Outsource Proposal Writing: What Small Businesses Should Know

In life, there often comes a time when people must make high-stakes decisions. The results of these choices could very well change the trajectory of their life and company. If you’re reading this, you may be facing one of those decisions. For you, you’re probably wondering whether or not you should outsource proposal writing.

Well, there’s no doubt about one thing: you need a proposal writer. But we’re happy to say that there’s no need for cold sweats and panic attacks. So, rest assured, you’re in the right place. We have just the information to help you move past your decision anxiety. With this information at your fingertips, we think you’ll find some clarity. Hopefully, this article will also help you feel more confident about your choice.

What Does It Mean to Outsource Proposal Writing? 

For small and medium-sized businesses, the decision to outsource the proposal writing process can be a powerful and effective solution. By soliciting vendor services, small and medium-sized business organizations can offset huge costs (like labor and time!). Those businesses can then continue making progress on business-critical objectives while also developing proposals.

Typically, larger organizations handle RFPs internally. Corporations often assemble a specific in-house team to write proposals. Effective RFP teams typically consist of many roles.

Those roles include:

On the other hand, there exist external solutions. Proposal management firms (like The Bid Lab!) offer services (like our Bid Manager services!) that can work with you through the entire process from start to finish. When you outsource your proposal writing, you’ll gain an external team that can perform the duties of an in-house bid management team.

So, what happens when you outsource proposal writing to a proposal management firm? The firm will begin by assessing the goals of your business. They will then provide an RFP team that will partner with your organization to develop a thorough, compliant proposal response.

Some external firms (like The Bid Lab’s Bid Builder services!) will even develop procurements for organizations. This outside team will create RFPs that thoroughly communicate the requester’s needs to potential bidders. For these organizations, the decision to outsource proposal writing can often make a huge difference for their procurement. Their industry experience means they can keep an organization from spinning its wheels while creating the proposal. They’ll help attract the right vendors to meet the needs of any given project.

Bottom line? A great external team can feel as if they are an extension of your business. They’ll operate as if they were internal to that organization.

How Does Outsourced Proposal Writing Benefit Your Business?

Simply put: businesses outsource proposal writing because it is an efficient and effective way to extend your business’s capabilities without incurring the full cost of developing and maintaining an RFP team.

Writing RFPs can be appreciably stressful and time-consuming. Given the complexity of these documents, the process of RFP creation is often highly involved from conception to completion. Rather than having your employees or coworkers take on this burden, consider the benefits of outsourcing the proposal writing process.

An already-assembled RFP team will make developing your proposal the sole focus of their time. They’ll use their background and industry know-how to take care of building out your bid. This, of course, means fewer distractions from your core operations, tasks, and goals.

What’s more, when you outsource proposal writing, you’re far less likely to be left saddled with a sub-par document. Your proposal will represent your business, so it needs to impress the evaluators with your requisite skill, experience and know-how. Moreover, it needs to communicate your ability to execute the project for the requesting agency.

So, by hiring industry experts, you’ll have assurance that your time, money, and effort will be managed by a team that regularly produces comprehensive, quality proposals.

What to Consider Before You Outsource Proposal Writing

Whether you’re deciding to delegate proposal writing services to existing employees, hire RFP writers in-house, or outsource proposal writing services, there are a few factors you should consider.

Process Organization

The development of a quality RFP requires organization. Organizing content libraries and solicitation documents can be full-time jobs in themselves. It’s demanding work that requires focus, which means it’s quite the task to add to the day-to-day duties of your staff, colleagues and coworkers.

When you outsource proposal writing, you’ll find that you can trust that your business documents, information, and, most importantly, needs are handled in a clean, concise, and consistent manner.

Time and Workload

In-house proposal writing means your employees will spend their time writing proposals. They won’t be working on ongoing business, tasks, or other prior obligations, and time may not be available!

Relying on an external solution will free up your employees to continue responding to your business’s daily, weekly, and quarterly operations. When you outsource proposal writing, staff time, business schedules, and the normal workload will, for the most part, remain unchanged. The cost of hiring an external proposal writing firm can vary– but time is also money! So, take the timelines and expectations surrounding your current business objectives and initiatives into consideration.

Value

Any business invested in proposal writing knows the cost grows higher when the services are low-quality.

By services, we don’t just mean the bid results. Sometimes, competitive bids mean evaluators might not advance high-quality proposals. So, consider what may happen if your bid loses the contract. You need to know that the cost of developing the proposal resulted in other dividends. Can you reliably reuse the copy, graphic designs, and overall content? Did you walk away with a reliable, organized content library? Did you make useful connections or discover reliable resources that can help you advance future goals and bids?

If there’s value in developing proposals in-house, then it’s an easy decision. But when you outsource your proposal writing, you’re more likely to benefit from the added value and reliability of the final products long after the signing of the contract.

Expertise

Writing an effective, high-quality proposal is a skill.

While anyone could write a proposal, in-house employees hired for other tasks might not have the skills to write a quality bid. If that’s a risk you’re willing to take, then this makes your choice a little easier.

Industry procurement and proposal writers with a long history of successful proposals have more experience. They are more likely to write and design a quality proposal that is specifically developed for your business.

However, if you decide to outsource your proposal writing, make sure to do your research. Ask about the experience and expertise of their bid writers. After all, they won’t just provide services; they’re also a resource of information that understands industry trends and best practices. Make sure you can comfortably rely on their services before you kick off your bid!

Consider Hiring Proposal Writers From The Bid Lab

Do you need proposal writing services? Whatever your choice, we hope this information gives you the confidence to make the decision that’s right for your business. Of course, as bid consultants ourselves, we’re happy to help you with your proposal writing needs. We’ve got the best proposal writers in the business– just look at our client case studies! If you’re still looking for the right opportunity, then you’ll love Bid Banana, our user-friendly RFP subscription search engine. So, when you’re ready, let us know. Contact our team today for a free consultation by calling 1-844-4BIDLAB or emailing respond@thebidlab.com.