Collaborate Now to Prepare for That Looming Software RFP
Life as a subject matter expert (SME) at a SaaS company is undoubtedly fast-paced and demanding. Contributing to software RFPs requires even more of your time and attention. Your time is valuable, but so is your participation in the software RFP process.
TJ Hoffman, COO of Sibme, offers some words of wisdom to help you understand why…
“My advice for any SME who thinks they don’t have time to prioritize the work it takes to help with an RFP is this: You don’t have time not to! Everyone in SaaS is busy, but market growth has to be at the front of everyone’s mind. Helping to capture new business through an RFP has to be at the top of your priority list.”
For your team to win business and achieve success, providing accurate, complete, and timely answers all fall under your domain. Let’s help you foster a collaborative environment now so you’re fully prepared when the next software RFP lands on your desk.
Why is Collaboration Vital with Software RFP Responses?
With software RFP responses, good collaboration is key. And, good collaboration requires good communication. Why?
- No one person can be an expert in all of the elements that are required to completely answer an RFP. An RFP responder acts as the wheelhouse, and all of the applicable SMEs are the spokes of the wheel. Every spoke must be solid and in place to keep the wheel rolling.
- SaaS companies often have remote teams scattered across the country or the world. Managing the entire RFP response process involves complex interdepartmental collaboration and can entail multiple and lengthy meetings to get RFP questions answered.
- Everyone already has a full-time role outside of helping with an RFP response. Working after hours to complete an RFP frequently becomes routine for you and your team. In such a scenario, collaboration must be efficient to keep everyone productive and to drive home that winning software RFP.
Good Collaboration Through Better Processes
65% of subject matter experts said their primary goal with RFP response was to increase efficiency through better processes. Creating efficient processes is also one of the key opportunities to save valuable time and help SMEs contribute more effectively to RFP responses.
Working smarter when responding to RFPs can mean the difference between winning the business or losing out to a competitor. Yet, a major impediment to efficiency is tracking down SMEs for answers.
You’re buried under a pile of projects while you’re on a well-deserved tropical vacation…these things happen. With such high stakes, how can you improve efficiency and answer software RFP questions proactively? Use intuitive RFP software to manage your content.
RFP software like RFPIO streamlines collaboration for every player in the RFP response game. The answer library organizes and stores content for anyone on your team to access and use.
This gives you the opportunity to be proactive and maintain content so it is available to your team when you’re out of the office for your sister’s wedding. In turn, your proposal manager has direct access to the necessary content without having to text you in a panic. Everyone wins.
Own and Maintain Your Content with RFP Software
In a study conducted by Strategic Proposals of over 500 organizations, proposal teams who had the best and well-managed content library won the most business. To build that best-in-class library of pre-written content requires two things:
- Subject matter experts who fully own and maintain their content.
- A collaborative tool like RFP software to help SMEs own and maintain content efficiently.
You stand at the frontline of the RFP response process. SMEs possess the details necessary to form a complete, cohesive RFP response. Integrating RFP software like RFPIO reduces time spent tracking down answers so you can focus on winning the business.
RFPIO is a collaborative tool that allows you to take ownership of company knowledge and oversee a significant piece of the puzzle within the software RFP process. When the time comes to pull together an RFP response, all the disparate parts from each contributor combine into a cohesive final product.
RFP software is a holistic solution that helps you navigate logistical chaos in an efficient, collaborative environment. Using RFPIO to store and manage content gives you a medium to provide your expertise proactively, empowering you, your team, and your organization.
Originally published at https://www.rfpio.com on December 2, 2019.
