Lesson 13: What Do Proposal Consultants Do?

For either of these cases, proposal consultants can be your saving grace in helping you achieve 100% compliance and create a responsive, winning proposal.

While a number of companies have internal proposal teams, many companies- large and small- do not.

Unfortunately, corporations often view proposal teams as overhead instead of a valuable resource, leaving proposal development to whoever can get it done. Proposal tasks get stacked on top of their daily responsibilities, which means working nights and weekends to complete the proposal on time.

This lack-luster approach leads to lost bids and frustrated teams. They struggle to delegate responsibilities, schedule reviews, and meet deadlines. Proposal consultants can resolve these disparities.

Ok, so what are proposal consultants? According to the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) Body of Knowledge,

“Proposal/Business Development Consultants are independent contractors who work for proposal consulting companies. They provide companies additional options for resources across all business development functions. Their job functions vary from leadership of engagements to assisting in surge situations. Their roles may include contributions to supporting a client’s business development capabilities in the areas of gap analysis, process development, and leadership coaching.”

This definition presents consultants as a supplement for existing proposal teams without addressing the critical role of proposal consultants as the only source of proposal support.

In many cases, the consultant (or team of consultants) serve as the primary proposal team and only solicits help from the hiring company when needed (e.g. executive sponsorship, subject matter expertise, final review and delivery support).

To learn more about when to hire a proposal consultant, stay tuned for RFPs 101 Lesson 14: How to Tell When You Need Professional Proposal Help.” 

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash