5 Signs You Need RFP Automation Software

According to a 2019 report conducted by APMP, higher win rates are associated with each of the following: (1) Having a best practices system in place and (2) engaging in price-to-win strategies, (3) preparing writing plans, (4) clearly defining customer needs and (5) measuring an organization’s investment in training.

In this report, when asked about the functionality of technology systems, many proposal professionals said that they lack some basic IT tools for themselves and their teams, such as graphic services, form creation systems, and scheduling software. Without an RFP automation software in place, organizations can run into many problems. Below are five signs your company needs to invest in RFP automation software to improve efficiency, RFP response quality, and collaboration across your organization. 

1. RFPs Take A Lot of Effort Across Your Organization

RFPs often ask the same or similar questions. Responding to each individual question can be extremely time-consuming, especially when some RFPs can be hundreds of questions long. Numerous manual tasks have to be completed when automation exists and is not being leveraged. Although there may be countless redundancies in the process, information is not always accessible to everyone and team members spend too much time searching across different sources to find or generate meaning. 

2. You Don't Have the Capacity to Compete for all Possible Business

When there are not enough resources to adequately respond to every RFP/DDQ with the highest possible quality, frustration can build within an organization. Without an RFP software in place, organizations cannot respond quickly enough to RFPs which reduces their ability to compete for more business. Completing an RFP with hundreds of questions is extremely time-consuming. RFP automation software allows teams to turn around an RFP quickly and efficiently. RFP automation allows teams to collaborate and rebuild responses with visually compelling, consistent, synchronized answers well before their competitors. 

3. It is Difficult to Collaborate Across Teams

Without an easy way for everyone to contribute their expertise, RFPs can take a lot longer to complete. One major problem amongst organizations is that teams cannot easily collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs) who are crucial to building credibility and differentiation in sales cycles. Read more about how to best collaborate with subject matter experts in our blog here. 

4. There is a Lack of Consistent Messaging 

When content is frequently being copied around, the original context can be lost. This issue can lead to inconsistent response quality amongst RFPs. With a lack of consistent messaging, there is not a coherent voice in your organization. Without standard brand guidelines and messaging tactics in place, content becomes stale and your team can’t effectively replicate their best content in future sales opportunities.‍

5. Lack of Centralized Place for Technical Knowledge

Without a place to house technical knowledge, it is difficult to keep content updated and maintained. Organizations without a centralized place for technical knowledge also run into compliance issues from out-of-date content. When content is stored all over the place, searchability is very difficult. 

Key Benefits of RFP Automation Software

By relying less on people and more on technology, your organization can remove the risk of human error and save valuable time to focus on winning more business. Automating tedious tasks and engaging content experts will significantly reduce frustration and burnout within your team. 

By investing in technology, your team can save and categorize content for future use so you can continually improve its accuracy and relevancy. Defining and maintaining approved messaging allows for a true, single source of truth for your content. 

Ombud’s machine learning, user activity, and opportunity data drive search result accuracy for your organization. We scale content creation for your entire revenue team by pooling their knowledge and making it easy and efficient for everyone to contribute their expertise. 

Learn more about Ombud’s RFP automation software and machine learning technology by requesting a demo here.