Small business proposal writer: Help me design my bonus plan.
June 18, 2010 8:00 AM Subscribe
Small business proposal writer: Help me design my bonus plan.
I am the proposal writer for a creative agency. I write proposals for all our large projects and was specifically hired to respond to big RFPs, which are 2-3x the size of our typical large job. I also train staff on new technologies, refine our business practices, and help in production on the rare occasion when we are short-staffed.
So far, my boss is very impressed with me and said she would like to grant me a bonus whenever we win a proposal I wrote. She said a sliding scale based on the project's value would be appropriate, but beyond that, would like my feedback on a bonus structure. We are a small company (8 people) and my role is new; previously, my boss wrote the proposals.
I have a good base salary & benefits, and due to overtime and flextime, get compensated for the days I work late on a proposal and pitch. A bonus plan is icing on the cake of an already great job, but I don't want to undersell myself.
I've looked at this thread, which has some very good advice. But my incentives plan feels more like a commission bonus than anything else; I am a quasi-salesman in that I write proposals and pitch to the client, but I don't have to go through cold-calls -- all the opportunities come to me.
What sort of approach should I take? And how would my kind of bonus typically compare against a true salesperson's commission rate? The later is especially important, as we are looking to hire a salesperson in the near future who would most likely find potential jobs and then send to me to write up.
I am the proposal writer for a creative agency. I write proposals for all our large projects and was specifically hired to respond to big RFPs, which are 2-3x the size of our typical large job. I also train staff on new technologies, refine our business practices, and help in production on the rare occasion when we are short-staffed.
So far, my boss is very impressed with me and said she would like to grant me a bonus whenever we win a proposal I wrote. She said a sliding scale based on the project's value would be appropriate, but beyond that, would like my feedback on a bonus structure. We are a small company (8 people) and my role is new; previously, my boss wrote the proposals.
I have a good base salary & benefits, and due to overtime and flextime, get compensated for the days I work late on a proposal and pitch. A bonus plan is icing on the cake of an already great job, but I don't want to undersell myself.
I've looked at this thread, which has some very good advice. But my incentives plan feels more like a commission bonus than anything else; I am a quasi-salesman in that I write proposals and pitch to the client, but I don't have to go through cold-calls -- all the opportunities come to me.
What sort of approach should I take? And how would my kind of bonus typically compare against a true salesperson's commission rate? The later is especially important, as we are looking to hire a salesperson in the near future who would most likely find potential jobs and then send to me to write up.
Response by poster: Thanks, COD. It is mostly government and blind RFPs, though we also get "by invitation only" RFPs that are still very competitive due to all the heavy hitters in town who are also on all the best client lists.
posted by Wossname at 10:32 AM on June 18, 2010
posted by Wossname at 10:32 AM on June 18, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by COD at 9:43 AM on June 18, 2010 [1 favorite]