RFP response software

The short answer: yes! You should seriously consider purchasing RFP response software.

If you are responsible in any way with handling RFP responses or proposals for your company or organization, there’s a chance you have told yourself in a moment of frustration, “There has got to be an easier way to do this.”

There are many ways you can leverage software to streamline your RFP response process. If you marry RFP Software with smart processes, the results can include:

  • A dramatic reduction in hours spent on each RFP or proposal
  • Better overall proposals resulting in higher win rates
  • An ability to respond to more bids more often, helping your company’s growth strategy

Evaluate your goals before starting your search for RFP response software

First, look at your organization itself. In order to find the right RFP software solution, you must first identify what problems you are trying to solve. Second you need to figure out what resources you have available to help you build a better RFP response process. Are you simply trying to reduce the amount of time you’re spending responding to RFPs? Do you want to respond to more RFPs? Or, is it the quality of your responses that you are most concerned about?

Many organizations are looking for all of the above. However, that still means prioritizing the most important goals, as focusing on one short-term goal might take you down a different software solution path than another. Proposal management software won’t solve all your RFP response problems on its own. To be effective and create the most value, it also needs to combined with better business processes.

What kind of RFP software solutions are out there?

For the sake of simplicity, we lump proposal software solutions into two buckets:

  1. End-to-end solutions
  2. Piecemeal solutions.

While end-to-end solutions are more ideal, they are also much more expensive (thousands of dollars a year). Piecemeal solutions are cheaper (some of the software might even be free), but really strong business processes are required to generate a lot of value at a low cost.

  • End-to-End Proposal Software: This software includes a project management module (for working on individual proposals) and a content library (for storing standard, ready-to-go content used in multiple proposals). Each proposal software solution is different, particularly when it comes to compiling proposals. So, it’s crucial to really dive into the details when selecting the right software solution for your organization. Consultants (like Boardroom Metrics) can really help here.
  • Piecemeal RFP Response Software Solutions: This approach requires you to take simple project management software (like Trello) and combine it with a repository platform (like Google docs, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, etc.) for storing your proposal library content. A piecemeal RFP software solution can be a great first step before you settle on an end-to-end software solution. These tools are low cost and let you start building value with quick wins.

Boardroom Metrics RFP Response Software Consulting Services

At Boardroom Metrics, our RFP software consulting practice helps clients choose and implement the best RFP proposal management software for their business. All of our consultants are RFP response experts. They understand the proposal response process and how to organize and write winning proposals. They have worked with many, many successful clients. If you are thinking that proposal management software might be right for your business, they can make the decision process significantly simpler. And if you choose to go ahead, the work they can do developing processes, building libraries, training and building your organization’s expertise will greatly reduce your time and stress required to be successful. For more information please call 416-994-6552 or email [email protected]