Inconsistent messaging between proposals and pitches or bid presentations can derail even the strongest bid.

The Proposal BenchmarkerTM shows how health sector teams consistently outperform their peers in proposal excellence.

The Proposal BenchmarkerTM reveals where financial services teams excel — and where they risk falling behind.

Live deals demand immediate attention. The pressure is on to mobilise quickly, align the team, and produce a compelling submission — all while managing internal expectations and tight deadlines. Without the right support, friction creeps in: unclear roles, inconsistent messaging, and missed opportunities.

Proposal writing rarely starts with perfect clarity. Vague requirements, shifting expectations, and incomplete information can derail even the best bids. The challenge is navigating this ambiguity without losing direction, wasting effort, or missing the mark with the client.​

Proposal writing is a race against the clock. With multiple contributors, shifting priorities, and tight deadlines, it's easy for plans to slip. But when timelines derail, quality suffers—and in the worst cases, you miss the deadline altogether. The challenge is keeping your bid plan on track without burning out your team.

Proposal writing is a team effort – but the quality of the final product depends on the weakest link. Managing multiple contributors, each with different writing styles, experience levels, and availability, can lead to inconsistent, unclear, or off-message content. The challenge is to raise the standard across the board – ​without rewriting everything yourself.​

Proposal writing demands more than good intentions – it needs a clear, compelling strategy. Yet many bids start with vague ideas and end with diluted execution. The challenge lies in translating strategic thinking into a focused, actionable plan that resonates with the client and sets your proposal apart.

Proposal writing is a collaborative process—but without clear communication, even the best teams can fall apart. Misunderstandings, inconsistent messaging, and siloed thinking can derail a bid, confuse the client, and waste valuable time. The challenge is ensuring everyone is aligned, informed, and working toward the same goal.

Proposal writing is a team sport, but too often, bid leaders try to do it all. The result? Bottlenecks, burnout, and missed opportunities. Delegation isn't about offloading tasks, it's about enabling your team to deliver their best work, while you focus on steering the bid to success.

How agile bidding strategies help defence suppliers respond faster to MOD and NATO opportunities.

TrainingESG expert Laurence Higgens highlights how social value is beginning to merge with ESG criteria, shaping a more integrated and strategic approach to proposals.St

New research reveals the human drivers of happiness in proposal teams – and how leaders can unlock them.

How happy are you at work? What motivates you and what frustrates you? Do you feel valued? This research report is a pulse-check on wellbeing in the bid and proposal professional. Nearly 300 of you around the world shared how you're feeling. The report analyses your views, provides strategic insights, and offers practical suggestions for how teams can improve wellbeing.

Branding doesn’t have to slow you down. Learn how to embed creativity into your proposal process - fast, focused, and effective.

Branding isn’t just a design exercise, it’s a strategic tool that starts at capture. Discover how early branding shapes client perception and sets your bid apart.

Measuring and reporting social value is crucial for demonstrating your commitment and impact. Laurence Higgens shared his expertise on this topic during a recent briefing to the SP team. This blog provides practical tips for bid and proposal managers on how to effectively measure and report social value.​

At Strategic Proposals, we’ve long championed the value of great design in proposals — from sponsoring the first APMP design award nearly a decade ago, to helping teams integrate design thinking into their bid processes. In 2025, with buyer expectations evolving and competition fiercer than ever, design is no longer a "nice to have" — it's a critical differentiator. So we undertook fresh research to find out how design is being used right now across bid teams — in-house, outsourced, and everything in between. Our new white paper explores the findings and shares insights from across the profession.

Government contracts increasingly emphasise social value, making it a key factor in the bidding process. Laurence Higgens, a social value expert, discussed this trend in a recent briefing session with the SP team. This blog explores the role of social value in government contracts and provides tips for bid and proposal managers.​

Delivering social value in bids can be challenging, especially for organisations new to this concept. In a recent briefing to the SP team, Laurence Higgens shared his experiences and strategies for overcoming these challenges. This blog delves into his insights and offers practical advice for bid and proposal managers.

Welcome to MyProposalPathway, a revolutionary service brought to you by Hovester and Strategic Proposals. In today's fast-paced business environment, selecting the right AI and automation tools can be a daunting task. With countless options available, making an informed decision requires significant time and effort. That's where MyProposalPathway comes in.

Strategic Proposals is committed to staying at the forefront of innovation in proposal development, so we're exploring applications of AI in our proposal development process.

In today's competitive bidding landscape, social value has become a critical component for winning contracts. Laurence Higgens, a social value expert, recently shared his insights on this topic during a briefing given to the SP team. This blog explores the key points discussed and provides actionable advice for bid and proposal managers to help maximise evaluation scores in bids and make a real difference to the customer and their communities.​

The challenge for managers is to instil a culture of learning and adaptation, drawing lessons from past bids to refine future strategies. This process of reflection and analysis is crucial for evolving practices and staying ahead in a competitive landscape. ​

Leveraging technology is a game-changer in our world​. The challenge is like a surfer balancing on the top of an ever growing wave of tech. Staying on top of the wave and abreast of the latest tools and software is key to success and streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency. But that's easy said than done. Bid and proposal leaders and managers must navigate an ever-evolving tech landscape to find solutions that can give their teams (and wider groups of subject matter experts and sales) a competitive edge. ​

Building a collaborative team culture is a vital challenge for bid and proposal managers. According to our ProposalBenchmarker data, creating a positive team environment is one of the areas that sets the very best bidding organisations from the rest. It's the foundation upon which successful, winning proposals are built. A team that works well together, sharing knowledge and resources, is more likely to produce a winning bid. However, fostering this kind of cooperation and trust within a team is not always straightforward. ​

Resource coordination is a critical challenge in bid management, where managers must juggle conflicting priorities and finite resources. The ability to balance the demands of multiple bids, each with its own set of tasks and deadlines, is essential for ensuring that each proposal receives the attention it deserves. And by the way… if you can't give it the right level of attention – guess what – don't push it. No bid it. ​

Navigating the murky waters of ambiguity is a common challenge for bid and proposal managers. The task of managing uncertainty in client requirements or project scopes is daunting, as it can significantly impact the direction and quality of a proposal. Ambiguity can stem from vague project outlines, fluctuating market conditions, or unclear client expectations, leaving managers to make strategic decisions with incomplete information. ​

In the intricacies of bidding, every step, every move counts. But what happens when there's a missing link in the chain? Much like a strong metal chain, the strength of a bid lies not just in its individual components but in their connection, their seamless integration, creating an unbreakable sequence of strategies and tactics that leads to you winning. ​

Enhance proposals by applying product management principles: storytelling, personas, communication, and market insights.

The ability to keep a bid plan on track ensures that every phase of the proposal process is completed on time, ultimately leading to a timely submission. However, the complexity of coordinating multiple tasks and contributors can often lead to delays. The risk of a derailed schedule is significant. Time is a finite resource, and any delays can compress the remaining schedule, forcing teams to rush and potentially compromise the quality of the proposal. Moreover, missing the submission deadline can disqualify the bid altogether, wasting the effort and resources invested.

Ensuring the highest quality of content from contributors is a pivotal challenge for bid and proposal managers. The quality of the content can make or break a proposal, and it's essential to harness the collective expertise of your team to produce a compelling bid. However, managing a diverse group of contributors and maintaining a high standard can be daunting. ​

The extensive range of workshops and classes will help everyone who contributes to winning new business or retaining existing business to do it more effectively and efficiently, pushing up win rates and margins.​

We've been leading the way in proposals for over 30 years. Our executive brochure clearly articulates our high quality services and how they will help you win the deal - time and again.

Taking a more active approach to active qualification helps improve qualification effectiveness and this paper will show you how.