What’s the Value of Your Time?

4 minute read

Team Qvidian

If you could increase your speed and efficiency exponentially as it relates to proposals, would it be worth an hour of your time? Most proposal managers or proposal writers would answer, “Of course it would!” But how many times in life do we have this opportunity only to forego it saying, “I’m too busy. I don’t have time to learn something new.” Do you see the disconnect? As a proposal professional, you know time is your greatest asset, but how you use it makes all the difference.

Or how about this: have you ever used a product, thinking you knew how to use it, but you didn’t get the results you expected? Easy to blame the product, but if you looked back at the directions, you might discover it was a user-error. If you’re like me, someone who reads directions as a last resort, I’m guessing you have experienced this once or twice in your life. Why do we think that reading directions or learning how to use something correctly will slow us down? Compared to our friends who happily and willingly read the directions, the whole scenario results in something that resembles the Aesop fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

As Qvidian’s Customer Champion, I talk with customers all the time. In doing so, I’ve seen a clear pattern emerge. It’s what Qvidian’s Director of Education, Michael Heffelfinger, knows firsthand, “Once we’ve engaged with a customer through our Consulting Services, their utilization skyrockets. We give our customer knowledge, confidence, and pride of ownership in Qvidian.” Leslie Caldwell, RFP Specialist for Spectrum Business told me that how Michael helped them the most was understanding how they were using the Qvidian system, and how they were NOT using it. In one hour, he brought them huge value by teaching them how to use the system in a better way. One of the Spectrum employees in the training exclaimed to Michael, “What you just showed me is going to save me 5 hours on every RFP (Request for Proposal),” and Michael had been there less than one hour.

I’m happy for our customers who understand the value of taking the time to learn a system, who make use of Qvidian’s many educational services including weekly open Q&A sessions, online courses and our full-day of hands-on training at our annual Connect conference, not to mention those who are active participants in our advocacy group, Club Q where customer share shortcuts and insights with each other. I see other customers who feel that because they have had some experience with Qvidian in the past, they believe they know everything they need to know to maximize its use. What they may not realize is that Qvidian is a company that innovates continuously – always listening to our customers, asking them for feedback, engaging them in beta testing and more. If you think you know the most efficient ways of using Qvidian because you used it 6 years ago, think again. Qvidian is committed to continual innovation, always striving to add even more speed, efficiency, and flexibility to the system.

While we’re known for our content library and helping proposal writers complete RFPs with ease, many customers are now using us even more for content management benefiting from our metadata and reporting capabilities and answering the skyrocketing influx of security questionnaires – without which their booked revenue can come to a screeching halt.

When you look at all Qvidian does, the multitude of ways we can benefit you and your team, one hour of your time can feel like a small investment. Invest wisely – explore Qvidian’s Consulting Services and our many educational opportunities. According to Spectrum Business, less than one hour of learning saves 5 hours on every RFP. If the same were true for you, what would be the impact of that equation?

Reliable products. Real results.

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