Deirdre Sommerkamp Best Practices Improving Collaboration ... · • Manages proposal workflows,...

1 Company Confidential ©2019 Upland Software, Inc.

Best Practices: Improving Collaboration in the Proposal Process

DeirdreSommerkamp

Speaker

© 2019 Upland Software, Inc. 2 | Company Confidential

+ Customer experience (CX) and sales execution expert

+ Certified Net Promoter® Associate and a member of the CXPA

+ 20+ years of experience helping global organizations successfully implement technology solutions to improve efficiency, effectiveness, quality, engagement and revenue growth

+ Passionate about sales and marketing collaboration across the sales cycle to deliver a better customer experience

Deirdre SommerkampDirector of Solutions Consulting

Upland Qvidian

Agenda


+ Introduction+ Four Components of Success+ Understanding Roles and Goals+ “Is-Does-Means” Framework+ Collaboration Habits Effective

Teams Leverage+ Question & Answer+ Conclusion

+ Collaboration is the New Norm• Increased volume and complexity• More product and service details• Shorter turnaround times• Average of 3-10 people per RFP

+ Effective Collaboration = Success• Frequent wins• Shorter sales cycles• Quality output • Engaged SMEs

Introduction


5 | Company Confidential

What’s the average number you collaborate with per RFP/proposal?

© 2019 Upland Software, Inc.

Poll Question

• 1-5• 6-10• 11-15• 15+

Four Components of Success


People Process

Content Technology

Success

+ Typical Collaborators in RFP Reponses and Proposals• RFP/Proposal Manager• Proposal Specialist• Content Manager• Subject Matter Expert (SME)

– Product, Product Management, Engineering– Marketing– Services– Legal

• Sales Professional

Understanding Roles and Goals


Understanding Roles and Goals


RFP/Proposal Manager

Proposal Specialist

Content Manager

Subject Matter Expert

Sales Professional

The RFP Response Journey

Enga

gem

ent

Process

• Bid/No Bid• Assign Lead

• Initial Strategy• Set Timeline• Engage Team

• Opportunity Discovery

• Search for Content• Write Responses• Engage SME’s

• Pricing• Formatting cleanup• Assembling Package

• Executive review

• Validation & Risk

• Delivery• Negotiation• Establish Delivery

Timeline• Contracts

• Cursory Reviews• Identify Gaps• Clarifying Questions• Sanity Checks• Define Approval Milestones

Opportunity Produce Review Close• Review Responses• Engage Stakeholders• Compliance• Create Supporting

Documents


+ Marianne’s typical day is full of strategy and status update meetings, go/no-go reviews, last-minute schedule changes, and request escalations• She relies heavily on her communication, time management, and negotiation skills• She needs to be up-to-date with the market, what the competition is doing, and what’s going on inside of her

organization

+ Despite being considered a medium-sized business, her employer often submits proposals for millions of dollars in competition with larger organizations who have better established reputations and superior resources• The advantage her org has is the quality of their work and proposals from Marianne’s team are their only

chance to prove it• She must remain hypervigilant, focused on the timeliness, accuracy, and the professional presentation of her

team’s work • Her team depends on her leadership to secure the time and resources they need–and her guidance to

produce quality work

Senior Proposal Manager

Daily Responsibilities• Oversees proposal production from start-to-finish• Leads a team & communicates progress to stakeholders• Manages proposal workflows, collaboration and staying

up-to-date with teams to ensure timely, quality delivery

Goals• Help the company win deals• Empower team to collaborate efficiently • Stay current with market, competitive analysis• Secure buy-in from executive team for resources, team


+ Ong’s typical day is answering requests for responses, searching for content and customizing it• He is always working on multiple projects at once, juggling status update calls, deadline changes and

chasing down SMEs• He is responsible for providing the most relevant information possible, and accountable for the work he or

his team produces

+ He is part of a team responding to requests on deals involving millions of dollars • Competing with larger orgs with better established reputations and more resources is overwhelming • Proposals from his team need to be precisely tailored to always put the company’s best foot forward• Flawless formatting is key for him, as certain clients will reject a response if the margins are off by even

a fraction

+ He is focused on delivering work that fulfills or exceeds client’s needs, while abiding by company guidelines

Proposal Specialist

Daily Responsibilities• Provides information, documentation and responses for

requests for information to help the company win deals• Identifies, collects, and provides the best information

possible to deliver winning responses

Goals• Stay organized and stay informed (managing version

control and resources is crucial)• Balance workload between self & SMEs• Create and customize responses quickly and efficiently


+ Claire has exceptional attention to detail and the experience to translate technical jargon into content that closes deals

+ As part of a small team inside a large corporation, she is responsible for managing content records for the entire company

+ Her typical day includes helping sales and proposal teams find content they need, sourcing new answers, managing existing content, and following up with SMEs for information

+ Checking for updates to keep content fresh is critical, and she must diligently remove outdated, unused or unnecessary content from the library (or CMS) to prevent mistakes that can cause lost deals• Her industry is constantly changing and she must ensure the information she provides reflects the current

state of the business• Maintaining strong relationships with SMEs in a variety of departments is essential to ensure info is current

Content Manager

Daily Responsibilities• Owns company content; charged with keeping it

organized, classified and formatted for easy use• System administrator in control of permissions and access

to content• Educational resource and knowledgebase for users

Goals• Keep content current, tagged properly, etc. --

organization is critical to team success• Stay up-to-date on what’s needed, by and for whom;

what’s out-of-date, where it is and when it expires• Collaborating and communicating updates and status to

stakeholders and SMEs


+ As an implementation specialist at a SaaS company, she works with new customers on system configurations• Her specialty is financial services and healthcare providers whose security concerns are complex and vital• Her expertise has made her the go-to resource anytime there is a question about cybersecurity or “the cloud”

+ She is a team player, wants to help win deals, and assists with RFPs and content reviews when possible • Her schedule is packed with pre-scheduled customer meetings that involve people in different locations• Her time is at a premium, so it’s critical that she doesn’t have to download and learn special software

+ She is often recognized for going above and beyond and knows this effort led to her last promotion• She doesn’t mind putting in a few extra hours–as long as she can do it on her own terms

Subject Matter Expert

Daily Responsibilities • Full time role in another department, or her role providing

knowledge and writing responses is a secondary job• Provides expertise and in-depth knowledge in specialized

areas to help complete proposals and win deals

Goals• Provide expertise that helps win deals• Finish proposal work as quickly, efficiently, and easily as

possible to return to main responsibilities• Write with simplicity and clarity, so requests don’t come

back more than once


+ Derek is a field sales rep for a tech provider for primarily small and medium-sized companies• He works with prospects ranging from office managers to sales managers and C-suite executives

+ He spends his time on lead gen; responding to RFPs, DDQs & security questionnaires; conducting demos; managing services for current customers; and attending industry events and trade shows• He works from home in Chicago with a group of remote Sales Engineers and spends 3+ days/week traveling• His remote team is responsible for Midwest US and they only see each other when onsite for an important

client or prospect

+ He has been in sales his whole career and knows his time is best spent talking with clients• He relies on his company to handle the tactical work that gets deals done and pulls in experts when possible• To him, proposals and RFPs are necessary evils; he only wants to dedicate time when there is a high

probability of winning

Sales Professional

Daily Responsibilities • Talks with stakeholders at prospective & existing accounts• Presents solutions and creates strategies for both

prospects & existing customers• Removes obstacles for sales deals in the pipeline• Negotiates and delivers the terms of deals

Goals• Keep moving forward (aka “Always Be Closing”)• Build and maintain momentum with deals • Connect with prospects wherever, however they need• Qualify leads efficiently – listen and understand

customer requirements, and capabilities of the product


+ Is• Describe what a particular product, service or feature actually is• Don’t discount this step; it is important!• Conveys – in simple terms – what the specific offering is

+ Does• Describe what it does (here’s where you take it a little further)• How it works• Answers obvious questions prospects may have on how it fits into larger

product messaging and other details+ Means

• Most overlooked step (SMEs tend to be “too close” to the product)• How this product, service or feature helps save time, increase productivity, reduce costs,

maximize ROI, helps the business grow or other business drivers• Quantifiable proof such as proven cost savings, metrics or customer testimonials

“Is-Does-Means” Framework



Is providing support to the RFP/Proposal team in the job description of SMEs in your organization?


Poll Question

• Yes• No• Don’t Know

1. Construct a Winning Team2. Think “Is-Does-Means”3. Get Managers’ Buy-in4. Show Appreciation5. Point SMEs in the Right Direction6. Engage Early7. Add RFP/Proposal Responsibilities to Job Descriptions 8. Think and Work Smarter

Collaboration Habits Effective Teams Leverage


Upland QvidianThe Enterprise Standard for RFP & Proposal Automation

20+Years of Experience

200K+Users

40%Increase inProductivity

1,000+Companies

28%Win Rate

Improvement

30%Reduction in RFPResponse Time

TRUSTED

RESULTS


Technology

Telecom

Insurance/ Healthcare

Business Services

Financial Services


Resources


+ eBook: Stop. Collaborate & Listen.• https://info.uplandsoftware.com/QV-8-Best-Practices-of-Collaboration.html

+ Contact Deirdre• [email protected]

+ Qvidian Professional Network• LinkedIn Group

+ Request a Qvidian Demo• https://uplandsoftware.com/qvidian/demo-request/


Thank You


Deirdre Sommerkamp Best Practices Improving Collaboration ... · • Manages proposal workflows,...

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