Request for proposal software is here to stay. Over the last decade, new tools have been developed to help streamline the RFP process for bid managers everywhere. And it’s honestly kinda game-changing. Let’s find out why – and how.
Why use request for proposal software?
First, let’s get one thing straight: creating a proposal is no small task. Writing a good bid is expensive – in a 2014 survey, British construction companies estimated the average cost of one consultancy bid to be £24000.
It’s administratively heavy, labour intensive, and done under a strict deadline. Traditionally, it involves a lot of manual work.
Meanwhile, RFPs of course represent a significant opportunity for revenue and business growth. If the public sector is an important market for you, where most purchases are made through a tender process, you simply need an efficient bidding process.
That’s why request for proposal software exist.
To cut costs and improve the profitability of tender-based contracts.
Now, how does it do that?
What is an RFP tool, actually?
Let’s back up for a moment. What does an RFP tool actually do?
Simply put, request for proposal software – also commonly known as an RFP tool or bid management software – is designed to make creating, managing, and submitting proposals far easier.
It takes a process that’s traditionally heavy on admin and manual work and streamlines it by automating repetitive tasks and centralising all work in one place.
Think of all the time spent hunting down files or information, writing the same type of standard responses over and over, keeping track of multiple bid deadlines, or juggling tasks between team members. RFP software brings all of that under one roof, so you can respond to RFPs faster, write better bids, and ultimately increase your chances of winning.
Quite handy, don’t you think?
Key features of request for proposal software
Now, let’s look a little closer at some key features that make request for proposal software so powerful.
AI-powered response generation
Tired of looking for answers to questions you know you’ve responded to before? Need more time for the complex aspects of writing a bid – refining the proposal, addressing specific requirements, and ensuring a strong, tailored response? You can now write bids with AI, and let AI repurpose responses from your previous proposals or company information and give you a head start.
Centralised document management
No more searching for that one document buried deep in your inbox, unnecessarily bothering colleagues, or scrolling endlessly for that perfect response you know you wrote some five bids ago. Everything you need is in one place.
Collaboration tools
Whether you’re working with a team of two or twenty, you can assign tasks, share files, and track progress – all without the endless back-and-forths.
Got a colleague down with the flu two days before the deadline? No problem. You know exactly where they left off, have all their proposal texts and can fill in while they’re away.
Automated workflows
The software takes care of repetitive tasks like recording information about wins and losses, creating to-do lists of questions to answer, copy pasting responses, and parsing tender documents for key information. So you can focus on the bigger picture.
Analytics and insights
Keep track of how your team is performing, your hit rate, and task distribution within the team. Use the data to fine-tune your strategy as well as boost teamwork.
Features beyond classic RFP tools
As RFP software continues to develop, some tools now include a wider range of products related to the bidding process. With Tendium, for example, you can bring your entire RFP process into one place – from monitoring new public tenders, to making Bid/No Bid decisions faster, to creating your proposal. All so you can make your RFP process even more efficient.
The main benefits of using RFP tools
Okay, so we’ve already touched upon it. But let’s really get to the bottom of why RFP tools are worth bothering about – and why they’re worth the investment.
Save time by cutting out the busywork
Let’s be real – one of the biggest time drains in the RFP process is the repetitive admin work. Chasing down documents, sending reminders, and writing very straightforward and repetitive responses isn’t exactly where you want to be spending your time.
This is where request for proposal software shine. By automating all that tedious stuff, you free up time to focus on the more important tasks – like crafting a proposal that actually stands out. With less admin to worry about, you can move faster and get those proposals out the door without feeling overwhelmed.
Boost team collaboration and get everyone on the same page
RFPs usually require input from several teams – sales, legal, operations – and keeping everyone aligned can feel like herding cats. With proposal management software, that herding becomes much easier.
The whole team now collaborates in the same platform, which means everyone’s in the loop. You can assign tasks, see updates in real time, comment and tag each other in the tender documents or the proposal draft, and keep track of progress all in one place.
No more miscommunications or lengthy sync meetings necessary – everyone’s on the same page, and the whole process runs smoother.
Increase win rates by leaving time for the actual proposal
When you’re responding to RFPs, speed matters. Bid management software helps you get a first draft faster through clever workflows, automation and AI-supported writing.
This means you spend less time stuck in the admin weeds and more time honing your message and fine-tuning your strategy. The result? More successful bids, and more business coming your way.
How RFP response management software works step by step
So, how does RFP response management software actually work? Here’s a simple breakdown of the process.
- Parse the tender documents: First, you upload the RFP documents (or open them in the platform, if you’re using software that covers both response management and tender monitoring). Then, you go through the documents and create tasks directly from the document text.
- Assign tasks to relevant team members: Once you’ve got the questions you need to respond to, you can delegate tasks within your team, ensuring the right people tackle the right sections.
- Generate responses with AI based on your knowledge database: AI integrated into the tool helps kick things off by suggesting responses based on past proposals or company information.
- Review, edit, and finalise: Once you’ve got your draft, it’s time to polish it up, making sure your proposal is tailored to the buyer and adding the final touches before submission. Along the way, you update the status of different tasks, tag colleagues or leave comments.
- Submit the proposal: When everything’s in order, you’re ready to submit your proposal. Easy, right?
Choosing the right request for proposal tool for your business
Picking the right RFP software is a bit like finding the perfect pair of shoes – it needs to fit your business just right. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- AI and automation capabilities: The more your software can automate, the more time you save. AI-powered features are especially handy for generating draft responses.
- Tender monitoring needs: Do you respond to public tenders? Then you might want a tool where you can do both tender monitoring and RFP management under one roof.
- Workflow and customisation: Every team works differently, so look for software that matches your needs in terms of process and collaboration.
- Ease of use and support: A tool meant to improve efficiency simply has to be user-friendly. You don’t want to spend hours learning the system or explaining it to subject matter experts. And good customer success management is a must to help you make the most of the tool and solve any issues.
Top request for proposal software on the market
There are plenty of RFP tools out there, but a few stand out from the crowd.
Loopio and Responsive – the most widely recognised brands
Loopio and Responsive are among the best-known RFP tools. They’ve been around since 2014-2015 and have likely inspired many newer request for proposal software products developed in recent years.
Both are based in North America and focus specifically on response management. Besides RFP proposals, they can also be used for security questionnaires and the like.
In these platforms, you’ll find classic features like knowledge management, AI-supported writing, and collaboration features.
Tendium – an RFP tool within a complete solution for tender-based sales
Most RFP tools focus only on the response itself, but of course there’s so much more that goes into winning tenders.
That’s what makes Tendium different. Europe-based with headquarters in Sweden, Tendium isn’t just another RFP tool; it’s a platform designed to make the entire tender-based sales journey smoother and more effective.
Besides all the classic RFP tool features, Tendium also offers:
All-in-one software for tender sales: Tendium is built to streamline the entire process, from finding the right tenders to understanding your market better and managing your team smarter. And, of course, writing your proposal with ease.
Smart public tender monitoring: Tendium takes tender monitoring to the next level with advanced search tools, AI, and smart workflows. The platform has excellent coverage of the European public sector market. You can, of course, bring in RFPs from outside sources as well, giving you the flexibility to manage all your bids in one place.
AI-powered from day one: While many platforms are only now jumping on the AI bandwagon, Tendium has been built with AI at its core from the beginning. This means smarter insights and efficiency woven into every part of the process, not just slapped on as an afterthought in the most obvious places.
So, if you’re looking to improve more than just your response process – if you’re aiming to make your entire approach to tender-based sales smarter and more efficient – Tendium is well worth considering.
Conclusion
In the end, request for proposal software is about one thing: making your life easier. It helps you automate the heavy lifting, collaborate with your team seamlessly, and submit better proposals faster.
With the right tool, you’ll not only save time and improve accuracy but also increase your chances of winning more bids. So, why not take a look at the request for proposal tools out there and see how they can transform your bidding process?
