What Does a Proposal Manager Do?

Have you ever encountered a piece of writing that deeply resonated with you? It spoke directly to you and your company’s needs, demonstrating a clear understanding of your challenges. This connection speaks to the heart of Proposal Management, where resonating with your client is fundamental.

The Proposal Management world is a diverse one, so to summarise it in this introduction may not do it justice. However, to scratch the surface, the goal of Proposal Management is to win business; to take a client’s request for proposal (RFP) and craft a competitive, winning response. To win new business means leading your company towards a future of growth and prosperity.

Proposal Management harnesses the needs and desires of clients in order to present them with the solution to their organisation’s needs. It’s not simply about putting together proposal content that meets a client’s specifications. It's about developing, creating and delivering a strategic and emotionally evocative proposal that engages the client and conveys a key message: why our solution is the best.

Proposal Management is the cohesive effort of teams and individuals to develop a winning proposal in response to a client’s RFP. The camaraderie between Proposal Managers, subject matter experts, Bid / Proposal Writers, and everyone involved in developing the proposal is crucial. Imagine the shared sense of achievement and elation when your team’s proposal wins! Crafting winning proposals plays a key role in securing business opportunities and, thus, the overall success of a business.

A Proposal Manager serves a similar function to the central nervous system in the human body, conveying all the right messages that are critical to success. The role is crucial from the initial emergence of an opportunity, through its analysis and development, to the creation of the final proposal.

Central to the role of a Proposal Manager is understanding people, from clients to, subject matter experts and proposal teams. Without the Proposal Manager, much like without the central nervous system, there would be no co-ordination, no process, no strategy, no direction and, therefore, no ability to win.

A proposal demands an exceptional level of detail, from meeting the word count to presenting a detailed technical solution that meets and exceeds client needs. A Proposal Manager needs to interpret the requirements, balance the expectations and predict the competition, all while motivating and leading a proposal team.

Within the job description of a Proposal Manager, you’ll often find a diverse set of responsibilities. Proposal Managers are responsible for proposal development, including maintaining schedules, organising resources, coordinating inputs and reviews, ensuring bid strategy implementation, ensuring compliance, resolving internal team issues, and providing process leadership.

Much like a lion leading the hunt of its pride, the Proposal Manager must define the tactics, foresee the challenges, delegate tasks, and direct the team.

The role requires understanding a client’s needs, constraints and aspirations, and translating them into a structured and cohesive proposal. A Proposal Manager must communicate with other teams within the organisation that maintain relationships with the client, and often directly with the client themselves, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the client’s long-term goals.

The proposal should align with the company's strategies. The client needs to be assured that they are making the right investment. It is the Proposal Manager's responsibility to ensure that the team delivers a proposal that reassures the client of this. This is done by managing resources and working to time constraints, whilst maintaining a healthily competitive environment to drive the proposal to the winning position.

A successful Proposal Manager will master a specific set of skills. This includes:

• Exceptional writing and communication skills, and the ability to articulate clearly and influentially.
• The ability to encourage collaboration and creativity whilst maintaining sight of the client’s requirements. Proposal Managers often need to engage with a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Project Management skills and the ability to enable efficient organisation of resources to meet strict timelines.
• Maintaining oversight of the proposal content to ensure that the client’s requirements are clearly addressed and that the finished proposal is in alignment with the organisation’s bid strategy.
• Attentive and detail-oriented, to work to the constraints and demands set out in the client’s request for proposal.

The road to Proposal Management entails continuous professional development, relishing in experiences and insights at every step.

This makes the journey of a Proposal Manager an engaging and adventurous one, learning through education and community:

- Certifications and Training: There are several certifications for each step of the journey, whether you’re just starting out or wanting to certify your existing abilities. The Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) offers professionally-recognised certifications worldwide. Credible certifications are a method of validating an individual’s expertise and commitment to the Bid and Proposal profession.

- Join APMP: Joining communities such as APMP can be a game-changer.  The success of its members is central to the Association; it is at the core of its mission. The Association facilitates networking opportunities with like-minded professionals, promotes the sharing of knowledge and experience, and creates insights and practical resources for the development of individuals and the industry.

If you are beginning your journey and want to know how you can propel yourself into the Proposal Management world, you can pursue certifications, join communities and job search for roles such as:

- Proposal Coordinator

- Proposal/ Bid Writer

- Proposal Specialist

- Proposal/ Bid Administrator.

This episode of APMG’s ‘Level Up’ Q&A show focuses on how to become a bid and proposal professional. The panel of experts included Cath Convery, Director of Explosion Learning; Lorraine Baird, Director of Strategic Proposals; Peter Lobl, Director of Strategic Proposals; Andrew Haigh, Director of Sixfold International; and Mike Parkinson, Director of Sixfold International Ltd.

Topics discussed encompassed:

• The difference between a bid manager and a proposal manager.
• The steps a general content writer can take to transition into the role of a bid writer.
• The skills or expertise crucial for success in these roles.
• Examples of innovative proposal strategies and techniques that have proven successful in securing contracts or winning bids.

In this interview with Ashley Kayes, a professional in the proposal field, she discusses her transition from a career break to becoming a proposal consultant. Kayes emphasises that skills like writing, organisation, editing and attention to detail are crucial in proposal management. She also highlights the dynamic nature of the proposal profession and the value of APMP certification, even for experienced professionals, to stay abreast of evolving trends and best practices in the field.

In this interview, Pawel Fleischer, a Business Development Manager and Bid Manager, discusses his background, journey into bid management, and experiences in the defense and space sectors. Fleischer highlights the lengthy and complex nature of projects in defense and aerospace, noting that success in these fields takes years and involves high entry thresholds. He also talks about passing the APMP Foundation training and exam, choosing this certification to demonstrate his expertise in Business Development and Bid Management.

To conclude, if you’re looking for a career to engage, excite and challenge you, then Proposal Management may be for you. The role provides endless opportunities for personal and professional growth, through experience, education and community. Being at the core of business success, Proposal Management is an indispensable function. If you’re looking for a sign to lead you to your future career, this is it. 

APMG recommends training courses, from APMG approved trainers, so that you receive credible education and support, and gain the most value from your investment. The APMP Certifications have been developed from the APMP Body of Knowledge, a highly-regarded source of best practice used by Bid and Proposal Professionals.

The Foundation training and certification develops the fundamental industry skills, understanding and vocabulary. Micro-Certifications delve further into specialist topics. Individuals who hold these certifications can be confident they will deliver competently, with clients and customers at the heart of their work.

Begin your journey and certify your abilities with APMP Foundation and the various Micro-Certifications.

Progress your career and demonstrate your mastery of the Bid and Proposal best practices with APMP Practitioner and Capture Practitioner certifications. These certificates validate the individual’s ability to apply best practices in their day-to-day role. Whether leading your team to the winning proposal with the Practitioner certification or coordinating the pursuit of complex business winning opportunities with Capture, these certifications demonstrate your professional skills.

Finally, you can affirm your status as a leader within the Bid and Proposal industry with the prestigious APMP Professional certification. The Professional certification is a way to acknowledge and credit an individual’s career achievements. It delves into the competencies displayed by the individual and reviews a Proposal Professional Impact Paper (PPIP), replicating and demonstrating actual proposal experience, capabilities and aptitudes.