Qvidian Enables Sales Success!
Updated October 01, 2015
Qvidian Enables Sales Success!
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
10.1
Modules Used
- Proposal Automation
Overall Satisfaction with Qvidian Proposal Automation
Qvidian is the proposal automation software for Blackboard's global RFP Team and it is used to respond to all strategic Sales proposals that have been approved via internal stakeholders. It addresses the need of generating quality responses for multiple product offerings in the most efficient amount of time thereby boosting revenue potential and supporting a scalable Sales pipeline.
It addresses the business problem of not having a centralized RFP content repository that is easily searchable, scalable, and maintainable. It also enables a stronger market brand by allowing customizable templates to be utilized easily within the drafting process. Without it, the RFP Team bandwidth would not be able to keep up with the company's growth.
It addresses the business problem of not having a centralized RFP content repository that is easily searchable, scalable, and maintainable. It also enables a stronger market brand by allowing customizable templates to be utilized easily within the drafting process. Without it, the RFP Team bandwidth would not be able to keep up with the company's growth.
Pros
- Search Capabilities: Qvidian's search interface is one of its biggest sellers with our Proposal Writers. If you've ever done a web search, you know how to search for content in Qvidian's Library. You can Browse, Search, or be as specific as you need with an Advanced Search. Boolean logic is built right in so there is no need to understand coding. New functionality also allows you to save your favorite searches so you don't have to reapply the same filters in the future.
- Content Maintenance: Qvidian has incorporated content maintenance into every aspect of the interface. Edits can be made directly to a folder's content or while searching for an answer when you are working on a project. Content is editable wherever it may be encountered. Also, best new CM feature: Jobs. You are now able to create bundles of content from various folder locations within the Library and generate a Job; a link that is sent to Subject Matter Experts, regardless of whether or not they have a license. You can control what they are able to edit and you can monitor the Job status. Finally, you can review the SME edits and tailor them before accepting them back into the Library.
- 100% Hosted Customer Environment: This gives our team the ability to be results-oriented in our structure. No one is tied to an office in order to execute a project. The team can work wherever there is a secure internet connection. This not only facilitates better uptime, upkeep, and the most efficient upgrade release rollouts, it also facilitates a better work-life balance.
Cons
- Tablet-friendly interface: While most significant projects are executed on either a desktop or laptop computer due to the multiple applications that may be in use and the processing power needed, I can foresee an option for a tablet-friendly interface to be utilized in simpler browsing and/or retrieval of minor standard information. I have already seen this need met within Qvidian's Sales Playbooks offering.
- Real-time collaboration. While one can build and draft projects within Qvidian, the writer/project manager is still adding and tracking all contributions. Further, the strongest collaboration functionality is met by procuring licenses for every contributor.
- Our ability to generate a draft went from days to hours. Hence, our ability to enable a growing Sales Team was supported.
- Upon implementation, our RFP win rate more than doubled from 15% to over 30%, peaking at times above 50%.
- We are now able to effectively scale according to the company's growth and go-to-market vision.
- SAVO,XaitPorter,Qorus,propLIBRARY.com
Of the competitive vendor demos I have reviewed over the years, each may have its own strength. Some may be set up to drive compelling differentiators or solutions (E.g., propLIBRARY.com). Some may be built on existing CRMs (E.g., Qorus). Some may have tablet-friendly interfaces (E.g., SAVO). Others focus on collaboration (E.g., XaitPorter). There is nothing wrong with any of these models. You will just have to perform your own gap analysis and see what best addresses your needs.
For Blackboard Inc., none of the aforementioned competition offered a holistic and robust replacement for our current PA tool. We have senior writers to craft compelling differentiators. We use SFDC, not SharePoint as our EA CRM. While our strategic writing and architectural needs outweigh having the slickest tablet-friendly user interface, we still have an interface and user experience that is geared toward usability and performance while being cognizant of adoption.
New collaborative tools are a big draw, especially when responding to private sector proposals with a 10-to-20 day turnaround. However, not only has this not been a pain point for us (we currently have a versioning process in place) but the conversion and adoption hurdles just for one feature where there is already a workaround in place does not justify the migration.
For Blackboard Inc., none of the aforementioned competition offered a holistic and robust replacement for our current PA tool. We have senior writers to craft compelling differentiators. We use SFDC, not SharePoint as our EA CRM. While our strategic writing and architectural needs outweigh having the slickest tablet-friendly user interface, we still have an interface and user experience that is geared toward usability and performance while being cognizant of adoption.
New collaborative tools are a big draw, especially when responding to private sector proposals with a 10-to-20 day turnaround. However, not only has this not been a pain point for us (we currently have a versioning process in place) but the conversion and adoption hurdles just for one feature where there is already a workaround in place does not justify the migration.
Using Qvidian Proposal Automation
Qvidian Proposal Automation Reliability
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