With more companies embracing remote and hybrid work setups, teams are often dispersed across different locations. Developing proposals is an important collaborative task that requires input and review from multiple stakeholders. In a remote setting, proposal teams need tools that facilitate seamless collaboration despite geographical barriers. This blog discusses some of the most useful collaboration tools and platforms that can help proposal teams work together efficiently from any location.

Online Document Sharing and Editing

One of the most basic yet critical needs for remote proposal development is the ability to share, view and edit documents simultaneously from different locations. This rules out traditional email exchanges and requires online document sharing and editing tools.

Google Docs

Google Docs is a very popular choice for collaborative document editing. It allows multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously with real-time viewing of edits. Comments and suggestions can be added inline. Documents can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. Version history is maintained. There are add-ons like Google Drawings and Google Slides to create diagrams and presentations as well.

Microsoft Word Online/OneDrive

Microsoft's online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint support real-time collaboration too. Documents can be stored on OneDrive and accessed via the web or desktop apps. The tools are quite feature-rich compared to older collaborative options. Automatic saving reduces the risk of data loss. Permissions can be configured for viewing and editing access.

Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper provides a collaborative word processing interface to create and edit documents online as a team. It automatically saves revisions and allows comments to be added anywhere in the text. Documents can be easily converted from other formats as well. Integration with other Dropbox folders enables asset sharing.

Communication and Organization Tools

Proposal development involves various discussions, reviews and approvals at different stages. Remote teams need platforms that facilitate smooth communication as well as organization of these activities and associated content.

Slack

Slack is a popular choice for team communication in general and can be very useful during proposal development too. Specific channels can be created for different tasks, discussions organized around hashtags, files shared, etc. It offers a chat-like interface preferred by many over traditional email.

Microsoft Teams

An alternative to Slack is Microsoft Teams which comes integrated with the Office 365 suite. It provides chat, calling and meeting functions along with shared workspaces to organize content. Files, notes and conversations are all tied to specific projects/teams for better organization.

Trello

Trello acts as an online collaborative whiteboard to track progress and workload distribution visually using cards and boards. Tasks, documents, discussions can all be modeled as cards that move between columns based on status. Checklists can be attached. Multiple views make it ideal for project management in a proposal context too.

Asana

Asana is a full-fledged project management and collaboration tool. It helps define tasks, assign members, set due dates, comment and track work seamlessly online. Repeating tasks with templates, attachment of files, integration with other tools, reporting are some useful features for proposal management on Asana.

Online Meetings and Video Conferencing

Verbal discussions and reviews are also important parts of remote proposal development workflows. Tools that enable virtual face-to-face interactions are therefore key enablers.

Zoom

Zoom has emerged as one of the most popular platforms for virtual meetings, conferences and webinars during the pandemic. It offers reliable HD video and audio calling for both individuals and large groups. Screen sharing, recording, virtual whiteboarding and annotation features make it highly useful for proposal presentations and walkthroughs as well.

Google Meet

Google Meet is a capable free video conferencing option for teams already using Google Workspace. Meetings can be instantly set up from Calendar with calling support from phones too. Recordings, chat and screen sharing are standard features along with integration across Drive, Docs, etc.

Microsoft Teams Meetings

Microsoft Teams meetings brings together audio/video calling, chat, content sharing and whiteboarding right within the Teams interface that many organizations already leverage. Recordings are automatically saved to OneDrive. Virtual backgrounds and attendance tracking are additional useful attributes.

Proposal Management Software

Specialized proposal management software packages enable end-to-end process automation from opportunity tracking to preparation, approval workflows right through to submission and follow ups in a centralized online system.

Zoho Proposals

Zoho Proposals is a full-fledged proposal management solution that can help remote teams collaborate efficiently on the proposal lifecycle. Key features include opportunity/pipeline management, customizable proposal templates, automated approval stages, e-signatures and tracking. Integrates with other Zoho tools like CRM.

Ivaluation

Ivaluation grants teams a centralized collaborative hub to generate, manage and submit complex proposals. From opportunity tracking and bid collaboration to document generation and securing approvals online, it aims to digitize and streamline the entire proposal process. Real-time reporting and analytics are also offered.

Proposify

Proposify handles everything related to the proposal process in one place to synergize the efforts of dispersed teams. It provides capabilities for real-time collaboration, automatic version tracking, approval workflows, centralized repository and analytics on submitted proposals. Integrates with services like Docusign, Box etc.

Conclusion

Online collaboration platforms have made it much more viable for proposal teams to work seamlessly from remote locations. The tools discussed above covering document sharing, communication, project/task management and even specialized proposal software enable end-to-end cooperation on proposals virtually without geographical barriers hampering productivity. Choosing the right mix based on organizational needs helps remote proposal development remain agile and efficient.

Read More:- https://medium.com/@jamesespinosa926/the-role-of-visual-storytelling-in-business-proposals-0a305b11e6ca