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Proposal management is high-stakes, fast-paced, and relentless. Most teams are so focused on meeting deadlines and getting submissions out the door that there’s rarely time to reflect on how the process could be improved, or what tools and strategies could make it easier. But taking a moment to rethink your approach can unlock significant gains: less stress, better collaboration, and a higher chance of winning the work you want.
Even the most experienced teams can fall into survival mode — reusing content that isn’t quite right, juggling formatting at the last minute, and relying on ad hoc coordination just to get things over the line. But with a few intentional shifts, firms can transform how they approach proposal management, moving from firefighting to a more scalable, proactive mindset.
This guide is designed to help you get there.
Whether you’re a bid manager looking to streamline your process, an executive trying to improve win rates, or part of a small team wearing multiple hats, this guide will walk you through:
- What bid and proposal management actually involves
- How to set up the right people, processes, and platforms
- A clear, stage-by-stage walkthrough of the entire bid lifecycle
- Common mistakes to avoid — and how to fix them
- The nuances of working across industries and internal roles
- Practical first steps to improving your proposal processes
We’ve also linked to deeper resources throughout to support each phase of the journey.
Whether you manage five bids a year or fifty, this is your blueprint for a smarter, faster, and more confident proposal process.
Chapter 1: Understanding Bid & Proposal Management
Bid and proposal management is one of the most cross-functional, high-stakes activities in a professional services firm. It’s where business development, delivery, operations, and strategy converge — all in service of a single question: Can we win this project, and can we deliver it successfully?
But despite its importance, bid management is often misunderstood or underestimated. This chapter lays the groundwork for what bid and proposal management really entails — and why getting it right can be the difference between winning predictable revenue and missing out on valuable opportunities.
What is Bid Management vs. Proposal Management?
These terms are often used interchangeably, but they serve different purposes in the overall process:
- Bid Management is the process of identifying, qualifying, planning, and coordinating a response to a potential opportunity — from the moment an RFP (Request for Proposal) arrives to the moment it’s submitted.
- Proposal Management refers specifically to the creation and delivery of the proposal document itself — the written response that outlines your firm's qualifications, experience, pricing, and approach.
In short: bid management is strategic; proposal management is tactical. Both require discipline, structure, and buy-in from across the organization.
Who’s Involved in the Bid Process?
A successful bid isn’t just the responsibility of a bid manager. It’s a team sport. Depending on the size and complexity of the opportunity, contributors may include:
- Sales and Business Development – bringing in the opportunity and maintaining client relationships.
- Bid/Proposal Managers – orchestrating timelines, content, and contributors.
- Marketing and Design Teams – ensuring strong writing, brand consistency and visual polish.
- HR and Resource Managers – managing employee and skills data.
- Legal and Finance – reviewing terms, pricing, and risk.
- IT and Systems - ensuring everyone’s working on the same page, with strong integrated tools.
The more cohesive and coordinated these roles are, the higher the likelihood of delivering a proposal that’s not just compliant — but compelling. We talk about each of these roles in more detail later in this blog.
Types of Bids - RFPs vs RFIs vs EOIs & more
There are several formats firms respond to, each with its own quirks:
- RFPs (Request for Proposals) – These are the most common and typically the most detailed. RFPs include specific requirements around scope, methodology, team structure, commercial terms, and past experience. Responses are often scored against weighted criteria, so clarity, structure, and compliance are critical.
- RFIs (Request for Information) – RFIs are usually issued earlier in the procurement process to assess potential vendors' capabilities and suitability. They don’t always lead to a formal bid but are an opportunity to get on a buyer’s radar, shape their thinking, or secure a place on a shortlist.
- EOIs (Expressions of Interest) – EOIs are used to prequalify firms before inviting full proposals. They often require firms to demonstrate experience, capacity, and alignment with the client’s needs — usually without submitting a full technical or commercial proposal just yet.
- Tenders – Common in public sector and construction-based procurement, tenders often come with highly prescriptive formats and strict compliance requirements. Submission portals, file naming conventions, response structures, and required attachments are often non-negotiable — missing any of them can lead to disqualification.
Each format places different emphasis on sections like case studies, team resumes, commercial structure, and compliance documentation — making content standardization, structure, and reusability a key challenge (and opportunity) for proposal teams.
Anatomy of a Proposal
While structures vary by industry and client, most professional services proposals include:
- Executive Summary – the tailored hook that shows you understand the client’s needs.
- Methodology / Approach – your plan for delivering the project.
- Pricing / Commercials – how much it will cost and how it’s structured.
- Team CVs / Resumes – who’s going to carry out the work, and proof that they’ve had success in similar projects.
- Past Experience / Case Studies – proving your track record in similar work.
- Compliance Information – accreditations, insurances, forms, and checklists.
Each section needs to walk the line between being informative and persuasive — and it needs to be easy to assemble under pressure.
Internal and External Drivers of Proposal Success
Externally, your proposal is being judged on how well it fits the client’s needs, how clearly it’s written, and how credible it appears. But internally, several invisible forces shape the outcome long before the submission date. Some of these include:
- How easily can we find relevant project experience?
- Are our team CVs up-to-date and aligned with the opportunity?
- Do we have standardized templates to reduce formatting stress?
- Do we have clear processes to qualify bids before we start writing?
These internal enablers often determine whether you can respond quickly, respond well — or not at all.
Chapter 2: Setting Up a Winning Bid Function
Most firms start with ad hoc bid processes. One person takes the lead, deadlines are met (barely), and content is pulled together from old files, inboxes, and memory. It works — until it doesn’t. As the volume and complexity of bids increase, firms need to move from a reactive approach to a structured bid function that can scale.
This chapter explores what a high-functioning bid operation looks like — and how to build one, step by step.
Core Capabilities Every Firm Needs
To manage bids efficiently and consistently, you need more than just good intentions. A winning bid function is built on three pillars:
- People – The right mix of roles and responsibilities.
- Processes – Repeatable workflows that reduce chaos.
- Platforms – Tools that support speed, structure, and collaboration.
Let’s break these down.
1. People: Establishing Clear Ownership
The right people can make or break a bid — but more important than who’s involved is who owns what. As firms grow or pursue more complex bids, blurred lines between roles lead to bottlenecks, duplicated work, or last-minute scrambles.
The key is defining responsibilities clearly — and documenting them so everyone knows their role at each stage of the process.
You might use a RACI matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) to clarify expectations across:
- Bid/Proposal Managers – Own the end-to-end process, set timelines, and coordinate contributors.
- Sales or BD Leads – Provide context on the client’s needs, decision-makers, and competitive landscape.
- Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) – Deliver the technical or delivery-specific input needed to respond with credibility.
- Marketing & Design – Bring consistency, polish, and brand alignment to the final document.
- Leadership / Commercial Approvers – Weigh in on pricing strategy, risk, and final sign-off.
In smaller firms, these responsibilities may sit with just one or two people. In larger organizations, clarity is even more important — especially when deadlines are tight and stakes are high.
Action to take:
Create a visual RACI for your most common bid types. You can always adjust it later, but even a simple version brings structure and accountability to what can otherwise be a chaotic process.
2. Processes: Build for Repeatability
Even if each bid is different, your process shouldn’t be reinvented every time. The most effective bid teams work from a clearly defined framework that includes:
- Bid qualification (go/no-go) criteria
- Kickoff meeting checklists
- Content request templates
- Standard formatting and file naming
- Review stages (pink/red team reviews)
- Approval workflows
- Submission checklists
Good processes reduce errors, speed up responses, and make collaboration easier — especially under tight deadlines.
Action to take:
Document your current bid process. Identify common bottlenecks and miscommunications. Build a playbook that anyone in your team can follow.
To help you kick off this process, we’ve created a go/no-go guide. While it was written for Construction firms, the core principals apply across all Professional Services firms.
3. Platforms: Get the Right Tools in Place
Even with responsibilities mapped out, and processes defined, manual bid management quickly becomes unmanageable. As volume grows, you’ll need technology to:
- Store and reuse content, such as boilerplate sections, resumes, case studies, pricing tables, and more
- Search for relevant experience and people across the firm to find your winning teams and case studies fast.
- Tailor content easily to match specific requirements.
- Export proposals into branded or client-mandated formats.
- Track performance over time.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution — the right mix depends on your firm’s structure and needs. We delve into the specific tools and what to look out for later in this blog.
Action to take:
Audit your current tools. Are you duplicating effort across platforms? Are your systems integrated? Are people still storing important data in Excel sheets or Word docs?
Centralizing Experience Data: The Often-Overlooked Foundation
One of the biggest sources of inefficiency, and one of the biggest missed opportunities in the proposal processe lies in how firms handle experience data. Often, resumes and case studies are thought of merely as supporting materials. However, in many bids, especially in professional services, they are the proposal. Clients often evaluate submissions based on whether the proposed team has done similar work, in a similar context, with measurable results. Case studies show proof. Resumes show credibility. Together, they build trust.
Therefore, managing this data efficiently is half the battle of creating a strong proposal. Yet despite their importance, this content is often the hardest to manage. It's buried in old folders, scattered across teams, or saved in inconsistent formats. As a result, bid teams spend hours chasing down bios, rewriting project summaries, or trying to figure out if a consultant’s “relevant experience” is actually up to date.
By centralizing experience data — and making it searchable and structured — firms can:
- Quickly identify the most relevant team members and past projects
- Tailor content to the client’s needs with far less manual effort
- Avoid errors, inconsistencies, and outdated information
- Reuse and repackage high-quality content across bids
Action to take:
If you’re still managing resumes and project data in folders and spreadsheets, it’s time to rethink. Look for a solution, such as Flowcase, that makes this data reusable and accessible across your team.
Defining What “Good” Looks Like
Last but not least, an important part of a strong bid function is setting goals. Without a shared understanding of what success means, teams default to “just get it out the door.” Instead, you should define what a high-quality bid looks like for your firm. This might include a:
- High win rate
- Low internal friction
- Strategic fit with firm priorities
- Positive evaluator feedback (even on losses)
- Reusability of core content
Setting benchmarks early helps drive improvement and accountability. You don’t need perfect numbers to work towards, but you do need consistency so that you can measure improvement over time.
Wondering what a good win rate is? Check out this blog where we dig into this exact question.
Chapter 3: The End-to-End Bid Process (And How to Improve It)
Even the most experienced firms struggle with consistency in how bids are handled. Some proposals flow smoothly. Others feel like a last-minute scramble. What makes the difference? A clear, repeatable process — not just for writing the proposal, but for managing every step leading up to (and following) submission.
This chapter walks through the full lifecycle of a proposal and outlines where firms can improve efficiency, reduce risk, and build a more scalable bid operation.
Phase 1: Opportunity Identification & Qualification
What happens here:
- Opportunities are flagged from client conversations, partner relationships, procurement portals, or alert systems.
- Teams must decide if the opportunity is worth pursuing.
Where things go wrong:
- Pursuing everything by default, regardless of fit.
- Waiting too long to decide — compressing the response window.
How to improve:
- Create a Go/No-Go framework based on strategic fit, resource availability, win probability, and past performance.
- Automate opportunity tracking with alerts from tender portals or CRM triggers.
- Involve delivery and commercial teams early in qualification.
Phase 2: Kickoff & Team Setup
What happens here:
- Internal bid kickoff takes place.
- Roles are assigned, and timelines are mapped to submission deadlines.
Where things go wrong:
- Unclear responsibilities or late involvement from key contributors.
- No shared workspace for collaboration or version control.
How to improve:
- Use a standard kickoff agenda and assign roles upfront using a RACI model.
- Set intermediate deadlines for content drafts, reviews, approvals, and submission.
- Centralize communications using collaborative tools (e.g. shared drives, bid platforms, project management software).
Action to take:
Build a standard kickoff template you can reuse. Include timelines, responsibilities, required inputs, and approval milestones.
Helpful resource:
Alongside this guide, you can check out our Free Proposal Optimization Score assessment to see your areas for improvement.
Phase 3: Resource Gathering & Content Drafting
What happens here:
- Resource gathering begins: proposal teams search (ideally across an experience database) for the most relevant people and projects that will resonate with the bid.
- Content drafting: teams source boilerplate content and begin drafting proposal sections, such as the executive summary, methodologies used, pricing, etc.
- Contributors pull from past proposals, internal documents, and (too often) memory.
Where things go wrong:
- Hunting for resumes and case studies across disconnected folders.
- SMEs struggling to find the time or context to contribute.
- Rewriting from scratch when reusable content already exists.
How to improve:
- Store resumes and project write-ups in a format that’s easy to maintain, update, and reuse.
- Create boilerplate answers for recurring questions (e.g. ESG policies, QA processes).
Helpful resources:
Learn how you can Manage experience content better with Flowcase.
Phase 4: Tailoring
What happens here:
- First drafts are refined and tailored to the specific opportunity.
- Resume and case studies are tailored to the client’s needs
- Language is tightened, content is prioritized, and everything is cross-checked for client alignment.
Where things go wrong:
- Generic content gets recycled without customization.
- Technical sections are either too shallow or too dense.
- Valuable client insight from sales isn’t incorporated.
- Creating tailored versions results in version control issues
How to improve:
- Use AI tools to tailor content, reduce word counts, translate language, and improve clarity.
- Use platforms that allow you to tailor within the system itself to avoid version control issues and formatting challenges.
Action to take:
Build a “tailoring checklist” that includes things like reordering resume content, rephrasing case study outcomes, and aligning terminology to the client’s language.
Helpful resources:
Discover how you can tailor content in a more streamlined way using proposal tech.
Learn how you can use the client’s language and resonate with proposal evaluators better.
Phase 5: Formatting, Compliance & Submission
What happens here:
- Final layout, formatting, and compliance checks are completed.
- Files are compiled and submitted via email or procurement portals.
Where things go wrong:
- Formatting takes hours and is prone to error.
- Compliance boxes are missed or misinterpreted.
- Submissions are rushed at the last minute.
How to improve:
- Leverage templates to standardize formatting. Use a tool that allows for both branded templates and bid-specific layouts.
- Conduct final QA against a pre-submission checklist.
- Submit well ahead of deadline to avoid technical or upload issues.
Helpful resources:
Discover how you can format a proposal in seconds with automation tools
Phase 6: Post-Submission & Continuous Improvement
What happens here:
- Results are received (win or loss).
- Internal reflection and documentation (if any) take place.
Where things go wrong:
- No debrief process — lessons are lost.
- No content gets reused or updated.
- Successes aren’t replicated, and mistakes are repeated.
How to improve:
- Set up structured win/loss debriefs — even informal ones.
- Tag and archive all proposal content for future reuse.
- Track performance by opportunity type, win rate, contributor involvement, and effort required.
Action to take:
Create a shared repository where teams can document insights, win/loss takeaways, and reusable content — organized by tag or opportunity type.
Chapter 4: Tools, Templates & Automation
There’s no prize for working harder on a bid than you have to. In fact, excessive manual effort — hunting for resumes, reformatting case studies, rewriting the same content — is one of the biggest sources of burnout and inefficiency in bid teams.
To build a scalable proposal operation, you need more than just good people. You need tools and templates that eliminate repetition, reduce errors, and free up time to focus on what actually improves your win rate: strategic thinking, clear writing, and client insight.
This chapter outlines how to approach bid technology, how to build effective templates, and where automation can make the biggest impact.
Why Manual Proposal Management Doesn’t Scale
Early-stage firms or teams handling a few bids per year can survive with a DIY approach: copy-paste content from past proposals, format everything in Word, and hope it holds together.
But this breaks down quickly as:
- Proposal volume increases
- Team members change
- Clients demand specific formatting
- More data (resumes, case studies, certifications) are required
The cost isn’t just time — it’s missed opportunities, lower quality, and higher stress.
Action to take:
Estimate how many hours per month your team spends on repetitive tasks like formatting resumes, updating project examples, or chasing down contributor input. That’s your opportunity for automation.
The Tools That Support Modern Bid Teams
There’s no single tool that solves every proposal challenge. But with the right mix of integrated tools — each serving a specific purpose — firms can significantly improve their speed, consistency, and win rate.
Here’s a breakdown of the key tool types bid teams rely on, with real-world examples:
1. End-to-End Proposal Management Tools
These platforms aim to manage the full proposal lifecycle — from intake and collaboration to content reuse and submission. While broad in scope, many still benefit from integration with more specialized systems.
Examples:
- Qvidian - Strong document automation, content governance, and enterprise integrations.
- Proposify - Strong template customization, tracking, and client analytics.
- RFPIO - known for integrations and RFP automation workflows
Look for:
- Workflow and deadline management
- Collaboration features
- Template-driven document creation
- Integration with CRMs and content tools
2. Proposal Enablement Tools
These tools focus deeply on specific parts of the proposal — often enhancing broader platforms with greater control or specialization.
Example:
- Flowcase – purpose-built for managing resumes and case studies across professional services bids. Helps teams search, tailor, and export experience data into branded or client-specific formats without versioning issues.
Look for:
- Tools that go above and beyond what your end-to-end tool can manage
3. Content Management Tools
These platforms help manage boilerplate content and Q&A libraries — especially useful for RFPs with lots of recurring questions.
Examples:
- Loopio – strong for content libraries and questionnaire responses
- XaitPorter – collaborative document creation with structured content reuse
- Guru – a general knowledge management tool that can support content retrieval
Look for:
- Taggable, version-controlled libraries
- Answer suggestions based on past content
- Easy collaboration and approvals
4. CRMs & ERPs
Not always proposal tools by design, but essential for storing client, deal, and resource data that feeds into bids.
Examples:
- Salesforce – industry standard for tracking opportunities and client data
- HubSpot – increasingly popular with mid-market firms
- Deltek Vantagepoint – ERP designed for professional services, often used in AEC
- NetSuite – robust ERP with integrations into finance and operations
Look for:
- Structured project metadata
- Integration with proposal tools for real-time data
- Visibility into pipeline and upcoming resourcing needs
5. Pricing & Revenue Management Tools
These tools support bid teams with commercial modeling, margin calculations, and configurable pricing structures.
Examples:
- PROS – dynamic pricing and revenue optimization for services and products
- CPQ systems (e.g. Salesforce CPQ, Conga CPQ) – for building and quoting complex service packages
- BigTime or Mavenlink – PSA tools with pricing and resource planning for services firms
Look for:
- Configurable rate cards and pricing templates
- Integration with delivery and financial planning
- Approval workflows for commercial risk
6. AI Tools
AI is increasingly baked into proposal tools, assisting with content generation, editing, and search. Standalone AI tools can help, but the real power comes when AI is embedded directly into the platforms you already use.
Look for:
- AI that works in context within your proposal workflow
Action to take:
Map your current tech stack. Identify which tools are being used for what purpose — and where manual effort or duplication still exists.
How To Choose The Right Proposal Tech For You
Proposal tools can be transformative — but only if they solve your specific challenges. Too often, firms invest in all-in-one platforms that look great in a demo but don’t address the bottlenecks that actually slow the team down.
The most impactful tech choices start by asking a simple question:
Where do we lose the most time during the proposal process?
For many teams, the answer isn’t content writing — it’s everything around it:
- Chasing down resumes or case studies
- Reformatting content to meet template requirements
- Rewriting standard responses from scratch
- Searching across folders or SharePoint for relevant materials
- Chasing approvals or juggling feedback from multiple stakeholders
Choosing the right technology means honing in on those disproportionately time-consuming tasks and solving them directly — whether through a full platform or a complementary tool that fills a gap.
A few things to look for when evaluating proposal tech:
- Does it solve the problems your team actually struggles with?
- Does it integrate easily with your CRM, document storage, or other systems?
- Can non-technical users adopt it quickly?
- Does it support structured, reusable content (especially for experience data)?
- Does it offer built-in AI features that enhance — not complicate — your workflow?
If resumes and project experience are a core part of your proposals (as they are in most professional services bids), make sure the tools you choose can handle this content properly — or risk building a system with a blind spot.
Helpful resources:
12 Features To Look For When Evaluating RFP Technology
Why Resumes & CVs Shouldn’t Be Overlooked In Your Bid Management Software Review
Chapter 5: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Even experienced firms fall into avoidable traps when creating proposals. These mistakes aren’t usually due to lack of skill — they stem from rushed timelines, unclear ownership, or outdated habits.
This chapter summarizes some of the most common proposal mistakes firms make, and offers quick tips and links to help you fix them. For a deeper breakdown, check out our full post:
Failing to Showcase the Most Relevant People and Projects
Why it happens:
Firms often reuse outdated resumes or generic case studies, rather than highlighting the experience most relevant to the opportunity.
Why it matters:
Your people and past work are often the main deciding factors. If they don’t align with what the client needs, your proposal falls flat.
What to do:
- Choose team members and project examples that mirror the client’s sector, scale, or challenge.
- Tailor bios and project summaries to emphasize relevance.
- Keep your experience data up to date and searchable.
Helpful resource:
How to Write and Manage Case Studies for Consulting Proposals
How to Write Consulting Resumes for Proposals
Not Tailoring Your Proposal to the Client’s Specific Needs
Why it happens:
Under pressure, teams fall back on boilerplate. The proposal reads like a generic brochure rather than a focused response.
Why it matters:
Clients want to feel understood. Proposals that reflect their language, goals, and evaluation criteria are far more persuasive.
What to do:
- Reframe each section (especially the executive summary and approach) to speak to the client’s priorities.
- Use the client’s terminology and reference their objectives directly.
- Avoid generic intros — get to the point quickly.
Helpful resource:
Templates: The Key to Proposal Automation
Neglecting to Clearly Define the Scope of Work (SOW)
Why it happens:
Teams assume the client knows what’s included. Or, scope gets buried in generic methodology language that lacks clarity.
Why it matters:
A vague SOW opens the door to misunderstandings, misaligned expectations, and disputes — even if you win.
What to do:
- Define what’s included, what’s excluded, and any assumptions you’re making.
- Use clear subheadings, bullets, or visuals to make scope easy to follow.
- Ensure your SOW aligns with pricing and delivery timelines.
Making Your Proposal Too Long or Complex
Why it happens:
In an effort to be thorough, teams overload the proposal with excessive detail, internal jargon, or dense formatting.
Why it matters:
Evaluators often skim proposals. If they can’t quickly find what they’re looking for, you risk losing points — even if your offer is strong.
What to do:
- Prioritize clarity and structure. Use executive summaries, headings, and white space to aid navigation.
- Cut unnecessary content. Only include what’s relevant to the client’s evaluation criteria.
- Consider using AI tools to reduce and simplify content where needed.
Helpful resource:
Flowcase AI Features: Text Reduction & Proofreading
Ignoring the Proposal’s Visual Presentation
Why it happens:
Formatting is often left until the last minute — or worse, overlooked entirely.
Why it matters:
A poorly formatted proposal is harder to read and makes your firm appear less professional. In some cases, failing to follow the client’s template can result in disqualification.
What to do:
- Use consistent fonts, colors, and spacing throughout.
- Build branded and client-specific templates ahead of time.
- Make key information stand out with visual hierarchy and smart layout.
Helpful resource:
Automating Resume and Case Study Creation with Templates
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Chapter 6: Bid Management for Different Roles
Proposal success doesn’t rest on a single person — it relies on contributions from across the business. But depending on your firm’s size, structure, and industry, responsibilities can vary widely. In some organizations, proposal ownership sits with a dedicated team. In others, it's spread across sales, marketing, HR, or delivery functions. And in smaller firms, a single person might wear multiple hats.
What’s essential is not just who is involved, but how well each function understands their role — and how they work together.
This chapter explores the typical contributions of key roles involved in proposal management. Use it to clarify expectations, improve collaboration, and understand how the right technology can support each role’s success.
Executives: Strategic Oversight and Resource Commitment
Executives may not be involved in the day-to-day mechanics of writing proposals, but their influence is critical. They shape the firm's growth strategy, help determine which opportunities are worth pursuing, and allocate the resources needed to compete effectively. In smaller firms, leaders might review and approve proposals themselves. In larger organizations, they’ll be more focused on setting expectations for win rates, process efficiency, or strategic alignment.
They’re also in a position to champion investments in proposal systems and talent — but only if they understand the pain points their teams face.
Proposal tech can help executives:
- Gain visibility into proposal performance metrics (win rate, time spent, resource effort)
- Ensure bids align with broader commercial strategy
- Support scalable systems instead of over-relying on individual effort
Typical responsibilities:
- Approving major pursuits
- Setting strategic priorities
- Supporting investment in people and tools
- Reviewing bid performance at a high level
Learn how Flowcase can help Leadership teams →
Bid & Proposal Managers: Process Owners and Coordinators
Bid managers are the linchpin of the proposal process. They're responsible for managing timelines, coordinating inputs from across the business, and keeping everything moving toward the submission deadline. They’re often the only people with full visibility into the entire bid lifecycle — from kickoff to delivery.
Depending on the firm, bid managers may also take on writing, content management, template creation, or formatting duties. In smaller teams, they might handle everything from opportunity qualification to final submission. In larger firms, they work closely with sales, SMEs, and marketing to pull everything together.
Proposal platforms are often built with bid managers in mind — streamlining workflows, reducing manual formatting, and making it easier to find and tailor content under pressure.
Proposal tech can help bid managers:
- Centralize and organize resumes, case studies, and boilerplate content
- Track deadlines, approvals, and content status
- Automate formatting and reduce low-value manual work
Typical responsibilities:
- Coordinating timelines and contributors
- Running kickoff meetings and check-ins
- Reviewing submissions for quality and consistency
- Finalizing and submitting proposals
Learn how Flowcase can help Bid and Proposal teams →
Sales & Business Development: Client Insight and Positioning
Sales and business development teams are closest to the client — and that proximity is essential. Their insight into the buyer’s goals, pain points, and decision-making criteria helps ensure the proposal isn’t just compliant, but compelling.
Their role in proposals varies by firm. In some organizations, sales teams stay involved throughout — helping shape messaging, reviewing key sections, and even contributing to executive summaries. In others, they hand off the opportunity after qualification and re-engage only at the end.
Either way, their input should be structured, strategic, and timely — especially early in the process when positioning is still being defined.
Proposal tech can help sales teams:
- Share client intel and opportunity notes directly within the platform
- Stay looped in via task assignments or review workflows
- Qualify opportunities quickly with insight into resourcing availability
- Review final proposals easily without digging through email chains
Typical responsibilities:
- Providing client context and competitive insight
- Supporting go/no-go decisions
- Reviewing messaging for alignment with client expectations
Learn how Flowcase can help Sales teams →
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): Technical Depth and Delivery Input
SMEs are critical to demonstrating that your firm can actually deliver what’s being promised. Their input adds credibility to the methodology, scope, and delivery approach. In some firms, SMEs are heavily involved in writing technical sections. In others, they provide input via interviews, templates, or previous proposal content.
The challenge is often time — SMEs are typically client-facing or billable, and proposal deadlines may fall outside their core responsibilities. Clear expectations, reusable content blocks, and structured templates can make their involvement more efficient.
Proposal tech can help SMEs:
- Access previously approved content to avoid rewriting from scratch
- Quickly review or comment on drafts in one central location
- Tailor resumes or bios without creating new documents
Typical responsibilities:
- Contributing technical methodology or risk assessments
- Validating project scope and feasibility
- Providing input for case studies or resumes
Marketing & Design: Brand, Tone, and Visual Quality
Marketing and design teams ensure that proposals don’t just say the right things — they say them clearly, consistently, and with polish. In some firms, marketing owns proposal templates, tone of voice, and visual branding. In others, they play a supporting role during formatting or design review.
They often sit downstream from content development, which makes it important to involve them early — especially if custom templates or visual assets are needed. They may also manage reusable content (like bios or case study templates) in collaboration with bid teams.
Proposal tech can help marketers:
- Maintain brand consistency across every submission
- Create reusable, on-brand templates for case studies and resumes
- Reduce formatting work by applying structured layouts automatically
Typical responsibilities:
- Managing tone of voice and brand consistency
- Formatting and styling final documents
- Maintaining templates and visual assets
Learn how Flowcase can help Marketing teams →
HR & Resource Management: People Data and Team Selection
HR and resourcing teams are often responsible for maintaining up-to-date resumes, certifications, and availability data — especially in firms where delivery capability is a key part of the bid. In larger firms, resource managers help match the right people to the right projects. In smaller teams, bid managers may rely on HR to confirm qualifications or recent experience.
This role is especially important in proposals where the team’s expertise is a primary evaluation factor. Outdated or mismatched bios can cost credibility — even if the technical proposal is strong.
Proposal tech can help HR and resourcing teams:
- Maintain a centralized, current repository of resumes and certifications
- Enable quick matching of people based on skills, location, or experience
- Reduce the effort required to tailor bios for each submission
Typical responsibilities:
- Keeping resumes and people data accurate
- Supporting team selection and availability confirmation
- Verifying certifications or qualifications as required by bids
Learn how Flowcase can help HR teams →
IT & Operations: Infrastructure, Integration, and Compliance
IT and operations teams may not write proposals, but they provide the foundation that makes collaboration and compliance possible. From managing user access and security to ensuring systems are integrated and scalable, IT’s role is to enable — not obstruct — the proposal process.
In regulated industries or public sector bids, compliance, audit trails, and secure submission portals are often critical. IT and operations teams help ensure that the tools used to manage proposals meet internal and external requirements.
Proposal tech can help IT teams:
- Ensure secure access to sensitive proposal and people data
- Integrate proposal tools with existing systems (e.g. CRM, HR, project databases)
- Maintain auditability and reduce manual handoffs between systems
Typical responsibilities:
- Managing platform integrations and access permissions
- Supporting secure file sharing and collaboration
- Ensuring compliance with data privacy and procurement standards
Learn how Flowcase can help IT teams →
Chapter 7: Industry-Specific Nuances
While the fundamentals of bid and proposal management apply across professional services, each industry has its own expectations, compliance requirements, and client priorities. These nuances can touch on many facets of the process, from the tone and structure of proposals to the tools needed to manage them effectively.
In this chapter, we explore how proposal processes and technology needs differ across four key sectors: Management consulting, IT consulting, AEC, and Legal services.
Management Consulting: People-Led and Outcome-Driven
In management consulting, proposals often hinge on who will be doing the work and how the firm plans to solve the client’s problem. Clients are looking for a team that understands their business context, brings relevant experience, and can deliver measurable results.
This makes team resumes and case studies critically important. Rather than just listing credentials, consultants must demonstrate similar experience in relevant sectors or challenges. The approach section is also heavily scrutinized — often needing to be tailored to reflect the client's language and objectives.
Proposal management in consulting is typically fast-moving, with small teams responding to a high volume of pitches, EOIs, and RFPs. Tailoring is essential, and tools that enable fast resume editing, proposal personalization, and reordering of project examples are especially valuable.
Tech considerations:
- Strong resume and case study management
- Flexible, lightweight proposal templates for EOIs and decks
- Support for tailoring bios and outcomes by sector or function
Learn how Flowcase helps Management Consultancies →
IT Consulting: Technical Clarity Meets Business Value
IT consulting proposals require a balance of technical credibility and business relevance. Clients want to know not only that your team has the right certifications and frameworks (e.g. Agile, DevOps, ISO), but that your solution can integrate seamlessly with their systems — securely, efficiently, and within scope.
Proposals often include detailed methodologies, implementation timelines, and risk mitigation plans. Depending on the buyer’s maturity, proposals may need to switch between business-friendly language and highly technical detail.
Because IT consulting engagements are often complex and multi-phased, proposal management tends to involve multiple SMEs, pricing scenarios, and delivery models. Tools that support collaboration, and that help you get across technical skills with ease are especially helpful.
Tech considerations:
- Structured content libraries for methodologies, frameworks, and case studies
- AI tools to simplify or translate complex language for different audiences
- Integration with pricing tools or CPQ systems for multi-tiered services
Learn how Flowcase helps IT Consultancies →
AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction): Precision, Compliance, and Presentation
AEC proposals are typically highly regulated, especially in public sector or infrastructure bids. Submissions must follow precise formatting, include supporting documentation (licenses, accreditations, insurances), and be uploaded to specific portals under strict conditions.
The team’s technical credentials, project history, and safety records often carry more weight than strategic writing. However, presentation still matters — proposals must be easy to navigate and visually consistent, especially when large volumes of technical content are included.
Given the complexity and volume of data, AEC firms benefit from tools that support template standardization, resume versioning by project phase, and consistent case study formatting across teams and geographies.
Tech considerations:
- Strong compliance management and version control
- Pre-configured templates for tenders, frameworks, and forms - especially for technical forms like the SF 330.
- Resume and project search by certification, location, or role
Learn how Flowcase helps Engineering Firms →
Learn how Flowcase helps Construction Firms →
Legal Services: Trust, Expertise, and Discretion
In legal services, proposals are less about visuals and more about credibility, discretion, and clarity. Clients expect tailored submissions that highlight relevant experience, often anonymized or confidential, and a clear understanding of the matter at hand.
While visual branding matters less, the proposal must still feel polished, structured, and client-focused. Bios — particularly of lead counsel or key team members — are critical, as are case examples that reflect both legal expertise and client industry knowledge.
Because of the sensitivity of the work, proposal content is tightly controlled. Reusable content must be reviewed and governed carefully. Tools that support granular content access, client-specific tailoring, and risk-free content reuse are particularly valuable.
Tech considerations:
- Secure content libraries with role-based access
- Tools for tailoring anonymized case summaries
- Structured bios with jurisdiction, practice area, and matter type filters
Learn how Flowcase helps Legal Firms →
Chapter 8: Steps To Getting Started
Building a stronger proposal strategy doesn’t necessarily require a complete overhaul. In fact, the most sustainable improvements start with small, focused steps — not massive change. The key is to identify where your team is losing time or momentum, and start fixing those friction points one by one.
This chapter outlines a practical starting point. Whether you’re a solo bid manager or part of a larger team, these are the steps you can take to put into practice what we’ve covered throughout this blog and start to build out a more consistent, scalable, and strategic proposal function.
1. Map Your Current Process
Start by documenting how proposals are currently handled in your firm — even if the answer is "it depends." Identify who’s involved, what tools are being used, and where things break down. You don’t need a perfect picture — just enough to see the patterns.
Try this:
- Sketch out a timeline of your last 2–3 proposals.
- List the tasks, roles, tools, and bottlenecks involved.
- Ask your team: What part of this process is most painful?
2. Identify High-Impact Friction Points
Look for the tasks that eat up time but don’t add much value. These are your starting points for change.
Common friction points include:
- Chasing down or rewriting resumes and case studies
- Manual formatting before submission
- Late-stage content reviews or unclear approvals
- Rewriting standard content from scratch
Pick one area to fix first. Don’t try to solve everything at once.
3. Centralize What You Can
You don’t need a new platform to get started — but you do need a central source of truth. Whether it’s a shared drive, spreadsheet, or formal database, start consolidating:
- Resumes and bios
- Case studies or past performance
- Proposal templates
- Boilerplate responses
The more reusable content you centralize now, the less time you’ll spend reinventing it later.
4. Review (or Create) Your Core Templates
Templates are often overlooked, but they’re one of the fastest ways to improve quality and consistency. If you don’t have branded or bid-specific templates yet, start by designing one resume and one case study format that reflect how you want to present your firm.
5. Choose Tools Based on Pain, Not Features
If you’re considering new technology, don’t start with a feature list — start with your biggest bottleneck. Choose tools that solve real problems for your team, and test them in a focused way before rolling them out more broadly.
6. Focus on Progress, Not Perfection
You won’t fix everything overnight. But with every improvement — whether it’s a clearer kickoff process, a better resume template, or a centralized case study library — you’re building a more confident, capable bid function.
Start with what slows you down most. Fix that. Then move on to the next.
Conclusion: From Chaos to Clarity
Bid and proposal management is more than just document creation. It’s strategic, collaborative, and deeply operational — a critical function that touches every part of your firm.
By now, you’ve seen the full picture:
- The bid process isn’t linear — it’s cross-functional and fast-moving
- The biggest time-wasters are often fixable with better systems and habits
- Tailoring, clarity, and consistency are more valuable than overdesign or volume
- Proposal quality improves dramatically when roles, content, and tools are aligned
- Sustainable success comes from building repeatable systems — not just scrambling to meet deadlines
You don’t have to fix everything at once. Start with one bottleneck. One template. One win/loss review. One content library. And build from there.
Proposals will always be high-pressure — but they don’t have to be high-chaos. With the right foundation, you can scale your proposal function, reduce internal friction, and improve your chances of winning the work your firm deserves. Learn more with a personalized demo.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is bid and proposal management?
Bid and proposal management is the process of responding to formal or informal client requests (like RFPs, RFIs, EOIs, or tenders) in order to win new business. It involves coordinating inputs from across the firm — including sales, delivery, marketing, and leadership — to submit a compelling, compliant, and tailored proposal that meets the client's specific needs.
What’s the difference between an RFP, RFI, EOI, and a tender?
An RFP (Request for Proposal) asks vendors to submit a detailed solution and pricing, while an RFI (Request for Information) is used earlier to gather capabilities. An EOI (Expression of Interest) prequalifies vendors before formal bidding, and a tender is a structured, often public-sector process with strict compliance rules. Each format has different requirements, timelines, and evaluation criteria, so understanding the distinctions is essential for preparing the right response.
Who is involved in the proposal process?
The proposal process typically involves bid managers, sales or business development, subject matter experts (SMEs), marketing, leadership, and sometimes HR or IT. Each role contributes differently — from writing content and tailoring resumes to approving pricing and ensuring compliance — and the structure can vary significantly depending on firm size and industry.
Why do professional services firms struggle with proposals?
Professional services firms often struggle with proposals because of time pressure, siloed experience data, and inconsistent processes. Teams spend too much time chasing resumes or reformatting content, and not enough time tailoring the message or aligning with client needs — which can reduce both quality and win rates.
What tools are used in bid and proposal management?
Bid and proposal management typically involves a combination of tools, including proposal management platforms (like Loopio or RFPIO), resume and case study tools (like Flowcase), content libraries, CRMs (like Salesforce), and AI-enhanced writing assistants. The best approach is to choose tools based on your biggest pain points, not just feature lists.
How can proposal software help win more work?
Proposal software helps win more work by improving speed, consistency, and relevance in submissions. It reduces time spent on manual tasks (like formatting or hunting for bios), enables faster tailoring of experience data, and helps teams reuse approved content without starting from scratch.
How do you start building a better proposal strategy?
To build a better proposal strategy, start by mapping your current process, identifying bottlenecks, centralizing reusable content, and creating or refining core templates. Focus on small, high-impact improvements and choose tools that align with your specific workflow challenges.
Why are resumes and case studies important in proposals?
Resumes and case studies are critical in proposals because they show clients that your team has done similar work before — and can do it again. In most professional services bids, people and past experience are a key evaluation factor, so presenting relevant, up-to-date, and well-formatted bios and project examples is essential.
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