Eliminate Sales Response Frustration Now!

The hardest part of sales is not rejection or being told no. The hardest task for any salesperson is the task of putting together detailed sales responses such RFPs, statements of work, and sales proposals.

To compound issues, response documents frequently come with aggressive response deadlines, and many organizations do not keep a central repository of content to respond quickly. The response process is often inefficient and challenging to manage. Sales Process Blogger Christie Collier says, "responding to these types of documents can be both time consuming and soul-sucking for the sales professional trying to win new business."

This blog will address common challenges that make managing sales response content time-consuming, followed by three methods for minimizing these headaches and winning new business.

We have all been in situations where an unplanned RFP response is accompanied by an aggressive turn-around time, making it hard to meet response deadlines at the team's expense. Having to reinvent the wheel at the drop of a hat is a major source of frustration for both sales and operational support.

It's estimated that 43% of organizations lack a documented and repeatable process for responding to RFPs, making sales document assembly and responses an immediate interruption to everyday workflow. The time crunch and frustration of searching for content quickly adds up.

Once an RFP or sales proposal is duplicated, different versions of similar content exist. Knowing where that content lives and keeping track of the latest version can become a nightmare for project and procurement leaders who need to respond to RFP and proposal requests quickly.

Sales response software should come with a centralized content library where all your sales response documents, text, data, and graphics are accessible. As you continue to update your content library, you will want to look for an automation tool that organizes your content into categories, subcategories, content types, and content titles to save you from having to search manually for content. A central repository also simplifies regular knowledge management activities such as updating, validating, and building content that is core to quickly responding to sales document requests.

Let's face it, if managing sales responses on your own were enough, you would not be reading this blog. The main reason for investing in a sales document response software solution is to reduce the time and effort required to respond. Content management, project tracking, and final document reviews increase your team's likelihood of producing timely and polished sales documents that provide nearly an immediate return on your software investment.

Many RFP and sales response software tools are standalone products with a unique user interface that require time to learn and implement. Sales response documents require input from multiple subject matter experts, requiring numerous individuals to interact with a sales document response tool.

Tightly integrated with Microsoft Word and Excel, RFP Response Builder allows users to work inside Microsoft Word to access the content library and insert responses. With Microsoft Excel, administrators can create automated content outlines that auto-generate RFP response documents in seconds. It's a tremendous timesaving, error-avoiding value to sales professionals who must get sales responses out the door quickly.

If you spend at least 5 hours a month finding content, cutting/pasting, and reformatting your RFP responses, RFP Response Builder may be the right fit for you. Discover how an automated RFP response software solution can dramatically reduce the time and effort required to respond to RFPs, producing polished, mistake-free response documents that help you win more RFPs in less time, hence increasing your win rate!