Customer proof on record
How Redhand Advisors reduced time from discovery to RFP by 30% with Olive
- Customer on record
- Redhand Advisors
- Vendor on record
- Olive
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Redhand Advisors, a risk management technology consulting firm, moved its workflows onto Olive and says it reduced the time from discovery to RFP by "approximately 30%". By the account of its founder and president, Patrick J. O'Neill, the firm previously relied on spreadsheets, but now "our entire process is essentially in one system." This gives the firm the opportunity to "productize our offering" and serve new clients.
Approved quotes
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Showing all 33 quotes
- Background
Self Introduction
“Hi, my name is Patrick O'Neal. I'm the president and founder of Redhand Advisors.”
- Background
Company Introduction
“Redhand Advisors is a risk management technology consulting firm that helps organizations optimize and select the right technology for their needs.”
- Background
Company Specialization
“We're a risk management technology firm that specializes in helping organizations manage risk through technology.”
- Before
Manual Process Before Olive
“Before Olive, we had a technology platform to manage the RFP process, but what we were doing before was using spreadsheets to collect information. That information would wind up in spreadsheets and Word Documents, and we'd use that to build our reports. For the next phase, I had a library of requirements in Excel that we would modify for each engagement. So there were a number of different technology applications prior to getting to an app that really only facilitated the RFP collection process from the vendors.”
- How they use it
Bridging the Gap from Transcription to Reports
“We would record the meetings, go to a ChatGPT to summarize information, and then cut and paste it into our reports and requirements. Olive kind of bridges that entire gap for us.”
- Results
Using Surveys for Prospect Discovery
“I start using Olive prior to an engagement. When I first engage with a prospect, I'll have a conversation, but I'll need more background information about the organization. I use Olive's survey functionality to collect that data upfront, and ultimately that becomes part of the initial record as the project goes forward.”
- How they use it
Improved Client Collaboration vs. Spreadsheets
“I provide access to my clients for the process, from gathering requirements all the way through the RFP. Prior to Olive, it would be sharing spreadsheets or putting a document on a share drive. The feedback I've gotten from the client has been fantastic.”
- How they use it
Integrating AI vs. Standalone Tools
“Prior to Olive, our AI capabilities were standalone. It would be taking data from a source, putting it into the AI, getting the results, and then moving those back to a Word document or a spreadsheet. It's not a one-and-done process; there's a lot of tweaking and drafting back and forth. With the AI capabilities being built into the Olive tool, it has really helped streamline that process for us.”
- Results
Purpose-Built AI for Consultancy
“Prior to Olive, like many consultancies, we were experimenting with AI tools to improve our processes and efficiencies. What Olive gives us with the integration of AI capabilities directly into the system is purpose-built for our use cases and our consultancy process, and it significantly improves our process and our outcomes.”
- Results
Fine-Tuned AI Prompting
“You have to get really good at prompting, whereas with Olive's integration, it's fine-tuned for this process. We still have to write prompts, but it already knows that we're in this consulting and requirements gathering space, so it does a lot of the work for you.”
Consulting Space is Underserved by Tech
“I've been looking for a long time for a solution. I don't feel like the consulting space is served well by technology. I had never really considered a procurement tool, which is what I was using prior to this.”
- How they use it
Finding a Tool for the Full Consulting Lifecycle
“I've been utilizing various tools and never really found one that could meet our full needs. There are tools that help with the RFP process, but my client engagements start before that. Sometimes we don't even know what type of systems or solutions we're looking for. The process starts with needs assessments and discovery to get high-level use cases and requirements. It isn't until then that you can start to identify what solutions might meet these needs. The fact that Olive helps me through that entire process is game-changing for us.”
- Before
Inability to Find a Complete Solution
“Redhand's been around for about 10 years, and throughout that time, I've always been looking for tools to help improve our process and never found anything that met our specific needs in the consulting space. I mean being able to take a project from a client not even knowing what they need, to going through the discovery and needs assessment, then determining what we're looking for, which is the step right before you build out requirements and go through the RFP process.”
- Before
RFP Software Focuses on Procurement, Not Consulting
“The challenge for consulting firms like ours is that software solutions in the RFP space are solely focused on procurement—and I would say even more on the seller side than on the buyer and consultant side. There's so much work that goes into getting to that point, from discovery to needs assessments to requirements and then ultimately to the RFP process, and those needs weren't being met for us.”
- Before
Large Firms Still Use Manual Processes
“I do some outsourced work for some of the bigger firms, and they send me Excel templates, PowerPoint templates, and Word documents. I was always thinking I'd learn something from them, but I learned that they're as bad as the way we were doing things. We had optimized things pretty well, but it was still really ugly.”
- How they use it
Centralizing a Decade of Project Data
“Having everything in one place is important. I have 1,500 requirements that I put in a library from all my past projects. Prior to this, they were all in individual spreadsheets, probably divided among 50 different projects we've done in the last 10 years. Now I've got them categorized, so if I start a project, I can go grab a particular area of focus. It's a starting place, and then you bring in the client's specific requirements.”
- Before
Lack of Client Collaboration Post-Discovery
“Another challenge we had was collaboration with our clients. While a big piece of the consulting process is discovery and needs assessments with key stakeholders, that was really the extent of the interaction. Then they would wait for draft reports and draft requirements for the next phase, and that was a challenge for us.”
- Before
Siloed Process Hurt Customer Experience
“Another challenge we faced prior to Olive was customer experience. The consulting process is very interactive during discovery and needs assessments, but throughout the rest of the engagement, as we built out requirements and identified needs, that part was very siloed for us. That was the challenge in collaborating with our clients.”
- Results
Streamlined Process and Customer Engagement
“Now that we're using Olive, we've really streamlined our process. We use essentially one tool from A to Z. We start with our discovery and needs assessment, gathering requirements, and using the built-in AI to identify opportunities and solutions. I think the real exciting thing for me is the engagement with our customers.”
- Results
Inviting Clients to Participate in the Process
“Something completely new through the Olive portal is that I invite my clients to participate in the process. Once I have the shell of a project and start to organize the requirements, I invite them in. We use the survey capabilities to help rank requirements. We get a lot of feedback from different key stakeholders, and the survey tool allows the client to provide feedback on what the higher or lower priorities are. This helps me streamline and prioritize the requirements.”
- Results
Entire Process in One System
“With Olive, our entire process is essentially in one system—from discovery and needs assessments through RFP development and requirements, and ultimately managing and identifying solutions.”
- Results
Positive Feedback on Transparency and Interaction
“With Olive, our customers are fully engaged in the process. We invite them into the project and they participate. They can provide feedback, and the feedback I'm getting from my customers is that the transparency and the immediate interaction is very helpful.”
- Results
Reducing Project Timelines from 12 to 8 Weeks
“I started using it the day I signed the contract. For one project, the RFP deadline is today, and it was probably a six or eight-week process. It used to be at least twelve weeks. It's at least a 30% time savings at the moment, and I'm sure we will get better at it.”
- Results
30% Time Reduction from Discovery to RFP
“With the initial projects that we've utilized Olive for, we've reduced the time from Discovery to RFP by approximately 30%, and that's a pretty conservative estimate. It really takes a big burden off of the steps in between requirements gathering.”
- Results
Efficiency Gains Passed on to Clients
“It makes us more efficient and effective, which ultimately we can pass on to our clients. I determine my fees based on what I think the level of effort is going to be. So it's certainly reducing the level of effort, which ultimately is making these projects more cost-effective for my clients.”
- Results
Getting to Solutions Faster for Clients
“The ultimate goal for our clients is to provide as much value as possible. Olive gives us the opportunity to be more efficient, more cost-effective, and ultimately get to solutions faster for the organizations we work for.”
- Results
Serving Downstream Clients with Simpler Needs
“I actually have a project I would have never gotten otherwise. I was able to come downstream because I could use more of the library. My overhead has come down. Starting a project used to be pretty significant, with a lot of time invested. With some of these smaller, downstream clients, they have more basic, out-of-the-box needs. Getting to an RFP in that case is a lot simpler with Olive.”
- Results
Serving Clients We Couldn't Before
“Having all that knowledge in one place and doing it quicker gives us the ability to serve clients that historically we wouldn't have been able to. They were not as complex and wouldn't spend that kind of money on a project. Olive gives me the opportunity to service clients that we couldn't effectively consult on in the past from a cost point of view.”
- Results
Productizing Our Offering to Reach New Clients
“One of the things I'm most excited about with Olive is the opportunity to productize our offering. It's going to give us the ability to go after clients that we would not have been able to provide consulting services to in the past. We're doing that through more repeatable and automated frameworks and processes.”
- How they use it
Scaling the Business with a Repeatable Framework
“I've been overwhelmed with projects, which is good. But if I didn't have this tool, I'd be underwater. I wouldn't be able to do all these projects. It's just impossible. It also gives me the ability to grow. I have this repeatable framework, so if I brought on an additional consultant, they can follow my process. Prior to that, it was like, "Let me share spreadsheets with you, let me show you Word documents." It was a disaster.”
- Results
Bringing All Knowledge to Bear on Future Work
“Now that we have all our information in Olive, and with Olive being on the forefront of having embedded AI capabilities, what's really exciting for us is bringing all the knowledge and experience we've gathered from our projects to bear on everything we do going forward.”
- Results
Painless Onboarding and a True Partnership
“The whole onboarding process was so painless; I was up in about 48 hours. Having Chris and Dan, the founders, really listen to me and try to understand how I use it as a consultant has been great. It's made me want to invest more time in their application, both for my own organization and by providing feedback on how this tool can grow. It's a space that's not covered. I spent years looking for a perfect solution and hadn't been able to find one until I found Olive.”
- Results
Weekly Collaboration with Founders
“We have a chat room open now, and I feel like I talk to the founders about every week. They're thinking through their 2025 strategy for consulting, so I think I'm on a short list of people that are using it that way. Chris and I will probably talk at least once a week.”