Does this scenario happen in your company? You are writing two or more proposals in parallel or perhaps even just one. The submission deadline is approaching and your proposal team is behind schedule for the myriad of reasons that occurred the last time your team wrote a proposal. The Proposal Manager says, "Don't worry, the Agency is going to extend the due date and we can use the extra time to catch up." Although the government extends the due date, your team falls behind again. Another extension occurs, you fall further behind. The end result is that your company sends out a proposal that could have been of far better quality had it managed its time better.

Those responding to large federal procurements can almost count on an extension of the proposal due date. However, relying on a modification or extension can be dangerous. What happens if the Agency unexpectedly has its act together and you are surprised when the due date isn't extended? It always seems that the one that wasn't extended was the one your business really counted on winning.

Even if an extension is granted, relying on due date extensions is a danger signal of a problem. Why are you behind in the first place?

• Are you bidding on too many opportunities?
• Is there a sufficient dedication of resources to proposal writing?
• Is there a structured process in place for writing proposals?
• Does your organization have sufficient proposal management experience?
• Did you wait until the last minute to write your company's proposal?

If you infrequently rely on extensions, your organization probably doesn't have a problem. However, take a close look at how often it happens to determine if the reliance on extensions is a chronic problem. If extensions are being used as a crutch, examine what is happening to the quality of your proposals. They are probably not as good as they could be and this is another deadly sin.

In the alternative, perhaps your company is writing smaller proposals where an extension of the due date is rare but you are continually saying, "I wish we had just two more days." Wishing for more time usually means that your proposals aren't as good as they could be. Why are you experiencing the crunches at the end of the process? Probably for the same reasons listed above.

What is the solution? Management usually needs to pay more attention to what is happening in the proposal-writing process. Managers have an inherent tendency to divorce themselves from reality and are often oblivious to the quality of the content being produced by the writing team. This tendency is compounded by management's refusal to support the Proposal Manager.