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(From WashingtonTechonology.com)

With large budget cuts or even mandated sequestration looming after Jan. 1, the concern among government contractors is strong, indeed palpable. Unfortunately there are no quick fixes or easy solutions to this daunting problem, nor even clear mileposts of specific developments to watch out for.

This is a time when companies' leadership and character is truly tested. While there may not be easy or readily apparent solutions, there are several steps companies and their leaders should take.

Attempting to predict the proposal market now is more difficult than any time I recall in the past 15 years. The market is facing the triple challenge of the presidential election, the spending sequestration program, and the 2013 appropriations process. Contractor companies and proposal consultants are additionally facing a fourth challenge as analysts more and more predict another recession. In this article we will attempt to assess how these four factors may affect the volume of solicitation releases during the coming months.

During my 35 years in the proposal business, I have been amazed to see how many bidders lose the competition because they haven't adequately prepared for the bid. "Not being prepared" may take many forms. One of the most common forms of inadequate preparation is to assign personnel who don't have proposal experience. This is especially true for companies that try to keep valued personnel by assigning them to work on proposals until a more permanent position can be found. For these companies, it doesn't matter if the employee can't spell "proposal." It is also quite common for small businesses to refuse to begin work on their proposal until the RFP is released. They believe they can reduce expenses by waiting until the last minute. It's as if they are saying to themselves, "We cannot afford to develop the proposal correctly, but we hope we can still win even though we are starting work at the last minute."