#10: Improve Proposal Quality: QA/QC Best Practices from Julie Trowbridge
We know that proposal quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) is essential to producing the best proposals possible and give our teams the best chance to win. However, QA/QC is too often sacrificed to the lack of time and pressing deadlines. This is a constant struggle we face with every proposal.
That’s why when I wanted to cover the topic of proposal QA/QC, there was only one person that came to my mind. And, that person is Julie Trowbridge from Jacobs. I met Julie over a decade ago when we both worked at a firm called Carter & Burgess, which later was acquired by Jacobs. She moved to Atlanta and we had a chance to work together in the Southeastern marketing team.
Having a career of nearly 30 years in the industry producing proposals, she brought with her a reputation of producing high profile aviation proposals and a keen eye for detail and processes. Today she manages still manages proposals for Jacobs. Through this, she not only is managing her own proposals, but helps with ensuring the proposal process is followed, including QA/QC, for the Atlanta office.
Because of this experience and what she does on a daily basis, I knew she was the perfect person to bring on the show to talk about QA/QC, specifically as it relates to proposals. And, even though she works for a mega engineering firm with well-established processes for sales and proposals, the best practices we talk about can apply to small and mid-sized firms with marketing departments of one. I would say this is a must-listen for anyone responsible for producing proposals for their firms.
The proposal quality best practices we talked about include:
- Why your proposal quality is too important to ignore
- Proposal QA/QC plan components
- How to fit the QA/QC process into the overall proposal production timeframe
- Strategies to incorporate quality review throughout the entire process
- Coaching your proposal reviewers to provide you with the best feedback to improve the proposal content
- Best practices around version control of proposal documents
This Episode is Sponsored by:
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