The job of an RFP team is never truly complete. With each proposal that comes in, there is a constant flow of information that needs to be verified, updated, and distributed.
For asset managers, the challenges of managing and maintaining an ever-evolving content library, while providing a clear audit trail and keeping up with RFPs and quarterly deliverables, add to the pace of work.
The amount of information and level of detail needed to execute these tasks require the right software to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your team’s RFP process.
Read on for tips to help you choose the best RFP software that will suit your organization or industry!
Pinpoint Your Needs
The first step in choosing an RFP software for your asset management firm is to identify the biggest pain points in your RFP process. Are you managing a clunky content organization system, struggling with the formatting of responses, or facing the chaos of contacting and managing various SMEs?
Start with these three easy steps to pinpoint your team’s most pressing needs:
- Take a step back to evaluate the efficiency of your RFP response process. Look back on how many RFPs your team won and how their time was managed. This will show where more time and attention need to be given, and where you can afford to pull back.
- Collect feedback directly from your team about their experience with your RFP process. This can be done through surveys, a designated team meeting, or even interviews. With them sharing firsthand experience from their perspective, you can easily pinpoint areas of improvement and connect it to a needed feature in your desired software.
- Assess time spent on repetitive tasks. Responding to recurring documents such as quarterly deliverables can seem like a waste of time, answering the same questions over and over again. But maintaining the win is just as important as securing it. So, finding a way to automate this process can grant you and your team some much-needed time.
Once you’ve identified the problems you need your RFP software to solve, you can look for features to address them!
Identify Key Priorities to Address your Team’s Challenges
Most RFP software provides the same basic functionality: a content library that allows you to manage, search, and input content into an RFP. But there are a few key features that every asset manager should look for in an RFP software that address challenges specifically faced by the financial services industry.
Here are a few common challenges faced by asset managers and RFP software features that address them:
Compliance: Compliance is crucial for asset management firms. In most firms, each piece of content must go through a unique, auditable approval process, so it is essential for your RFP solution to include compliance-focused features, including:
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- Compliance review workflows that adapt to your process
- A full content update audit trail
Database management: The amount and complexity of content that asset management firms need to maintain require advanced organizational features. Structuring and reviewing content is key to making sure that responses are always correct and easy to find. Defining a few basic elements will help with the maintenance of your content library, such as:
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- Content review cycles and expiration dates
- A subject matter expert is assigned to each content record
- A library structure for specialized content such as ESG, Security, and Commentary
Recurring Deliverables: With the responsibility of performing constant updates, you want to ensure the most up-to-date information is always utilized. To help with the heavy lifting of responding to DDQs, you may want features that help you:
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- Autofill and auto-update responses
- Facilitate merge codes for commonly used data that needs frequent updating
Once you’ve identified your needs and key features, it’s time to identify the software solution that will work best for your team.
Weigh Your Options
Without a doubt, there are a multitude of software options on the market. But considering your company’s pain points, team members’ concerns, and evaluating key features can help you decipher which RFP software best suits you and your team’s specific needs.
Additionally, keep in mind factors like training, onboarding, and support as you are selecting a new software solution. Adoption is key to making your new RFP software work for your team.
We Got You Covered!
On your quest for the best RFP software for asset management, you may not have to look too far! At RocketDocs, we offer an RFP software that encompasses every single feature mentioned above. We created our software for the sole purpose of streamlining the process of responding to RFPs, DDQs, and much more. Schedule your free demo today and experience the solutions you’ve been looking for!
