During my time in the industry, I have met prospects who don’t like to use consultants because they feel the probability of getting ineffective consultants is too high. If you will follow the guidelines provided below, you can improve your overall efficiency in using proposal consultants:

  1. Deal with a consultant agency that has a proven consultant vetting process
  2. Work with an agency that has the bench depth to meet your requirements. For example, consultant writers with Treasury experience if you have a Treasury proposal
  3. Use an agency that has a reputation for providing consultants with the personality, character, and skill needed to do quality work
  4. Deal with an agency that has the experience and judgment to send consultants that will be a fit for your corporate culture
  5. An in-person interview will let the company assess factors not apparent over the phone and thus help ensure that the consultant meets expectations
  6. If you need specialty talent such as personnel with clearances or subject matter experts (SMEs), find an agency that can effectively provide these labor categories
  7. If you hire consultants directly in-house, be sure you have a good process for vetting the consultants