bidfast-software - Tumblr blog

[bidfast-software]

Sell Your Boss RFP Software

Relationships are everything in sales. Many companies will not reply to an RFP if they do not have a relationship with the RFP-issuing organization. These relationships are guarded by sales people as if they were gold. They are nurtured with a lot of time and work.

Your relationships, along with a high-quality proposal, will provide you the best chance to win the contract in today's sales environment. RFP response automation software allows you to develop bids that minimize the need for your contacts to "guess."

Answer these three questions to close the RFP software deal with your boss now that you've explained why you need RFP response software:

Which of our corporate initiatives will be aided by this investment?

What is the return on investment (ROI) and for how long?

Why are you doing it now?

Invest in these four efforts.

Find a way to tie RFP software to a specific business goal. Anything that has an impact on revenue or profit is a good thing, such as the following:

Increase in revenue: Learn how one company increased the number of projects it worked on by 10% while doubling its RFP win rate.

Customer retention: Learn why RFP software, particularly for SaaS customers, is critical to the renewal process.

Customer expansion: Begin with local customers, then expand globally with RFP translation skills.

The value of a proposal isn't always evident to the stakeholders of an organization. When you align it with your company goals, it's more difficult for stakeholders to overlook the reality that response management is an important cog in your sales cycle.

To cut to the chase, the return on investment is less than two months

Crownpeak had a 5-6x ROI after only a few months of using BidFast, which is one of our more recent data points. Don't hold back if your managers place a premium on ROI. Calculate your return on investment (ROI) to include in your proposal to your bosses.

Organizations boost response management efficiency by 40% on average when using BidFast. We're now seeing the following roles broken down by role:

BidFast, according to 63 percent of salespeople, allows them to automate their process so they can devote more time to pursuing new business through RFPs.

BidFast, according to 71 percent of marketers, helps them organize company material for simple access.

BidFast allowed Subject Matter Experts (SME) to reclaim 39% of their workday hours.

BidFast also serves as a knowledge management solution, allowing SMEs to produce more proposals for sales while reducing the load placed on them by legal, IT, security, procurement, contracts, and other departments that generally contribute to responses. It's a low-cost way to provide everyone in your company access to your response library while simultaneously giving your proposal team greater authority. 

*Based on verified customer ratings collected on G2.

Why do we require RFP software at this time?

It's all about leveling the playing field for you. Returning to my earlier example of an RFP where five offers are submitted, three of which are likely to have a relationship with the RFP issuer... At least one of the vendors who answers will be utilizing RFP response management software in this situation. 

They'll have used automated features to complete up to 70% of the RFP, allowing them to focus 100% of their attention on the remaining 30%. When you offer your competitors a 70 percent head start, how likely are you to win any race? (Another perk you'll want to mention to your bosses: If you're the only one using RFP software, don't worry. customer service system, or any other support system that is already included in your budget, you will have a 70% head start!)

Are proposals really that important?

YES!

The most common objection you'll face is that a proposal is only one step in a long and complicated sales process. True, and even the best proposal in the world won't get you the contract right away. A weak proposal, on the other hand, will almost certainly cause the issuer to be skeptical. This will, at most, lengthen the sales cycle. In the worst-case scenario, you'll lose the deal.

The proposal is your chance to show how well you know the issuer's fundamental demands and pains. You can do it invisibly ("We assist clients retain clients by..." or "We've helped X clients improve revenue by X percent..." or "3 out of 4 industry leaders rely on us to..."), but articulating your answer to an unspoken problem validates your competence. That is, in the end, why they should choose to collaborate with you.

And your response to the RFP is the only way to get that information to all stakeholders engaged in the decision.

Prepare your RFP software pitch.

RFPs, We thought, we were going the way of the dodo twenty years ago. You see, it's because of the Internet. We assumed that any generic information a company's issuer would require might be obtained on the Internet. We were mistaken. RFPs didn’t go away.

RFPs have become more complicated, necessitating more personalized solutions. Parts of a response are cookie-cutter (yet another reason to use response management software), but the section that takes more personalization to communicate your value—the part that demonstrates that an issuer wants to do more than just kick the tires—is where you should spend the most time.

"What can your firm offer that others cannot?" If you see any variant of this question, you know the issuer is serious and in need of innovation: "What can your company offer that others cannot?"

Do you need assistance with your RFP management software pitch to your boss? We can assist you. Contact us through our contact us page to discuss more