Surviving and Prospering

In tough economic times, support organizations often feel the sharp edge of the budgetary paring knife. To keep your proposal operation from falling victim to cost-cutting measures, there are a couple of things you should do.

First, publicize the proposal unit's contributions and successes regularly. Make sure senior management is aware of the group's contributions. Self-promotion is a necessary element of survival.

Second, expand the value you provide. One area you should think about seriously is providing generalized information management for the company, or at least for the sales and marketing organization. Chances are your proposal operation is probably the best-organized repository of facts and insights in the company. Look for opportunities to open access to your knowledge stores, publicize the importance of maintaining the information so that it is current and accurate, and make yourself indispensable to other areas of the company.