I had a shock at the APMP UK conference a couple of years ago. I was late to the coffee break after presenting a session and as I looked over the assembled horde, it hit me: I’m one of the old folks here! One recent survey tells me a third of our profession were still at school – or hadn’t been born – when I set up my first proposal centre in 1999!
Processes that seemed radical then are now mainstream: let’s ponder a couple of examples. Back then, why would you think about a proposal before the RFP landed? Now we’re in a world where capture, pre-proposal planning and renewal proposals are increasingly the norm.
Qualification was a novel concept. Now, according to a recent Loopio / APMP report, 83% of organisations have a “bid / no bid” process – even if far too many teams still pour resource into deals they aren’t confident they can win!
Proposal writing’s become far more professional and conversational. Design’s been revolutionised. Someone recently described a submission to me as a “magazine-style proposal”. No, my friend, it’s a “proposal-style proposal”.
We’re rarely in “war rooms” together now: our world’s become virtual or blended. We’re still looking at new tech – only now it’s AI as well as content management.
And now, there are SO MANY PEOPLE. Relatively few organisations had formal bid teams back in those days: these days, most do. Industry conferences draw hundreds (or thousands). We have apprentices, certification, endless babble about best practice on LinkedIn. Looks like a profession? Behaves like a profession? It’s probably a profession – no longer “glorified admin”.
Yet too few organisations really “get it”: proposals can too often feel like an uphill battle rather than being in the DNA of the business. I’ve long argued the proposal function is the job protection and creation engine for most companies, driving revenue growth. As such, it should be visible to and sponsored from the C-suite. That needs to become more common.
And for high performers, the agenda moves on to creating a bid and proposal function that’s perfecting its engagement with the business and outwitting ever-tougher competition. That requires better alignment to the new business and renewal pipeline, sharper and more nimble processes, top-class training, sound tech. Most importantly, it demands great people. Perhaps the greatest challenge now is how to hire, develop and retain the very best.
Stand still? You lose. The winners – as they’ve been over all these years – will be those with the vision, passion, determination and energy to get even better. Will you be at the front of the pack or left trailing behind, now our profession’s come of age?
Jon Williams
Jon and his team work with clients worldwide to help them establish winning proposal capabilities and to capture major deals. He has built and led numerous bid and proposal centres; managed, reviewed and benchmarked countless proposals; worked in over 35 countries; and trained many thousands of course participants.
