I was recently travelling to Boston for work and happened to read a great article in the Airline Magazine regarding antiquated laws around the world. Some of these have been in existence for so long that there is actually no way anyone would be prosecuted for the offence. A few examples being:
‘In London, it is illegal to flag down a taxi if you have the plague.”
‘In Ohio, it is against state law to get a fish drunk.”
Or how about, “In the UK it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.”
I suppose with today’s society, there is the need to ensure that the laws governing a country are kept as up-to-date and relevant as possible. Some however, miss the net and stay around for a while.
But from a business perspective, it is vitally important your collateral doesn’t have the “ghosts in the cupboard” and that you regularly check your collateral to ensure it is relevant and up-to-date. In my role at Qvidian, I hear many people tell me about the need to simplify their content library as it is out-of-date or it is stored by a number of people on many devices and clouds. I always advise people to begin collecting collateral by having a review of collateral companywide to see what people have and what needs to be culled.
Whether you are writing an RFP (Request for Proposal) or sales proposal or putting together a DDQ (due diligence questionnaire), your data should be from a trusted source that has a version control and is regularly checked for updates. At the end of the day, your colleagues are using this collateral to promote and inform prospective customers about your company. If the collateral is incorrect then you are making yourselves liable to many issues further down the line.
Qvidian provides cloud-based sales solutions that save sales, content, RFP, legal and proposal teams time while improving effectiveness and optimising productivity. If you would like to know more, contact us. If you are in or near the UK, please call on +44 207 1933 059. If you are in or near the US, call +1-800-272-0047.