RFP Pitfalls to Avoid
The RFP process can be stressful. In great part because you know it’s the start of a big change for your association. You’re likely ready to embark on a system implementation or upgrade and the RFP is the necessary step in that process. But…is it? Some associations need to do an RFP because it’s built into their procurement or is a general counsel-directed policy. Some associations use it to get competitive bids. But some associations use it as an opportunity to do a feature assessment. By having a list of features to send to prospective vendors, you want to make sure your selection meets your needs. But that also means you’re doing part of your discovery before you even know what system you’ll be using. An important consideration is understanding what solution you’re trying to solve. Are you updating your infrastructure or systems that have reached their end of life? Do you have specific needs that are no longer being met? Do you believe your association is being left behind as technology continues to evolve? All of those are valid reasons to change, but risk not telling you – or the prospective vendors – what you’re looking for. Being able to articulate the why as much as anything else should help drive your process. Articulating specific requirements – and a broad vision – is important. Be careful that the RFP doesn’t turn into your detailed requirements gathering. If your RFP is limited to a checklist of features, you may miss out on opportunities you don’t even know to look for. Be open to adjusting your scope when a tool presents itself to meet new needs. And be ready to have a conversation with the prospective vendor about what your future vision could be. Be sure to check back for our blog post on preparing for a change where we cover the 5 areas to consider ahead of an RFP. Another consideration when preparing your RFP is whether you’ll use a consultant in the process. If vendor selection is a regular part of your job and managing the process is something you or your team have the bandwidth to do, maybe a consultant isn’t something that fits your budget or needs. But a consultant adds value beyond managing the process. They can help target your RFP to vendors or software that are a good fit based on understanding the marketplace and learning your needs. Having a partner there to manage your selection process and understand industry leaders can be a valuable extension to your team. Regardless of whether you have a consultant or not, crafting a good RFP question is important. One key is to remember not to limit to yes/no questions. Some questions may be straightforward and only need a yes/no answer, but be sure to include plenty of opportunities to expand on that. For instance, asking if the vendor has security will give everyone the opportunity to say yes. But you want to know how they do it. Or more specific needs such as field-level security, security at the user level or department level, etc. Open-ended questions like “How do you..” or “Explain your process for…” better prepares you for your selection and demo steps. Asking engaging questions can also give you the opportunity to read between the lines. A recent study by Third Coast Consulting shows the type of software implemented has less of an impact on the success of implementation than the people you’re working with. While you’ll get a feel for the vendor during the demo and subsequent conversations prior to signing a contract – and plenty after! – you want to make sure the vendor is someone you want to work with and can deliver what you need. That starts with how the RFP is answered. The three things you want to look at – Software, People, and Process – help make for successful implementation and ongoing relationship with your vendor. Make sure your RFP gives you a feel for all three and you’ll start that relationship out on your best foot forward.
Thinking of Switching your AMS? Preparing For Change
Your current AMS has stopped meeting your needs and you’re ready for a change. Time to write an RFP and implement a new system, right? Sure. That will get you a new system. But will you be more successful than you are now? Are you preparing for what a change can do for you, your members, and your future? Advances in technology will give you more functionality, make integration and configuration easier, and allow for more flexible decision-making. But beyond the technology, let’s walk through 5 things you should consider ahead of the RFP to set yourself up for not just a successful implementation, but a successful future. 1. Change Management Implementing a new system using the same business processes, the same approach to data, or the same skillsets is like buying a boat when you don’t know how to swim and don’t live near a lake. Great in theory, but quite a costly sunk cost that you may never get your return on investment. Take a step back. Think about what you’re doing now and ask why. Was a process that you’re continuing built because of past system limitations vs actual business needs today? Do your business rules make sense in today’s world and are they adaptable to a changing world? The world – and likely your association – has gone through a lot of change in the last year. Change fatigue is real. But this is also an opportunity to illustrate to your board and the C-suite team that your association can handle change. That being open to re-imagining your business as well as your technology will set you up for future success – and future abilities to adapt to a changing world. 2. Data Management Whether you’re integrating with other systems or implementing an all-in-one platform, knowing your data, how it’s used, and how it’s maintained is necessary for not just an effective implementation, but for an effective business. Squeaky wheels get attention. So anecdotal decisions get made. That may never change in an association world. But having faith in your data – and being able to report on that data in digestible ways, such as with PowerBI reports that the world has gotten used to seeing, allows you to make data-driven decisions. 3. HR Management This one may come as a surprise. You’re thinking about an AMS/CRM solution, not a new HR system. What does HR have to do with this? Well, an effective HR team – and by extension, an effective team overall – cares about the skills their team has, career development, and talent pool. Customized or targeted tools will have a more limited pool to pull from when hiring – and minimize marketability. That may be good short-term, but fostering a culture that wants to nurture and encourage staff career development should be a factor in the technology chosen. The ability to work in a low-code/no-code environment, including manage customer journeys with automation, may require different skills than some staff is used to. Leveraging the extensive online learning opportunities now available is a good start in ensuring your team stays ready for what comes next. 4. Member Management Are you providing a personalized “Netflix experience”? Personalization is how we live our lives now. Your recommended queue is likely far different than mine. People expect that. Whether it is a personalized welcome journey in marketing automation or offering up the right discounts and recommendations based on who I am, your tech should support this. 5. Vendor Management Integration allows you to get the features you want – from the vendor you want. You may go with a tool that meets most of your needs with just some supplemental integration or cut across the full spectrum of specialized vendors. More vendors are seeing that associations are an industry worth investing time and money into development. They’re also looking to form partnerships with their customers. Reggie Henry from ASAE likes to talk about how the vendors are partners and an extension of his staff. Look for vendors who want to form that partnership with you. For instance, Altai Systems is confident in our software – and confident in our process. Our process, our ease at integrating within the Microsoft 365 universe, and the ability to look ahead for you are what we’re bringing to the table to make sure you succeed. Are you in the position to pivot when the next curveball comes your way? Are you looking ahead with a plan for continuous improvement? We’ve had to pivot a lot at the start of the pandemic. And there will be new tech and new needs and new obstacles. Is your ecosystem ready for what’s next?
Top 10 Ten Reasons Why Associations are Switching to Altai Systems
Since 2007, Altai Systems has been focused on association management software. Today we believe the historical AMS is too limiting and associations are best served using robust association-specific functionality built within the Microsoft 365 business platform. This means the tools you’ll use to manage your association allow you access to some of the best business tools available AND allow you the flexibility to incorporate technology you’re already using and love, directly into that platform. This provides your association not only what’s important and necessary, but it also goes beyond the traditional AMS to offer greater access to data, better reporting, enhanced member personalization, and access to the best collaboration technology available. With that in mind let’s dive into our TOP 10 REASONS ASSOCIATIONS ARE SWITCHING TO ALTAI SYSTEMS. The Business Platform that Meets Your Needs Today and Tomorrow Microsoft’s cloud is used by > 95% of Fortune 500 companies. Using Microsoft’s platform and infrastructure as our backbone allows us to leverage features ranging from infrastructure to accounting software (ERPs) to office software in addition to the association-specific features Altai has built that you would expect: dues, non-dues, events & meetings, marketing, full credentialing, donations, eCommerce, etc. And with automation, Business Intelligence, and artificial intelligence – the sky’s the limit! What makes the system especially enticing is the ability to tailor the system to meet your unique needs. Not through costly customizations, but through thoughtful configuration. By working with you, we have a process in place that will make your implementation turn-key and through low code/no code, the power of the system is in the hands of the passionate user as your needs evolve. A Member Portal That Fits Any CMS Altai’s Web Portal modules are more than a place for members to access personalized content. They are CMS-agnostic modules that empower two-way data anywhere you have access to your members or stakeholders. With or without a logged-in state, our modules grant responsively designed flexibility where content, commerce, and community come together. It’s the People That Get You There Obviously, we want to sell you the wonders of an association system built within Microsoft Dynamics. But a recent study by Third Coast Consulting shows the type of software implemented has less of an impact on the success of implementation than the people you’re working with. We’re confident in our software – and confident in our process. Our process, our ease at integrating within the Microsoft 365 universe, and our ability to look ahead for you are what we’re bringing to the table to make sure you succeed. Security (Data, Physical, Backups, GDPR, etc.) Stop worrying about the above and let experts do it. Microsoft has thousands of experts working 24/7 to make sure you are not exposed. (Exposed to mistakes, oversights, foreign governments, hackers, etc.) Microsoft spends $1 billion on security each year. They monitor 7 trillion cyber events a day. If you are thinking about backups, GDPR, data integrity, etc., you can now stop. With Microsoft, you can know your data is safe. Microsoft has a team of thousands of developers continually working to make Dynamics 365 and its ecosystem better. This amounts to more development, enhancement, and innovation than all the traditional AMS vendors and platforms combined. Dynamics 365 has a proven track record of protecting its clients’ investment in CRM by delivering innovative new technology and functionality while preserving upgradeability. Since the Altai product is built within the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, our solution upgrades when they upgrade. Depth of Support Want to be an expert in Microsoft Dynamics 365, or just want to find answers when you need them? With easy online access to training documentation, videos, courses, and direct support from Altai, the choice is yours. Microsoft Dynamics 365 also has more than 3 million users of CRM around the world and there are hundreds of self-maintained user communities, blogs, and forums. Business Process Automation Business Process Automation (BPA) sounds complicated, but really it’s all about making your job easier. One of the primary areas of value that Altai brings to your organization is using the various tools within Microsoft Dynamics 365 to streamline your operations, so staff can do more member-facing and revenue-generating tasks. For example, your membership and the credentialing system can be designed for specific job and security roles. Process-driven forms can guide staff through data entry, form-based business rules can drive actions to happen automatically, and workflows can run processes for you either on-demand or automatically. Using this functionality requires no programming and can be used by your organization with little to no additional reliance on Altai. AMS Implementations take too long. A small implementation of a true CRM can take 6 months. . Altai has reduced that to a couple of months using survey automation and the Azure Platform to automate the setup and data conversion. The benefit of this automation is less cost, time, stress, and risk! We converted ANSI’s membership from iMIS to CMR in 45 days. We converted FCA’s entire AMS system and brought them live in 13 weeks. Artificial Intelligence Capabilities Artificial intelligence. AI exists throughout the platform. Whether it is a reminder to call a member back because you have not heard from them in a while or asking the AI engine to tell you why community activity is down or leveraging the AI engine to tell you what leads to focus on, it is all there at your fingertips. Click here for an AI for sales demonstration. Microsoft is the leader in AI for business. The AI team has a separate R&D budget of $5 billion/year. Microsoft recently took the #1 spot on some of the most prominent AI leader boards. In fact, one of those leader boards is hosted by Salesforce. Mobile Accessibility Work from anywhere on almost any mobile device including iPad/iPhone, Android, and other platforms. Because Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM has native mobile functionality, Altai can help you make even custom forms mobile compatible. Altai also enables you to get closer to your members and make commerce easy for your members via mobile devices. We’re long past the days of mobile responsiveness being optional. We ensure your website interactions are too. Better Marketing Tools Associations today face more competition and have even more pressure to show value to their members. Altai, built within Microsoft Dynamics 365, is designed to capture knowledge about a member to better market to and service them. We allow your organization to: Personalize messaging based on both member demographics and interests Understand who your most engaged members are Learn which products are generating the most revenue Know which services are considered the most valuable View
