The Effect on Proposal Professionals

The contracting market will put pressure on proposal professionals, both employees and consultants.  As federal contractors have to do more with less, they will need to continue reducing the force of proposal employees and reducing the budget for proposal consultants.  Given that the federal market is more competitive now, the contractors will want to invest more in proposal resources.  However, market realities will force most of them to invest less in proposal personnel / activities.

What Can Proposal Professionals Do?

Most proposal people have one strong character trait that will help them get through this crisis – they are agile people who are used to doing many different things as needed to get the proposal out the door.  The job requires us to be resourceful, and most of us have learned how to be survivors.

Now is the time for all of us to focus on developing our best strategy to not only survive but also thrive in spite of the contracting market.   Following below are some ideas that may be helpful:

  1. Improve your skills.  This involves making a judgment as to what added skills you need to provide the highest value service and then learning those skills.  This can be done through mentoring, seminars, self help, online study, college classes, MOOC (Massive Open Online Classes), etc. 
  2. Improve your credentials.  In this era, employers more and more like to see credentials.  Get whatever technical, managerial, and educational credentials you need to maintain your position or move up.  Based on 27 years at a proposal services agency, I think the credential offering the greatest value for the effort is the MBA.   I have noticed that people with an MBA are usually more skilled at proposal preparation tasks than those without it.  However, things like getting proposal management certifications are quicker.
  3. Flex your style of work to help increase your value.  Especially in this market, welcome added duties and responsibilities.  Be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave in the crunch times.  And bring your best group work personality to the task.  If you are a person who is regarded as not being a good group worker by your associates, then do something about it.  For example, either bring your personality under self control or get professional help through a seminar or other professional source of help.  This is important, because, especially in time of a challenged market, the readiness of employers to tolerate personnel with marginal attitude or group skills is declining. 
  4. Consider a career change if you think this would be in your best interest.  This is an option I frankly hesitate to mention.  However, it is a valid choice; it may be the best way for some people to go; and it is do-able.  For example, a system engineer helping with product proposals can probably find a system development position in an expanding market area.  A graphic artist has skills that are readily transportable in many different directions.  And a proposal writer is qualified to do other types of technical, marketing, and business writing.  This option is especially considerable based on circumstances – for example, if you have family responsibilities that make it really difficult to work proposal hours.

The most surprising part of this market change is that the sky has not fallen.  As the fiscal cliff drama began to unfold, it appeared to me that we were about to experience a calamity like a typhoon or an earthquake.  Instead, this is a crisis that those of us who love the business can get through. Times may not be as easy and fast as they were during past decades.  But we are agile people; we are industrious people; and we are dedicated people.  We will learn to adapt.  And we will be able to run even faster in this never ending race that brings so much fun and excitement to our lives.