Lana Root, CF APMP, Senior Marketing Coordinator, Walker Consultants
Where You Live: Denver, CO
How You Got into Proposal Management
I got into proposal management in the A/E/C industry more than 10 years ago. I majored in Communications because I love to write, but after college, I had never considered proposals as a career path. I initially worked in marketing for a hospitality company before some friends who are civil engineers recommended me for a marketing and proposal coordinator position at their firm. It was a small business, and I was fortunate to work for a CEO I looked up to and a boss who became a stellar mentor. I loved the job and enjoyed working with engineers. I thrived on the adrenaline of proposals, and even more on the feeling of winning work for the company. Since then, I’ve worked for other architecture and engineering firms in a variety of marketing roles, but proposals were always where I felt I could make the greatest contribution. I realized it’s where my strengths are best put to use and where I found the strongest sense of purpose in my work. Eventually, I decided to specialize in proposal management, and I haven’t looked back.
Funny Proposal Story
I once had three RFP kickoff meetings in one day with three different people because no one could definitively decide who would be best to lead the project, and thanks to everyone’s crazy schedules, it was impossible to get everyone in the same meeting. We initially identified one PM, who said, “This is a great opportunity for the firm, but I think this other person in another office would be a better fit. You should talk to them.” When I got ahold of that PM, they said essentially the same thing and pointed me to someone else entirely. Normally, this would have been an easy decision for our Principal to settle, but he was in another country and out of reach that day. By the time I had talked to everyone, held three separate kickoff meetings, and finally gotten ahold of the Principal, we ultimately decided… that the RFP was a no-go.
Horrific Proposal Story
Early in my career, I had a very close call with a proposal deadline. Because of a perfect storm of last-minute changes and printing issues, the hard copy was finally ready only about 15 minutes before it was due. The delivery location was in downtown Denver, and thankfully, so was our office. Our original plan had been to send it with a courier early that morning, but there was no time. We considered driving it over, but everyone was parked in a public lot in the opposite direction from where we needed to go. So, I ran. Roughly seven blocks. I’m no runner, but I sprinted like you wouldn’t believe, in my work clothes, in June, through busy streets, carrying the proposal. I may or may not have ignored a few crosswalk signals along the way. By the time I arrived, I was a sweaty mess and completely out of breath. I tried to compose myself in the elevator before walking into the client’s office, but I’m sure my state raised some eyebrows. Still, they stamped the package as delivered on time… with two minutes to spare! I’m pretty sure I took the rest of the day off. We debriefed the next day and made a plan to never let that happen again. But the truly horrific part wasn’t even the cardio – it was that we didn’t win the project.
A Best Practice You’ve Learned
I used to feel an unhealthy amount of stress when leading a proposal effort, but that has mostly become a thing of the past. I’ve learned that the best way to move smoothly through a proposal is to frontload the effort: organize everything, do the research, stick to a process, and communicate regularly with the proposal team. I also used to be more timid when approaching SMEs because I didn’t want to be a bother. Over time, I realized the opposite is true. A confident communication style goes a long way toward earning respect, and the teams I work with now know exactly what to expect each time they work with me. I won’t say proposals are never painful, but they are a lot less painful when everyone is on the same page.
Family: My husband’s name is Angel. We have 3 fur babies and 2 frog babies.
Hobbies: Reading is my favorite hobby. I’m also into knitting, video games, and weightlifting.
