Collaborating on proposals in a virtual world

Just like “remote work” was a buzzword long before COVID-19 struck, collaboration was a challenge before the global pandemic escalated the need for both.

Without much surprise, it seems that the remote work trend is here to stay, which means that your team’s proficiency in remote collaboration might need some attention – along with the tech they’re using.

This is especially true if you’re involved in the RFP response process, either directly or indirectly.

The hallmarks of a less-than-stellar RFP response are evidence of a broken business capture process and a lack of collaboration between Sales, Marketing, and your Proposal team.

Sales and Marketing might be the corporate world’s most notorious frenemies. In many companies, they work together…separately, with as little interaction as possible. It’s just as ineffective, and exhausting, as it sounds. During an RFP response, the Proposal team is often the primary casualty of a lack of communication between these departments. 

While Marketing might possess the tools and creativity to make jaw-dropping content, they need input from Sales to ensure that it’s relevant. Likewise, if the Sales team has used certain content in the past without much success, the Marketing team should know so that they can make the proper adjustments. The Proposal team needs to know, too, so they can account for the time it will take to modify assets or create entirely new content when assigning responsibilities and deadlines.

Data from HubSpot shows that when Sales and Marketing teams are working together, companies see significant boosts to sales win rates and customer retention. During an RFP response, the relationship between Sales and Marketing will either be a boon or a burden. If you make regular collaboration between the two a company mandate, they’ll impress you — and your prospects — when you need them the most.

With the right tech, collaboration becomes easy

Qorus makes it easy for your teams to work and collaborate from any location with a solution purpose built for a remote workforce. You’re able to bring your best minds together on key deals, invite experts to co-author in real time, keep track of progress with dashboards and notifications, and create tailored pitches, proposals, and RFPs that win.

Find out more about how Qorus enables collaboration here:

Qorus stands out above the crowd because of our native integration with Microsoft Office tools, which are pervasive in Sales and Marketing teams. You can work from anywhere in your favorite apps (Office, Dynamics, Teams, and Salesforce, just to name a few) — which is particularly valuable in promoting collaboration between parties when you consider the mobile and remote workforce of today. 

A solution purpose-built for a remote workforce

Ultimately, no one wants to devote countless hours and untold energy to crafting one losing bid after another, but with the right processes and tools in place, your teams will be able to collaborate effectively and save time, effort, and money – regardless of their location.