How To Become INDISPENSABLE.
I’ll say it. Proposal coordination and management can be a royal pain in the ass. It’s something I used to struggle with.
It felt like we were flying by the seat of our pants. It seemed like people didn’t get serious until the deadline. All the pieces fell to the last minute and I was left picking them off the floor and shoving them into our proposal.
I spent many late nights and holidays trying desperately to get proposals out the door.
With stuff delivered late, there was no time for proofreading. I’d submit proposals concerned that something goofy was in there. To be honest, it really made my blood pressure boil.
I didn’t understand why Go/No Go decisions took so long. Here the clock was ticking and the RFP was sitting on someone's desk waiting for a decision. And it seemed like there was nothing I could do about it.
Editing was also a nightmare. Version control issues and major last minute changes made me crazy. I was always left worrying whether I would even have enough time to put everything together.
Couldn’t they see that I just didn’t have an “easy” button to get everything done? And because I didn’t have time to spend being creative with that information, I felt like my ability to contribute was being stolen from me.
Working with subconsultants was like pulling teeth. It seemed like there was no customization from subs’ materials. And I’d waste countless hours formatting their stuff to match up with our proposal.
Not to mention, engaging the staff was a challenge. I understood they had competing priorities with billable work, but I didn’t know how to keep them on task without getting my head bitten off.
Worst of all, I didn’t have a strategic plan for managing proposals or the confidence to know I was making the right decisions or giving the right recommendations.
Nobody wanted to pay $1,000 to send me to a two-day course on proposal management. Heck, I knew I needed help...but even I didn't want to sit through two days at a Best Western trying to stay awake while some consultant yammered on about proposal management. There really wasn't an easy and accessible way for me to get the training I needed.
So, I spent over a decade talking to the best proposal managers in the business, reading every book on the subject, submitting over 1,000 proposals, and learning from my own (often disastrous) mistakes. I even wrote one of the most popular books on proposal development (five out of five stars on Amazon.com).
I know many managers and coordinators STILL struggle with the same issues. And I know there STILL isn't an easy and accessible way for them to get the training they need.
That's why I developed Proposal Management Mastery, an online, three-week course on proposal management. And for the first time ever, I've decided to open up my vault of proposal management materials to share with you.
Not only am I inviting you to join me for this course, I want to explain exactly what you'll learn in it.
I'm Matt Handal, the creator of Proposal Management Mastery.
I've published two popular books on proposal writing.
The American Institute of Architects even included my relevancy formula for proposals in The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice.
Over 10,000 proposal professionals read my website each month.