diane borgwardt
Employ impeccable written communication skills with expertise in creating language, graphics, stories, and headlines that compel prospective customers to select company for proposed solution
Manage direct reports, project teams, and support staff to prepare persuasive, customer-focused sales enablement documents: proposals, whitepapers, presentation leave behinds, statements of work, and more
Lead training onsite and online for proposal staff, sales staff, and other business development personnel in proposal processes, persuasive writing, and customized tasks for winning business
Partner with sales staff to incorporate customer pain points and competitor vulnerabilities into overall sales enablement documentation through development of win themes and differentiators
Develop effective templates, production procedures, editing checklists, and content/graphic library to increase efficiency
Ensure documents are professionally formatted, appear visually compelling, and adhere to brand guidelines
Research and learn all aspects of company products, services, and strategies to provide clear, concise copy in all proposal communications
Cultivate strong relationships with sales executives, C-level executives, administrators, and peers to promote proposal process efficiency and project strategy
Educate decision makers on proposal basics, trends, and process efficiencies to introduce proposal management software into process
Track and report trend data from customer requirements to inform product and capability enhancements
Travel to attend pre-bid meetings, bid presentations, conferences, and team meetings/training eventsAs a motivated, inquisitive, creative, and detail-oriented team member, investigate and analyze potential revenue sources and "approval" bids
Develop visually appealing proposal templates. Manage large, diverse proposal teams for proposal solution strategy and timelines. Introduce print and ship outsourcing to organization, offering cost and time savings
Introduced district- and state-level bids and adoptions to sales organization. Wrote, edited, and managed proposal projects. Provided sales support for large team of sales representatives
Redeveloped proposal team, implemented process improvements, recruited and coached writers, trained sales staff, maintained high win rate (80%+) to increase revenue
Implemented proposal processes, text and graphics databases, win/loss tracking, proposal pipelines, and other job aids. Developed an actual department for proposal services—starting with me and adding two other team members as company executives saw increased revenues
Built business through proposal development, marketing plans and collateral, web and social media management, creative text, and HR tasks
Taught several sections of Technical Writing and Writing for Digital Media
As a working manager, wrote, edited, and managed proposal projects while leading and training a team of proposal writers and support staff
Developed and updated help systems and hardcopy documentation for business software applications (network security, ERP systems, and more)
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
2006–2012
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL
May 1998
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
May 1993
Award of Excellence for "Lines"
Voting member of board, marketing committee, presentations, tickets, posters, mailers, postcards, website
Day facility host/sitter for homeless families
Office support, event management, creative skills (worship slides, postcards, stationery)