What Makes a Good Proposal Manager

The proposal manager is the role at the heart of the bid team. Proposal managers own the entire proposal process. They’re the ones tasked with responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and it’s their responsibility to make sure bids are written and submitted to potential clients on time.

In some cases, proposal managers are the only role in an organization dedicated to the bid process. In others, the proposal manager is the leader of a team of proposal professionals, coordinating writers, designers, editors, and reviewers.

No matter how large their team, however, it’s a big role, especially for companies that depend on RFP responses and proposals for the bulk of their revenue. So what makes a truly great proposal manager, and what skills should they have?

A Look at the Proposal Manager Role

According to Payscale, the typical proposal manager makes an average $79,256 a year, although their salaries can be as high as $112,000, depending on their location, experience, and industry.

They earn that salary by working long hours. Research from the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) indicates that the majority of proposal professionals work more than 40 hours per week, with 14% reporting regularly working over 50 hours per week. Despite the stress and long hours, Payscale finds that proposal managers tend to enjoy their jobs, with respondents giving their job a 3.98 out of 5 stars.

Proposal managers often come from other proposal-related roles, such as proposal writers, but they need skills beyond writing. It’s important for proposal managers to be adept at managing a team, communicating with people from different areas of a company, and organizing a proposal process.

What Soft Skills Do Proposal Managers Need?

The best proposal managers are experts when it comes to RFPs, but they’re also excellent managers. This requires the ability to organize a successful team, plan the process of building the RFP response, and ensure a strong response is delivered by the deadline. The essential soft skills include:

1. Communication: Proposal managers communicate across an organization and may also be in contact with clients. They need to engage with every stakeholder to keep everyone informed and to ensure the proposal progresses through the writing process.
2. Attention to Detail: Proposal managers spend significant time reviewing RFPs. They must absorb every detail of the RFP to ensure that the proposal addresses all necessary information. They are also the final reviewers of the proposal before submission, requiring them to catch any mistakes.
3. Organization: RFP responses may span hundreds of pages and have multiple contributors. A capable proposal manager must keep everything organized.
4. Time Management: Like many project managers, proposal managers need to stay on top of deadlines to ensure the bid is submitted on time. This often involves juggling multiple deadlines for different drafts and stakeholders.
5. Delegation: Despite being experts in their field, proposal managers must know when to delegate tasks. Research shows that proposal managers spend an average of 27 hours writing a proposal, which may not always be the best use of their time. Effective managers understand the value of leveraging team members and software to enhance their productivity.

Using Automation as a Proposal Manager

RFP automation refers to using technology to automate aspects of the proposal creation process. By employing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, RFP automation software can draft a basic proposal that a team can then customize for specific bids. This can significantly benefit smaller bid teams with fewer dedicated professionals while larger teams can also reap the rewards.

When proposal automation, like Ombud’s RFP automation solution, handles the preliminary draft of an RFP response, the bid team can focus on the creative elements, alleviating some of the burden on proposal managers.

For more information about Ombud’s RFP automation software visit our website or request a demo here.