Companies failing to make the production of a proposal simple and relatively painless lose sales. RFPs sit unanswered on a manager's desk not because the opportunity didn't fit but because no one was available to do the work, or no one wanted to do it. In reviewing the proposal-writing processes of a number of companies, I've concluded that there are really two types of firms. Type B. Type A firms make no investment in proposal writing. It is not recognized as an important sales tool.
Proposals result from individual effort with little training, support or help.
In these companies, proposal writing is expensive, inefficient, frustrating and difficult. It is done in a environment without access to resources and with little encouragement. And, because proposal writing in Type A firms relies on individual experience, it only can be done by senior people. Indeed, the Type A approach introduces a costly level of chaos throughout the organization. First, because ad hoc proposal writing generally consumes all available time, a valuable senior sales or marketing person spends five to 10 days on the task.