Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts

16. Creating a Proposal Center of Excellence

I’m often asked whether it’s better to have salespeople write proposals themselves or to create a separate unit that writes the proposals in support of a sales organization. Well, unfortunately there isn’t a single correct answer. Either approach can work. Which one you follow will depend in part on the caliber and training of your salespeople, the complexity of the proposals you must create, budgetary considerations, and what your competitors are doing, among other factors.

If you do decide to create a unit focused solely on proposal preparation, you’ll certainly be in good company. All kinds of companies have centralized their proposal function—large corporations and consulting organizations; firms ...