Why key personnel matter

A photo illustration of people working together.

A photo illustration of people working together. gettyimages.com/courtneyk

People and relationships are often the deciding factor when you are locked into a tight competition, so you need to know your customer well and the problem they need solved.

Key personnel are often (and should be) one of the top evaluation criteria in a services solicitation. They are even more important on bids that require oral presentations.

There have been cases where a company won a competitive bid at orals after having been number two or three in the technical evaluation. This is critical if you are a small company going up against larger companies with the ability and resources to write more outstanding proposals.

In other words, a few solid key personnel who are liked by the client can seize the day.

Of course, this means you have to know your customer. If key personnel matter, you need to know that -- and you need to know why. Otherwise, you can’t propose a good match/fit.

Companies have won bids with key personnel who had relatively weak resumes but were really liked by the client. This speaks to the fact that the ideal key personnel are known, trusted, and respected by the customer.

This means you have introduced them prior to the RFP being released. Or, they are already known from prior work you have performed at this agency. Or, you have hired them away from an incumbent contractor or on a contingent basis.

If a relationship with a target client already exists, you might pick it back up with the next opportunity. If it doesn’t exist yet, you need to establish it, if possible, well before the solicitation.

Try “Hey, government CO or PM, we’re planning on bidding XYZ opportunity and have someone in mind I think would be a good fit. I’d like you to meet him/her.” Then continue to find or create new opportunities with this prospect to grow the relationship.

No matter how desired or qualified your key personnel are, they must be willing to be bid in the proposal and be available upon award. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, some services contractors got a well-deserved reputation for the unethical practice of bait and switch. They bid Mary knowing that she would not be available and so delivered John upon award. Fortunately, there seems to be less of this.

Still, there are occasions where the time between proposal submittal and government evaluation and award is so protracted that some of the people you bid are no longer available. In this case, anything goes!

No matter how great your key personnel, you still have to remember to write to win. The resume might be compliant with the RFP, but you won’t win on that alone. What is it about the individual that specifically makes them a good fit? Were they recognized as a steady influence on their last stressful contract? Did they communicate well with multiple stakeholders?

Once you know, you can incorporate it into the resume and also treat it as a proposal theme. You can emphasize steadiness, stakeholder engagement, or whatever it is, throughout the technical and management approach. Plus, discuss it in the cost volume as an additional benefit.

Finally, companies have to decide between giving the customer what they say they want and what they really need. Unfortunately, there is still pressure on many agency buyers to award to the lowest price, sometimes barely technically credible bidder. And, because of their skills and seniority, key personnel often have salaries at the higher end of their pay range. This means winning contractors must balance the staffing mix to achieve a more competitive price while still managing to deliver on the contract.

This is another reason to know your customer well, know exactly what customer itch your resume scratches, and foster a relationship of trust. Or make the wiser decision just to no bid. This beats failing to perform, underperforming, or losing money every option period you do perform!


A (usually) retired but still writer and musician, Mike Lisagor is the founder of CelerityWorks.com and a co-founder of GovFlex.com. His books include How to Win in the Government Market (with Mark Amtower), The Essential Guide to Managing a Government Project, and How to Develop a Winning SBIR Proposal (with Eric Adolphe).

Lou Kerestesy gets leaders and teams on the same page for better results. His philosophy is that work is hard enough but working together shouldn’t be. Check out www.DealingWithDifferences.com for more.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.