Every Tuesday, I present a new tool that can improve your work. Today, we are going to talk about bid management tools. But what exactly is it? What can you do with it? When is it convenient to use one? Let’s go through it step by step.
What is a bid management tool?
A bid management tool combines project management and a knowledge base tool that helps you answer bids, tenders, and RFPs (Request For Proposal) faster and more effectively.
What can you do with it?
Responding to RFPs and tenders is time-consuming and often includes repetitive tasks. With a bid management tool, you store all your brilliant texts in a database, speeding up the response process by as much as 40%.
When is this tool interesting?
This tool is an absolute must-have if you regularly answer tenders or RFPs. On average, it pays to answer one bid per month. In fact, it should already be a standard tool for anyone with a dedicated bid manager on the team.
How does it work?
A good bid management tool consists of two components that work closely together:
- A project management tool: All client questions are recorded individually. You then assign these questions to writers and reviewers.
- A knowledge base contains all documents (such as certificates) and previously written texts.
You may wonder, “But all questions are different, aren’t they? How can this help?” Although the questions in RFPs and tenders are different, with clever tags and synonyms, you often have 3/4 of the text at your disposal. You then only need to supplement it. This saves an enormous amount of time.
While these tools work great as standalone tools, they often offer much more functionality when connected to your CRM. It’s definitely worth investigating!
What tools are on the market?
There are many bid management tools available. On the Stryfes website, you will find a comparison of different tools. In our opinion, there are three worth mentioning:
- Loopio: In our opinion at Stryfes, the best.
- RFPIO: The runner-up and market leader.
- Altura: Although currently only a tool for Dutch tenders, it is developing very quickly. It’s a tool to keep an eye on.
With this knowledge, you can enter the new year to answer bids 40% faster. Good luck!