July 24, 2024

Partner Time Is the Scarce Resource

A firm can hire more writers and analysts. It cannot hire more partner hours. Design the process around that fact.

Where partner hours actually go

Track a typical proposal from a partner's side. Time is spent on the first call, the scoping discussion, reviewing drafts, revising fees and the final send. Some of that is essential and some is drifting into work others could do. This is not a criticism of partners; it is a recognition that their attention is the most valuable input in the whole process.

Ask two or three partners to keep a rough log for a month. Their own record will beat any estimate. Give the brief the same headings each time, so a partner can scan it quickly.

Reserve partner time for judgment

Judgments about client fit, fee level, team and risk belong to partners. Formatting, fact-checking, assembling credentials and chasing signatures do not. Ask what a partner would do with an extra hour each week, and you will often hear that they would call a client.

Draw that line explicitly. Once it is written down, staff know what to prepare and partners know what to expect. Ask staff to state a recommendation, not only the facts, so that the partner has something to agree with.

Prepare so decisions are quick

A partner can decide in minutes when the material is ready: a one-page summary of the opportunity, a draft scope, two fee options and any risk flags. Without that, the same decision takes a meeting. A rough planning assumption is that a partner can give a good decision in ten minutes when the brief is well prepared.

Build the brief as a standard template so partners see the same layout every time and can find what they need. Set a default: if a partner does not respond within the window, the item moves to the next slot and not to a rewrite.

Batch and schedule reviews

Interrupted attention is expensive. Offer partners a fixed weekly window for proposal reviews and bring everything into it. Urgent items can still break the pattern, but they become the exception. Partners are also more likely to give quick answers when they know the same questions come in the same order every time.

Publish the window to the team. People plan their drafts to hit it. Keep a running list of decisions partners have made, so they are not asked again.

Protect the relationship time

The most valuable partner activity in BD is often a conversation with a client or a referrer. If administrative tasks push those out, the pipeline quietly weakens. Referral sources, past clients and existing contacts are usually worth more than a cold list, and only a partner can call them.

Look at where a partner's week goes and decide what you would rather they do. Then remove the tasks that block it. Set aside a short period each week for client conversations, and defend it.

Automate around them, not instead of them

Software can prepare the brief, pull approved material and route reviews with due dates. It should not send anything in a partner's name without their sign-off. Automation earns trust when a partner can see exactly what it did and can override it.

The goal is fewer hours spent on preparation and the same or better quality of judgment. Review the log after a quarter and note where the largest blocks of time were.

Ask partners what they would drop

A useful exercise is to ask each partner which parts of proposal work they would happily stop doing tomorrow. The answers are usually specific: chasing bios, reformatting tables, rewriting the same firm description. These are your first candidates for automation or delegation.

Take two or three and solve them properly. When partners see time returned, they become willing to try the next change. When they see extra steps added, they stop listening.

VIPMarketing Editorial