Client Spotlight
Kimberli Balfour,
Microsoft Global Proposal Services
How Microsoft Global Proposal Services used Perfectlt to ensure consistency across a global team
Company overview
With over 23,000 employees globally, Microsoft Services serves customers in 191 countries and 46 languages. The Global Proposal Services team supports Sales in winning new business, especially the most complex, highest revenue, strategic deals in both the commercial and public sectors. The team's proposal managers have a direct impact on Microsoft's bottom line.
The challenge
Deliver quality proposal documents around the world while maintaining the highest standard of data security.
The solution
Maximize win rate by configuring Perfectlt to ensure the language of every proposal matches its intended audience.
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Perfectlt's inexpensive pricing and security model made it easier to get corporate approvals.
Kimberli Balfour
Senior Proposal Manager
The challenges of working globally
Global Proposal Services has teams in Costa Rica, Romania, India, and the United States. Their proposal professionals work with global pursuit teams to craft persuasive stories, proposals, and presentations, around the world.
However, the English language varies from location to location. Phrases accepted in one country may sound strange in another. Even the tiniest slip in quality can damage the impression that a proposal makes. The team benefits from the Microsoft Style Guide and Writing Guide (as well as house styles for specific projects). However, ensuring consistency across a global team with just style documentation alone is impractical and may lead to misinterpretation.
Privacy and security
In looking for a solution, proposal confidentiality was paramount. Many proofreading software solutions are not able to comply with Microsoft's strict privacy and security policies. Through the Association of Proposal Management Professionals, the Microsoft team discovered Perfectlt. Perfectlt does not connect to the internet (or any network), and it does not transmit any data anywhere.
Persuasive proposals are written in one voice
The Microsoft team configured Perfectlt to check their exact style and specifications. Where language needs to be the same (such as branding), Perfectlt enforces consistency across borders. Where language should be different, Perfectlt makes it easy to add location-specific guidance. Microsoft's language experts can set rules and guidelines for every country, knowing that the final decision will still be left to a professional.
Perfectlt helps the team verify acronyms are defined correctly, hyphenation and capitalization are consistent, and idiosyncrasies of the English language are ironed out before a proposal is presented. With Perfectlt, every proposal makes the best impression.
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We spend less time on the mechanics of document production and have more time for strategic edits. The CMOS integration facilitates faster decision-making and offers immediate guidance without having to leave the tool.
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