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9th Annual QorusDocs Proposal Management  Benchmark Survey. Download Report 

5 Proven Ways to Shorten Your RFP Response Times

Bloomberg Law (we read ‘em all!) has recently reported that the phrase “operational efficiency” is at a record level, popping up in earnings reports, organizational mantras and marketing jargon. And almost always “AI” appears within the same breath. (Particularly driven by professional services, health care, software and finance sectors.) 

Across all functions, across all industries, “operational efficiency” at the organizational level and “productivity” at the employee level are the new watchwords of 2025. For the professionals in charge of responding to those all-important RFPs, there’s no doubt they are thinking ahead on how to improve the speed of responses in 2025. 

The Need for Speed 

In the 2024 QorusDocs Benchmark Survey, our research indicated that pitch volume increased year-over-year, however the majority of respondents indicated that they take up to 10 days to complete each request. (Stay tuned, our 2025 report will be released in early January 2025.) 

If you can’t get the RFPs that matter out the door, or, they aren’t achieving the desired outcomes, there’s a direct hit to revenue potential. The truth of the matter is that organizations need to speed up RFP proposal times to remain competitive and profitable.  

Strategies to Improve RFP Response Times 

So, what’s stalling RFP completion rates? Respondents from last year’s report lost time due to locating content (55.8%), updating old and expired content (55.8%), and redeveloping the content they couldn’t locate (30.8%), while struggling to organize content (40.4%) and share content (23.1%) to respond to requests.  

Here are five proven tips and tricks to help you overcome those timewasters and improve your RFP response times. 

  1. Create a Single Source of Truth

    Starting from scratch every time an RFP rolls in? Continually hunting down the already super-busy SME to get the info you need? Look it up – that’s the definition of insanity. Instead, keep approved content handy from past successful bids in a single interface, so you can get a head start on each response and save hundreds of hours of frustration!

    Proof: Our client at Ricoh notes, “"QorusDocs is, by far, the best Content Mangement/Proposal management platform on the market today! QPilot is smart and safe. On top of that, we can store proven/vetted prompts for our user to ‘just click on.’ Try QorusDocs and QPilot. Like us, you'll wish you switched sooner!!"

  2. Harness Purpose-Built AI to Create Content

    Creating proposals and responding to RFPs is a dread-inducing, time-consuming proposition, not for the faint of heart. With AI-driven software you can remove the anxiety and mind-numbing manual work and instead generate responses from a validated content library. A purpose-built solution can whip up an executive summary based on the content of your proposal in seconds, using your library of past proposals as examples.​ (Unlike Copilot, a purpose-built solution like QPilot, is specifically designed to source your best and most relevant content to generate RFP-winning answers.) 

    Proof: It’s little wonder that all eyes are on AI. The C-suite, sales professionals and proposal managers are looking to automation fueled by AI to help drive up efficiency and improve RFP proposal times. But don’t take our word for it, here’s what clients who use QorusDocs solutions report: 

    • 76% of proposal management software users decreased the time on RFPs.

    • 77% said their proposals were higher quality than before.

    • 72% of proposal management software users felt a positive impact to detail velocity.

    • 67% of respondents experienced a positive impact on their RFP win rate.

  3. Use Templates

    There’s no doubt templates save time. But now, with AI-driven templates, proposal documents and pitch presentations practically write themselves. Imagine being able to upload all your RFP documents to a collaborative workspace and then instantly generate your planning documents to incorporate a summary of the RFP, an extract of the key drivers and evaluation criteria, recommendations for winning themes based on your differentiators, and much more.  Not only can AI create beautifully branded visual documents, but the content is also on-brand and on-message. The time savings are off the charts. 

    Proof: Our client, TRC, used QorusDocs to consolidate content, and now their proposal managers spend less time finding clean and approved standardized content and data, less time scouring drives for information, and less time sending global emails searching for past proposals and data. These efficiencies equate to a conservative estimate of 1,800-2,400 hours saved annually. “QorusDocs' AI platform has brought significant efficiency gains to TRC's proposal process. With QorusDocs' QPilot, we've experienced notable productivity gains, specifically time efficiencies, allowing our team to focus on the technical content rather than stylistic elements,” notes Dr. Stephen Galati, Vice President, Strategic Proposals, TRC Companies, Inc. (Read the case study here.) 

  4. Collaborate with Ease

    The RFP process is very much a collaborative effort. Proposal managers need to get info from SMEs across functions like sales and marketing, legal and engineering, etc. Any bottleneck in communication creates a domino effect, delaying RFP responses, edits and final reviews. One of the levers of an improved RFP process is better collaboration and communication. For example, with a single click, QorusDocs allows you to consult with experts across your organization (wherever they may be in the world) and get instant feedback on documents without leaving your familiar applications.  

    Proof: A large global Am Law 100 law firm implemented AI-powered QorusDocs proposal management software to automate, simplify, and accelerate its pitch and proposal process. The pitch team can now collaborate more efficiently across the firm’s global offices to create professional proposals without leaving the familiar Microsoft Office applications or DealCloud CRM. Our client notes, “Being able to effectively collaborate with team members worldwide has transformed our pitch process; the ability for folks to work on documents simultaneously is critical for tight deadlines—and the automated reminders are always helpful, even if ignored on occasion!” See how QorusDocs transformed the legal pitch process

  5. Integrate Your Systems

    Siloed, discrete technologies are a direct path to instant frustration and sloooooooow RFP responses. When software solutions don’t play well with others, it translates to a lot of manual, “swivel chair” work, cutting and pasting info from one system to another. By seamlessly incorporating proposal management software into your existing workflows, it ensures a smoother, faster experience and optimizes your ability to automate much more of the RFP process. 

    Proof: Our client, WSP, a leading multi-disciplinary professional services consulting business, was looking to transform their operations. The organization wanted a solution that seamlessly integrated with its Microsoft applications —Teams, Word, PowerPoint — to not only drive efficiencies but also ensure a high user adoption rate. Now that they have an AI-driven solution that’s fully integrated into how they work, how’s it going? “By using digital as a tool, as an enabler, we’re able to automate the pursuits process to help the Chief Strategy Officer make more sales and enable the CIO to reduce server costs and make IT more efficient,” reports Jon Kelly, Strategic Growth Director & Bid Hub Project Director. (And be sure to check out our integrations.)  

Looking to Slash Your RFP Response Times? 

If you are looking to speed up RFP response times, talk to us! We can help. Request a demo today and see our dynamic solutions in action. 

Published by Jennifer Tomlinson December 18, 2024
Jennifer Tomlinson