The remote work revolution has been happening for some time now, and it is no longer seen as the future of work, but rather the present. Companies have seen a dramatic increase in productivity levels and employee engagement when they switch to remote working models. Employees have reported higher levels of job satisfaction due to their greater flexibility and freedom from traditional office environments. 

With remote working, employees are able to choose their own hours and make decisions on how best to manage their workloads. This is giving them the opportunity to better balance their work with other aspects of life such as family or leisure activities.

Not just that, the remote working provides cost savings for companies as well who no longer need to invest in large office spaces or equipment, nor need to worry about travel costs associated with physical meetings between team members or clients.

But while being on a remote team may sound empowering, the truth is that managing sales teams remotely and ensuring everyone is coordinated can be difficult. For managers, this means finding creative ways to keep their remote sales team connected and motivated through the entire sales cycle especially when the team is required to create proposals for the prospective clients.

With this type of working environment comes certain risks and potential pitfalls that may end up putting the entire team at risk for failure. This article will provide tips and tools for keeping proposals on track when you’re working remotely

4 tips for creating an efficient remote workflow while managing proposals

To ensure that your proposal progression continues without any hiccups, it’s important to set up systems to help keep you on track. Here are some tips and tools we recommend for creating an efficient remote workflow while managing proposals: 

Create a hub for managing proposal content

In the age of digital transformation, sales teams have had to quickly adapt and modify their practices in order to maintain a sense of continuity and efficiency. As more and more businesses embrace remote working, sales teams need to find ways to work collaboratively and manage their proposal content effectively.

With a content management hub, sales teams can easily store, organize and access all of their approved proposal materials such as product and service descriptions, customer case studies, pricing information, and more from one secure central location. This will ensure that everyone on the team has access to the same up-to-date version of the document regardless of where they are located. Because of the version control team members can quickly review all updates made by other collaborators on the same document or file.

Having a well-designed and effective content management system in place will ensure that all team members have access to the resources they need when putting together proposals. 

It will also allow them to quickly find information from past jobs or campaigns, saving time and effort in making sure any new proposal is fresh and relevant. By having this system in place, everyone on the team will be able to contribute efficiently while at home or away from the office.

Develop a strong template design

Creating a template for proposals is essential for any business. It helps maintain brand consistency and allows the sales team to quickly and easily create documents that accurately represent their company’s style, tone, and messaging. This is especially important if your sales team is working remotely on proposals.

By creating a strong template design for all of your proposals, you can ensure that everyone in the organization understands what brand image should be presented to customers. Having an organized proposal template also eliminates potential miscommunications between members of the sales team who are working remotely on different projects at once. 

The standardized format ensures that all of the necessary information required to deliver an effective proposal is present in each document. Furthermore, having a designated visual style within each proposal keeps everything looking professional and consistent with your overall branding strategy. 

Here’s how you can easily create a proposal template with the proposal software, Fresh Proposals:

Step 1: To create a proposal using existing templates, click on the templates menu on the left side panel, browse through the list of existing templates and select the desired template. Or you can start creating your own template from scratch by adding sections you want to include in your proposal.

Step 2: Customize your template with fonts, colors, headlines, and logos that are compatible with your brand image.

Step 3: Customize the content of the sections as per your requirement. 

Use electronic signature

When working remotely on proposals, it can be difficult to get all the necessary parties to sign off on them. However, having an electronic signature system in place can help make this process much easier. Electronic signatures are a secure and efficient way for companies to electronically capture and store signatures without having to worry about the hassle of paperwork or ink-signatures. 

Using an electronic signature solution makes it possible for sales teams to quickly get their proposals signed from anywhere in the world at any time of day. It also reduces paper waste and cuts down on costs associated with printing, shipping, and mailing documents around the world for signature collection. 

Additionally, electronic signature solutions come equipped with advanced security measures that guarantee high levels of document security so you can rest assured your data is safe from outside threats or tampering.

Use proposal software to present your proposal

Proposal software is an essential tool for businesses working remotely. It aids in providing convenience and accuracy when presenting proposals to clients. As the pandemic has forced many workforces to transition from the office to their homes, proposal software provides business professionals with a digital alternative to traditional methods of presentation. 

Using proposal management software eliminates the need for physical documents, meeting rooms, and manual processes that are time consuming and inefficient. This can be particularly helpful when proposing ideas or solutions to clients with tight deadlines or timelines. Proposal software offers users access to a variety of templates and customization tools they can use to create high-quality presentations quickly and easily.

Proposal software is a tool that gives you the ability to create engaging presentations that are highly customized for each potential client. You can easily insert videos or images, add text formatting options, and even embed documents or other multimedia elements into a presentation for maximum effect. This helps build trust with potential customers by showing them that you have taken extra care when creating their proposal.

Additionally, cloud-based storage makes it easy for users to securely store documents online so they can be accessed by all stakeholders regardless of their location or device type.

Conclusion

In conclusion, managing business proposals successfully while working remotely can be challenging. With the right tools, tips and strategies, however, you can take on this responsibility with confidence. Utilize these 4 tips and a tool like a proposal software to ensure that your team is organized and your proposals are effective in spite of the remote work environment. 

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed while navigating the process of managing business proposals remotely, remember to communicate openly with your team and stay flexible as much as possible.