After 18 years in the proposal writing business, I have learned some valuable lessons.  Some for the better and a few from the worst.  One thing I know for sure is this type of work is not for the faint of heart.  There are boatloads of balls to juggle, enough attitudes to make you want to scream and extreme highs that sometimes laughter can’t touch.  If you have remotely walked in my shoes, then you know exactly what I am talking about.

• Keep a level head:  With time driven deadlines and multiple activities to manage, you must keep one foot on the ground pushing forward.  Someone is always going to give you something at the last minute and you will need to have the ability to focus and push through.  Attitudes will swarm and anxiety levels will rise.  You will also need to look up and take an environmental scan of what’s going on around you so that you can see through the storm.  We have a proposal tools webinar where we teach you how to develop sound strategies for managing the process.

• Clear strategy beats tactics: It is true you should have a clear plan before getting started with your writing.  You need to know where you are going so that you end up where you thought you would.  Proposal writing pushes your limits on the management of time, resources, and patience.  Before every proposal, my team and I make sure we have developed a sound kickoff process, proposal outline, schedule and strategy to move forward.  It decreases wasting time and puts the whole team on the same page.  We are also able to better work with each other.  Here is a great example of planning your proposal strategy:

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• Ability to use both sides of my brain: Most people think that proposal writing is strictly technical and analytical.  That’s actually not true.  We have the ability to think analytically AND creatively when it comes to preparing our response.  Yes, there is a formal process by which you have to put it together and answer the evaluator’s requirements.  BUT, we also have the ability to creatively display the information beyond checking the box.  We have the ability to layout our responses in a way that gets the best visual impact.  This is where we get to think ‘outside of the box’.  Your layout sets the tone of how the evaluator will digest your proposal.  Be creative, use graphics, matrices, charts, and hyperlinks, if possible.

• It’s not a glorified admin position: The complexities of responding to a government solicitation takes many forms.  From managing the team to analyzing the Q&A, to understanding the regulatory requirements, government proposal writing is much more than a glorified secretary.  An organization needs to make a consorted effort of providing the appropriate resources and priority in order for the proposal team to be successful.  An effective proposal writer needs to have management skills similar to a project manager, the creativity of a marketing strategist, and the administrative skills of an executive assistant. Here is a white paper we developed if you are looking for a proposal consultant HERE.

Whether you are in this field, have a small business or thinking about getting into this field, proposal writing is essential to winning government contracts.  My hope is that these tips make it just a little easier for you to start on the winning path.  If you like this article and want more information about how to write government proposals, please check out our Resources.