How is technology aiding the request for proposal (RFP) response process? To find out, we surveyed members of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) to gain insight into current and future trends in proposal management processes across 10 industries.
The resulting data has been compiled and analyzed for you in our Benchmark Report: Proposal Management.
The clash of trend and reality
For any proposal to have a chance, it has to illustrate how your solution solves the issuer’s specific problem, and it has to speak to proposal reviewers and decision-makers alike. This requires your organization to focus on responding only to the requests that you think you can win. It also helps to have dedicated proposal writers experienced in developing content that appeals to your target audience.
Both of these considerations clash with two trends identified by our research:
- The need to respond to more RFPs
- A resistance to increasing headcount
The research shows that many organizations understand that they need to respond to more RFPs in order to play the odds and generate revenue. With RFP opportunities averaging between $1M and $3M (according to Responsive data), each one has the potential to make a significant impact.
But how can you respond to more requests, while simultaneously focusing only on the requests you have the best shot at winning?
Scale your team’s win rate with less
RFP technology enables organizations to efficiently invest time in the RFPs they go after, increasing the rate at which organizations can generate proposals. Some RFP software, like Responsive, even enables data-driven analyses of the characteristics common to all the deals you win, helping you focus your time where you have the greatest possibility of success.
With proposal team headcount expected to remain at its status quo through the projected future, proposal managers will have to learn to do more with less. It also means that unless you already have proposal writers on staff, you’re less likely to hire more. You may want to buck that trend because our research also found that organizations with dedicated proposal professionals lap competitors by 3.5x.
Survey says: RFP software is an advantage
“With RFP competition predicted to increase, and teams already being challenged to do more with less, proposal teams will need to invest in technology and automation to scale their responses, enhance efficiency and maximize output.”
Fewer than half of the respondents to our survey currently use RFP software. This is surprising, considering the fact that survey respondents who use RFP software were able to submit 43 percent more proposals. Technology is transforming the proposal management landscape, making it easier for organizations to efficiently create their first proposal draft, thus giving them back the time they need to personalize responses to win effectively.
The cost of outdated proposal management
We also discovered that organizations not using RFP software instead used, on average, nine solutions to compose their RFPs, compared to only five for those with a dedicated RFP tool. For the sake of productivity, efficiency, personalization, as well as to help keep up with steeper competition for each request, organizations that want to take advantage of more revenue-generating opportunities will need to streamline their technology and automation to be effective in the coming days and beyond.
Stay in the know with Responsive
Check out the full report to learn more about the state of proposal management, including our four recommendations for future success. If you’re one of those organizations trying to keep up without RFP technology, schedule a demo today.
