Updated September 2026: in January 2020 I wrote about a call that was supposed to be a quick request for existing material from our repository and turned into much more. I have rewritten it into a guide to building a proposal repository that actually makes reuse quick.
My manager had lined me up for a service request starting the following week, and I felt prepared: I had reusable material and had worked with the same team before. Then an account team asked to borrow "some existing materials from the repository". I joined expecting a short call. It was not short, and it showed me how much depends on how that repository is organised.
Why do repository requests take so long?
Because most repositories are folders of old proposals, organised by client and date. To find one good architecture slide, someone has to remember which deal used it and then check whether it is still accurate. Every request becomes a search, and the person who remembers where things are becomes the bottleneck. When that person is busy or on leave, the whole team slows down.
What should a useful repository contain?
- Approved standard slides: capabilities, methodology, team structure and case studies, each reviewed and dated.
- Reusable components: architecture diagrams, timelines and pricing templates as separate files, not buried in full decks.
- Case studies with permission noted: which clients can be named and which must be anonymised.
- An owner and a review date for each item, so stale material is retired.
How should it be organised?
By topic and use, not by client. Someone preparing a proposal thinks "I need a migration approach slide", not "which deal from 2018 had one". A simple folder structure by topic, with a one-line description in each file name, beats any elaborate system nobody maintains.
How do you handle requests from other teams?
Point them to the repository first, with a link and a short guide. Offer a fifteen-minute call only for tailoring. If a request grows into building new material, treat it as a separate piece of work with its own estimate, agreed with your manager, rather than absorbing it as a favour.
Who should maintain it?
Everyone contributes, one person curates. After each proposal, add the best new slide or diagram to the repository and retire what it replaces. It takes minutes per proposal and saves hours on the next one, which is exactly the situation that call in 2020 would have been easier with.