How to Lead a SUCCESSFUL Proposal Team

Описание: ✨ Join a hub of proposal professionals on stargazy: https://stargazy.circle.so/join?invit...

What does a 60–70% win rate actually take and what’s real vs hype when it comes to AI in bids?

In this episode of The Stargazy Brief, Christina Carter interviews Gareth Meredith (Softcat; formerly RingCentral, 8x8, Inventive AI), a bid leader known for building high win-rate systems based on process, leadership, and disciplined execution.

This is a tactical conversation about the levers that actually move win rate, like answer planning, front-loaded governance, and using AI to reduce compliance workload so teams can spend more time on strategy and intelligence (instead of becoming the “RFP rescue squad”).

After you watch, join the Stargazy intelligence hub for Gareth’s AMA and compare notes with other proposal leaders on what’s working in 2026.

⭐ WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
✵ Why systems beat automation (and how AI can still strengthen great systems)
✵ The underrated win-rate lever: answer planning that sells
✵ Where AI helps most today: compliance + questionnaires (and where it does not)
✵ Why “AI will fix our process” leads to disappointment
✵ How to pitch process improvements to a CRO using revenue math + VOC evidence
✵ What a truly operationalized proposal function looks like (lean, scalable, front-loaded)
✵ The metrics that matter: win rate, quality scores, revenue/gross profit (and why shortlist rate is noise)
✵ How proposal teams break out of the “admin” label and earn strategic trust
✵ What cultural debt looks like in bid teams and how to remove it (without burning people out)

🌟 FIND STARGAZY 🌟
✸ Website (shortlist tools + vendor profiles): https://stargazy.io/
✸ Community (join the conversation + Gareth AMA): https://stargazy.circle.so/join?invit...
✸ Newsletter: https://the-stargazy-brief.beehiiv.com/
✸ LinkedIn:   / stargazyproposals  

🌙 GUEST LINKS 🌙
✸ Gareth Meredith on LinkedIn:   / gareth-meredith  


⭐ TIMECODES
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:55 The Importance of Answer Planning in High Win Rates
05:54 The Importance of Answer Planning
07:40 Does AI Have a Plan in Answer Planning?
12:25 How to Fix a Process on a New Team
13:01 Identifying Process Leaks
14:52 Using Data to Spot Issues
18:57 Engaging Leadership for Change
21:57 Advocating for Yourself in Proposal Management
27:35 The Future of Proposal Teams
27:46 Streamlining RFP Processes
32:35 Key Metrics for Bid Success
36:45 Cultural Challenges in Proposal Teams
40:42 Compensation and Value in Proposal Teams
43:15 Upskilling and Strategic Thinking for Proposal Leaders
46:03 Future Trends for Proposal Leaders

🔥 If this episode helped, share it with your bid team. The more proposal people who level up, the stronger the industry gets.

#ProposalLeadership #BidManagement #RFP #ProposalManagement #AIinProposals #ProposalTech #RFPAutomation #CaptureManagement #SalesEnablement #GTM #B2BSales #Compliance #AnswerPlanning