Adding staff is one of the key challenges facing all companies that want to enjoy success in the government market. Adding staff is expensive and making the wrong decision about whom to hire and when is even more expensive. Early in my proposal career, my job entailed hiring proposal managers. Not only were they not easy to find, it was tricky to predict which ones would be successful once hired.
Many, if not most, entrepreneurs start out doing everything themselves. It is a logical approach, especially for businesses that are organic, meaning that they do not have outside investors. At a certain point, it no longer works. Two people in a garage can accomplish a lot, but they cannot scale without support. This is when business owners start to think about expanding the team. If you are selling to the federal government, what type of talent should you bring on board, and when?
This is the first in a series that will explore some of the types of professionals you will want to consider hiring to be successful in the government market: business development managers, capture managers, contract managers, proposal managers.
Contract managers are critical for your business because they can interpret federal government laws and regulations that you will be required to comply with to both win and execute contracts. The more experienced ones are familiar with the regulatory issues at every stage of the acquisition cycle (the acquisition time zones), from market research all the way through to contract closeout. They understand how to communicate with government contracting officers, how to fill out forms, how to evaluate potential exposure or risk of a company in complying with all the clauses that get added to virtually every government RFP.
Different skill and knowledge levels among these professionals reflect their experience and certifications; some learn everything on the job, and others, particularly those who have held government jobs, have certifications. A certification in and of itself is not a guarantee, but it does show a commitment to the profession and the ability to master content in a disciplined way.
Proposal managers also come in different stripes and sizes. Some get formal training and others learn strictly by doing. Many proposal managers arrive in the profession after an early career as a subject matter expert or manager. Proposal managers (the good ones) excel at one moment in the business cycle: the period between RFP release and proposal submittal. They either have, or they know how to quickly acquire and integrate, skills in: decomposing an RFP, outlining a compliant proposal, scheduling proposal activities, RFP compliance, graphics development, desktop publishing, and technical writing. Many have subject matter knowledge in the product or service being proposed. They keep the trains running on time during that crucial window and they know how to make sure that the proposal is delivered on time.
Because they are so focused on just one critical window in time, it takes a certain volume of proposals to keep a proposal manager engaged full time. Often, organizations hire proposal talent “as needed” so that they don’t have to pay someone in between proposals. Most large organizations use both in-house proposal managers and contract employees so that they are covered for peak periods but not paying an excessive amount in salaries during periods with little proposal activity.
In future posts, we will look at how to screen candidates when you choose to hire for these positions, as well as other positions that will help your business succeed.