Why You Need a Proposal Coordinator and Proposal Manager Now

Imagine having a million-dollar opportunity in front of you and just a short bit of time to put your master plan together. There is $1 million on the line! What are you going to do to make sure your plan wins? The first thing that will likely come to your mind (other than I can’t believe I have a $1 million opportunity in front of me) is that you need to put together the right team to help you accomplish your goal. Well, of course, that is the best thing to do first. This master plan isn’t going to create itself.

So, who will be on your team?

You will need someone who is trustworthy and can help you achieve organization throughout the process of creating your master plan. After all, there will be a lot of moving parts and people to manage… which brings us to the next person.

Your winning team will also need someone who is knowledgeable about a similar process and understands how to delegate tasks, as well as identify areas of opportunity. Are we starting to paint a picture for you?

Your million-dollar opportunity is not that farfetched. Your next RFP response process can be just that, and that is when you need to ensure you have the right team of people on your side. Every proposal management process or RFP response should leverage the two types of people described above: a Proposal Coordinator and Proposal Manager.

You need a Proposal Coordinator and Proposal Manager now. Learn why next.

05 Immediate Benefits to Having a Proposal Manager and Proposal Coordinator

Hiring is serious business, so we do not suggest these two roles lightly. Perhaps you only have a proposal writer or have a BD lead who takes on all roles when it is time to write a business proposal. However, your proposal response team looks, we strongly suggest that you have a Proposal Manager make lead decisions for your sales and proposal writing team, and a Proposal Coordinator taking charge of your proposal coordination efforts.

Trust us. You want to realize these benefits:

Leverage a Streamlined Workflow.

The million-dollar opportunity needs to be vetted and the process to create the master plan (or the final proposal) needs to be managed from start to finish. Your Proposal Manager and Proposal Coordinator are responsible for making sure that process is aligned with your team’s workflow and skill level.

Maximized Effort and Increased Productivity.

RFP responses take a hefty amount of time and effort. It is a big endeavor that should be divided up in segments and among a team of collaborators rather than taken on by a single person. Adding these two critical roles to your RFP response team will maximize team productivity and help boost team morale. Ultimately, a happier team will provide quality work.

Centralize Expertise.

When you have team members who are strictly dedicated to the art of responding to proposals it centralizes expertise to one joint effort. Your sales team can focus on the client relationship and providing the intel for the proposal as your dedicated proposal staff manages the RFP response.

Implement Best Practices.

Specialized professionals understand the nuances of proposal-specific tasks and are qualified to implement best practices for their responsibilities. Quality stays at the forefront of each stage in the proposal effort…meaning you are even closer to the win.

Improve Processes.

Quality and centralized expertise will be at the helm of your processes with a specialized team who can implement best practices. A Proposal Manager and Proposal Coordinator work together with your sales team to improve processes for greater delivery and so that you can scale proposal efforts.

Those are just some of the benefits that come with having the right resources, like talented people, proposal management software, and standardized best practices.

What does a Proposal Manager do?

A Proposal Manager is typically a senior level professional with at least 5-7 years of experience in the proposal or the business development industry. Their duties really all depend on your organization and your management workflow. Yet, the primary duties of the Proposal Manager is to assign tasks, oversee proposal processes, and ensure that all deadlines are met.

JobHero.com says “In a small or a mid-size company, a Proposal Manager can be a stand-alone role, reporting to the Sales or Marketing Director. In a large enterprise, Proposal Managers can report to the Head of Commercial Management or Finance Manager, and work in a more collaborative team environment.”

A Proposal Manager job description may include these core descriptions:

Experience

Proven ability in RFP review, planning, producing and delivering compliant proposals within a fast-growing environment, including presentation development. The Proposal Manager will be experienced in scheduling and running proposal kick-off meetings, leading storyboarding sessions, facilitating key review meetings / final document review, coordinating proposal governance / sign-off, document production and delivery of the completed proposal.

Core Responsibilities

• Delivery of compliant proposals according to customer requirements and timelines
• Reviews/edits input from a variety of stakeholders involving sales, marketing, product teams, finance, commercial, legal and delivery
• Communicate and influence at a senior level
• Ability to coach sales teams and subject matter experts in persuasive writing and proposal best practice
• Understanding of RFP software like Zbizlink (or similar) experience
• Document template management in line with company branding
• Strong time management skills
• Excellent attention to detail.

Qualifications

Bachelors degree or a minimum of 7 years of experience

APMP Foundation / Practitioner Level Certified (preferred)

Advanced MS Word skills & proficient in MS Office.

Salary

According to Payscale.com, Proposal Managers average about $76,908 annually.

Proposal Managers are responsible for the ensuring the success of the overall effort, while the quality of the proposal falls on every contributor.

What does a Proposal Coordinator do differently?

A Proposal Coordinator can start entry level and should have some level of marketing or proposal experience. However, the position is typically concerned with organization, merging individual contributions, maintaining proposal design, and helping to ensure proposal compliance with the client requirements and company’s organizational process assets. These tasks are easily taught, so the Proposal Coordinator simply needs to have a high attention to detail, but a 1-3 years of experience is preferred.

Some organizations want the Proposal Coordinator to have a larger hand in the development of the proposal, compliance matrix, and proposal presentations.

A Proposal Coordinator’s job deliverables may include:

• Proposal schedules and status reports
• RFP requirements compliance matrix
• Draft proposal versions
• Proposal graphics
• Final proposal documents
• Oral presentation PowerPoint slides

According to Payscale.com, Proposal Coordinators make an average of $54,039 annually.

Proposal Managers and Proposal Coordinators should have this skill

In today’s tech savvy world, Proposal Managers and Proposal Coordinators ought to possess working knowledge of the best proposal management tools. Technologies are transforming the business development realm and organizations who train or hire employees to use them have a fair advantage.

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