EP064: How Automation Can Streamline Your Proposal Process – with Ganesh Shankar
Imagine a world where proposal managers aren’t chasing down subject matter experts (SMEs) at the 11th hour for the information they need. A world where content maintenance is part of a SME’s primary work, not something extra they have to do. A world where it’s easy to verify the validity of the content you’re copying and pasting into an RFP response. A world where automation streamlines the workflow, allowing you to spend less time responding to more RFPs—and make more money in the process!
Ganesh Shankar is the Cofounder and CEO of RFPIO, the leading RFP response management platform designed to help companies streamline their proposal efforts, generate high-quality responses, and create additional revenue opportunities. Ganesh has a background as a successful Product Manager for Fortune 500 software companies, where he served as a SME for 535 proposal responses. His experience with RFPs inspired the creation of RFPIO’s AI-enabled solution to make proposal teams more efficient, collaborative and effective.
On this episode of the podcast, Ganesh joins us to share the five pillars of RFPIO proposal software, describing the platform’s holistic approach to the process and how it makes content maintenance part of a SME’s day-to-day work. He explains how RFPIO helps proposal managers identify the most current and highest quality content and discusses the company’s efforts to educate the market around taking a more proactive approach to the process. Listen in for Ganesh’s insight on calculating your ROI from the use of RFP automation and learn how a system like RFPIO can be applied in use cases beyond the RFP.
Key Takeaways
Ganesh’s experience contributing to 535 RFP responses as a SME
The five pillars of RFPIO proposal software
1. Project management
2. Content management
3. Collaboration
4. Business intelligence + reporting
5. Integration
How content maintenance can be part of a SME’s day-to-day work
How RFPIO identifies the most current, highest quality content
Why it’s crucial to create a content library before an RFP comes in
How RFPIO is educating the market around being proactive
How to calculate your annual savings from using RFP automation
How AI is likely to support (but not replace) proposal managers
Ganesh’s advice for selling leadership on software like RFPIO
Response management (use cases beyond RFPs)
The biggest misconception people have re: the role of RFP software