The average professional works a mere three minutes straight before changing tasks. As a subject matter expert (SME), one of those tasks is regularly contributing to your proposal management team’s cause, helping them produce high-quality RFP responses with your organizational expertise.
Every time you’re asked to collaborate on an RFP, RFI, or security questionnaire, you’re taken away from your main job requirements. To speed up the process, you repurpose old content. Then, you spend most of that time you thought you were saving searching folders and files—or relying on Control+F to navigate a massive Content Library spreadsheet with 20+ tabs.
You’re a key player with multiple roles to fill, but know that RFP responses will get much easier when you have the right toolset. Discover ways to improve RFP response time management and lead your organization toward long-term success.
A central RFP repository built for quick collaboration
Process confusion happens with many SMEs, whether you respond to hundreds or handfuls of RFPs, RFIs, and security questionnaires. Each time you’re brought into the RFP response process, it can feel like a fire drill. Your expertise is needed…ASAP.
Establishing a central RFP repository is the first step in improving time management. One of RFP software’s core features is the Content Library, a central repository that stores all of your organization’s content.
That means instead of answering the same question over and over again, you search and select relevant content from past responses. You quickly customize the response as needed, then move on with your day. Having this content accessible to your proposal management team allows them to even fill in responses ahead of time so you only need to step in when it’s time to approve the content.
However you decide to manage your workflow, with RFP software you skip the information hunt by letting technology do the majority of the work for you. It’s a much faster way to collaborate with your proposal manager.
Over time, you build a well-oiled machine by continually adding and updating response content within your Content Library. Your legacy will live on, even if you decide to move on to another professional opportunity. If you transition out of your role, you won’t leave your team hanging.
Global collaboration with RFP language translation
You’ll also save time when different languages come into play with RFP responses. RFP translation capabilities within RFPIO help you overcome language barriers with both team members and prospects.
Global collaboration with internal team
If your proposal management team is headquartered in another country, you’ll need to take quite a bit of time to clarify what is being asked. Conversely, they’ll need to understand your answers in their own language.
Global collaboration with prospects
If a prospect resides in another country, the RFP must be compiled accurately and professionally in the native language of the issuer. A substantial amount of time is literally lost in translation.
RFPIO is currently available in 17 different languages, so multi-lingual teams can navigate the RFP response process in their own language. The Content Library is powered by Google Translate as well. You can store the same answer in different languages, using tags to differentiate the content. From there, it’s just a matter of fine-tuning responses, rather than translating from scratch every time.
Optimize your time and create better RFP responses
In addition to wearing your SME hat when helping with RFP responses, the rest of your day is booked solid with primary responsibilities. Our 2019 RFPIO Responder Survey showed that our customers are just like you: 43% of subject matter experts revealed their top challenge was spending too much time on RFP responses.
When a response management platform like RFPIO supports your process, you contribute on your own time—you spend less time participating so you can focus the majority of your energy on primary responsibilities.
Here’s how RFP software helps you rise to the time management challenge…
Automation
You may have used an ad-hoc process to create and submit RFP responses up until this point. RFP software automates and simplifies this process, saving valuable time for you and your team.
When it’s time for you to jump into an RFP, you receive an email alert from your proposal manager. You can tag or filter RFPIO emails in your inbox, then complete your assigned questions or sections when you have a little extra focus time.
Workflows in RFPIO are a great way to automate business processes. You start by creating a rule. Based on the specific criteria you set, RFPIO handles a number of tasks, like sending an email, creating a task, or even updating a status.
Bulk answering is another big time-saver. The next time you face a security questionnaire with 2,000 Q&A pairs, bulk answer common questions within a response project instead of marking each answer one-by-one.
Audits
Your organization relies on your expertise in the RFP response process—but it doesn’t end there. When you audit your RFP Content Library, your job is to keep content fresh, accurate, and up-to-date for anyone who needs it. RFP software helps maximize everyone’s time with content audits too.
Set up audit alerts at a chosen cadence (quarterly, monthly, annually), so you receive an automatic reminder when it’s time to update response content. Your team always has access to your audited content—no phone calls, emails, or meetings are required. All RFP response efforts are aligned internally, which ensures your best content is always within reach.
RFPIO allows you to collaborate across a single platform to maximize your time investment. You’ll capture content more efficiently and craft high-performing RFP responses that help your organization win more business. Schedule a demo to see more ways RFPIO optimizes your time.
