Web-Based Software facilitates proposal management.
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Press Release Summary:
Expanding sales effectiveness applications, Sant Suite v8.1 enables creation of effective proposals, request for proposal responses, presentations, and related business documents. RFPMaster's Auto Answer Question feature enables users to select one to all questions and provide answers based on highest match in search results. Data Screens capture user-defined information, while Usage tab enables administrators to monitor RFP answers by project, frequency of use, and ownership.
Original Press Release:
The Sant Corporation Announces Sant Suite 8.1
New version dramatically expands the sophistication of sales effectiveness applications
SAVANNAH, Ga., May 29 / -- Today at the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) Annual Conference, The Sant Corporation announces the release of Sant Suite 8.1, the latest version of Sant's web-based application suite. Again Sant customers have driven this release through survey feedback and direct contact with Sant's Professional Services, Support, and Development Groups. Sant Suite 8.1 advances the creation process of effective proposals, request for proposal (RFP) responses, presentations, and related business documents.
A 2007 study of 95 sales and marketing professionals revealed that RFP response and formal proposal documents have the greatest impact on closing a deal. Ninety-three percent of respondents assessed that proposals are increasingly more important to the success of their sales process. Sixty-six percent of respondents expect RFP volume to increase in the next 12 months, while 28 percent anticipate volume consistency. A formal survey report is available from The Sant Corporation.
"These study results are very consistent with the feedback received from our customers over the last several years," said Lewie Miller, President, The Sant Corporation. "Reducing proposal cycle time, improving team involvement and ownership, and enhancing proposal quality are key customer outcomes. The new capabilities introduced with Sant Suite 8.1 are well aligned with the results from this study."
Sant Suite 8.1 includes powerful new capabilities to improve the user experience. Key enhancements include:
-- Automatically answer RFP questions
RFPMaster's new Auto Answer Question feature enables users to select one to all questions and automatically provide answers based on the highest match in the search results. This capability enables you to create a draft RFP response in a fraction of the time.
-- New Data Screens capture user-defined information
Create an unlimited number of custom Data Screens to capture information by utilizing multiple field types. All fields are customizable and Data Screens can be linked to specific document types. For example, you may want to capture the customer's contact information and logo on the same screen; or, in multilingual scenarios, change the address fields based on each country.
-- Smart Index search retrieves more relevant answers
Sant Suite now enables you to perform a Smart Index search and retrieve a relevant answer not containing search terms. Once a user performs a Smart Index search and accepts an answer, Sant Suite remembers the search terms and associates them with the answer, even if the terms do not appear in the answer text. When these terms are used in future searches, Sant Suite will present the answer as a possible match. During search requests, Sant Suite continually "learns" which answers are accepted the most and prioritizes them in the search results.
-- Lock documents and presentations after build
Administrators can increase document integrity by locking a Word document or PowerPoint presentation after the build process. The user will be unable to edit the document/presentation without a password. Administrators also have the option to lock individual PowerPoint slides or slide bundles. In this scenario, certain slides in the presentation will be locked for editing.
-- Assign RFP questions to ProSearch users
RFPMaster's powerful team collaboration now extends to ProSearch users. RFPMaster users can assign questions to co-workers only licensed with ProSearch. These users will be notified of their assignments via email and, upon login, can identify assigned questions on their screen. ProSearch users can mark their answers as 'complete' and this status is then displayed on RFPMaster's Project View screen.
-- Track usage and revisions of RFP answers
A new Usage tab enables content administrators to monitor RFP answers by project, frequency of use, and ownership. In addition, administrators can compare the RFP answer in the database to the actual answer used in the proposal. If the answer was revised in the proposal, the changes can be merged with the original answer in the database.
-- Link content Items, Q&A pairs, and Slides
Administrators can establish links between different pieces of content in the database. When an Item, Q&A pair, or Slide is updated, the content owner has the ability to quickly update other linked content. Content owners can also select to be notified via email when a linked item is updated.
-- Support for dependent graphics in PowerPoint slides
PresentationBuilder users can now create Custom Slides with dependent graphics. The graphic on the slide will change depending on a selection in the project. If, for example, you sell to different vertical markets, you may want to insert an industry-specific graphic in your presentation.
-- Support for Windows Vista and Office 2007
Sant Suite 8.1 fully supports Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007. Sant Suite continues to support Windows 2000 or higher and Office 2000 or higher.
-- Performance improvement throughout the application
Additional use of AJAX and other "Web 2.0" technologies provide fewer screen reloads and improved performance throughout Sant Suite.
Sant customers will receive upgrade instructions the week of June 11. Additional information on Sant Suite 8.1 is available at http://www.santcorp.com/.
About The Sant Corporation
The Sant Corporation is a provider of proven software and expertise that increases sales effectiveness. We assist companies providing value-based solutions to win more business by accelerating the production of persuasive proposals, RFP responses, presentations, and related documents.
Sant is a privately held corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has sales offices in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Africa. For more information, please visit http://www.santcorp.com/.
