Proposal Managers often face the need to use non-professional writers as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in creating major sections of proposals. This task is difficult, as few SMEs have much experience with, and often have little interest in, helping with proposals. Often, proposal writing is not only uncomfortable, but it is also their very lowest priority.

Here are three guideposts in leading SMEs:

  1. Don’t expect to teach a pig to sing. It will frustrate you, and annoy the pig. SMEs are SMEs, and not writers, and have neither the desire nor skills to become nearly as good a writer as they are an expert in their chosen field.
  2. Leverage the contributions of those writers; exploit their strengths, and ignore, or shore up, their weaknesses through other personnel, such as professional writers and editors.
  3. Be quick to praise, and slow to criticize their work. You get more flies with sugar than with vinegar. But who wants flies anyway?

Here are three specific, proven tips and tricks to get effective and persuasive proposal text from your SMEs—even those who don’t write well and may even actively resist your leadership.

  1. Do Just In Time (JIT) Training – at the Kickoff meeting. Include AT LEAST these two topics:
    • RFP Analysis (this helps the writer to see the relationship between their own work, and the proposal as a whole);
    • Proposal Writing (even a little guidance can go a long way to improve the quality of the SMEs’ work). 2. Show respect for their SME contributions;
  2. Limit their time requirements by focusing efforts on activities they understand and embrace;
  3. Pair specific SMEs with specific writers to achieve maximum results.

Consistent with the above, here are two practices that help keep the writers energized, motivated, and focused on what they may well view as tedious writing activities:

  1. Do not allow the SMEs to become “Cubicle Commanders”; that is, to go back to their normal work site – often a cubicle – and away from the balance of the proposal team. Almost all proposal team members have other, continuing assignments – “day jobs”. The pull of those responsibilities are stronger back in their own home workspaces. As with proposal team members in general, the most effective place for contributors to be is in the area where other members are working. If you cannot achieve this for all working hours, you may be able to achieve their presence for a few hours a day.
  2. Engage these SMEs in two (short!) meetings per day: the traditional “stand-up meeting” each day – preferably in the morning — and then a second one, late in the work day (about 5:00 or 5:30, for example). I call this late meeting the “Circle the Wagons” meeting. The C T W meeting has one focus: load leveling. Let’s say that, on a particular evening, Sally has a task that must be done in support of tomorrow’s stand-up meeting. This task is probably going to take 4 hours of labor. This task could just as well be done by Bob, who has no tasks with a tight deadline. So Sally puts in a cry for help, and Bob agrees. So Sally and Bob complete the task by 8:30, and are able to leave for the evening, each feeling a sense of accomplishment in completing the task. The task is done well, and has avoided burning out Sally. And who knows? Perhaps tomorrow evening, the roles could be reversed, or other team members involved.