Lesson 12: What Tools Do You Need
to Respond to an RFP?
Once your team establishes each person’s roles and responsibilities, you need to decide what tools the team will need to collaborate on the proposal.
Word Processing Software:
First things first, what are you using to create your documents? Typical tools include Microsoft Word or Adobe InDesign but other software such as the Google suite, Canva, or PandaDoc can be useful for crafting beautiful proposals.
File Sharing:
For file sharing, look for software such as Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, PandaDoc, or Dropbox for cloud-based document sharing. Cloud-based software eliminates the need for manually updating drafts and minimizes the risk of losing a document.
Even if your team is based in an office, having one place to collaborate on and share documents ensures no one is left out of the loop and keeps the team organized.
Meetings:
How your team meets to discuss the proposal will depend on where your teammates are located. If you are working with colleagues in an office, in-person meetings may work, but it may also pull people away from other projects they are working on and take up more time than needed. For virtual meetings explore programs such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Teams is a great way to keep everything (e.g. meetings, files, task lists, and communications) in one place. You can also record meetings via Microsoft Stream and turn on automatic transcriptions for extra documentation. This is especially handy for accountability and to aid in taking notes when interviewing SMEs or clients.
Content Libraries:
Every proposal team ought to have some sort of content library. But why?
Content libraries are the ultimate tool for organizing your proposal resources, processes, and recyclable content. Without a functioning content library, you may need to waste precious hours digging through old content, sorting through email chains, or rewriting sections that could have been recycled from past documents.
Your content library acts as a catch-all for proposal resources. Your library may include the following:
- Past proposals.
- Proposal standard operating procedures.
- Style guides.
- Brand guides.
- Proposal templates.
To learn more about content libraries and why we love them, check out our blog “Are You in Love with Your Proposal Content Library?”
Photo by Elena Rouame on Unsplash