To ask - do you have to create proposals as part of your job?

[ethelfleda]

Such as responses to tender requests etc?
I’ve been doing this for a year now and really want to improve my design skills.
What software do you use? Unfortunately, our company is a big lover of power point which is what 90% of our work is completed on but I can’t help thinking there must be a better way to stand out!

Seeing as MN knows everything, I thought I would be cheeky and ask the AIBU collective to help me get better at my job.

Even better - do you received proposals from potential suppliers? What makes them stand out to you?

Shameless bump

I'm just bumping this for myself - I've only done these hypothetically for my MSc (and a few times as a volunteer for a charity) but I remember having a few lecturers comparing different planning/evaluating software - I'll try and dig my notes out later for their names!

Off the top of my head all I can remember is draw.io (free mindmapping software, easy to use and makes pretty mind maps)

*lectures, not lecturers!

I don’t even know what a mind map is

I used to work at a very unprofessional non corporate company before moving to my current role, so much of this stuff is new to me!

Picktochart is cool

It depends on your industry and the length / nature of your proposals and the messages you want to get across.

If you google “Alternatives to PowerPoint” there are plenty out there. Something like InDesign might work for you if you just want to make you slides a bit more interesting.

Also, check out APMP - the Association of Proposal Management Professionals for lots of best practice ideas.

I'm interested too.

I work in project management in the public sector and receive responses from potential suppliers. We have a fixed template they have to complete, which is just a Word document and very boring...however many suppliers will send additional documents which can be in any format. Often Power Point, Visio...often in PDF so not always sure what they are made on. They make no difference to me...it's all about the product and what it can deliver. So they have to give us a demo as well. That's what really matters.

We use PowerPoint but largely because that's what our clients are comfortable with and prefer, whether we like it or not!

We do, but written documents, so only use word. We also usually submit as pdf so software is free choice really

Interesting - thanks all!

Not quite the same as I am a teacher, but am creating presentations everyday. I use prezzo quite often if I have time to spend on it...different enough from ppt to stand out.

I was just going to suggest prezi too.

prezi.com/

I’m a Prezi fan too.

I work in procurement (private not public sector) and send out tenders regularly. We use word and excel and ask suppliers to complete this. We looked at software to simplify but found it far too rigid.

I project manage in my role and often procure services.

Be concise, meet the brief, be clear on costings and who will do what and when.