been yours. Proposal people can shout from the roof tops and it will probably not be heard within the company.
Why is this? Familiarity may be part of it. What you’ve been saying for a long time might have become what they expect to hear and routine. Perhaps there’s a belief that the way proposals are done is the only way possible for lack of knowing anything different. Or perhaps it that it’s not being put in the right terms: terms that will resonate with the listener and cause the desired reaction. Most likely, it’s some combination of all of these.
My experience is that the recognition of a need to make improvements by Sr. management comes in a couple of different ways. The first is for the company to suffer a cataclysmic event. This might be losing an opportunity that was a “sure thing” and which everyone knew was “in the bag”. It might be from receiving scathing feedback about a submission, which causes a great deal of embarrassment for everyone, including Sr. management. I’ve seen change initiated when a new member of Sr. management, one that “gets it” when it comes to proposals, comes on board and recognizes the need for improving proposal capabilities.
But in my experience, change only happens with the support of Sr. management. Get that, and you’re better than half way there.
One sure way to get the attention of management is to conduct an assessment and establish a benchmark against standard, accepted criteria for the quality of your proposals and the processes you’re currently using. Ideally this will be done by an objective, recognized expert, giving “voice” and “volume” to what you may already know to be true or which you’ve been saying, only to have it fall on deaf ears.
Or you could just wait for that cataclysmic event.
This article was written by BJ on 15 July, 2008 and filed under Musings, Processes & best practice. If you found it useful, you can with others. To receive automatic updates, subscribe to The Proposal Guys via 
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