[Report] The 10th Annual State of the Proposal Industry Benchmark Report. Download Now
- Report
Every year, we survey proposal, sales, and revenue leaders to understand how organizations are managing proposal and RFP work in real conditions. The 10th Annual State of the Industry Benchmark Report reveals what’s changed, what’s breaking, and what top teams are doing differently in the face of rising proposal volumes.
This year’s data makes one thing clear: proposal effectiveness is no longer an operational concern, it’s a growth lever. When teams can’t respond fast enough, or don’t show clear value, revenue is left on the table.
Inside the report, you’ll learn:
How proposal and RFP demand is compounding year-over-year
What win rates and opportunity sizes reveal about revenue risk
Why coordination, not content, is becoming a bottleneck
Where AI is delivering real gains, and where it isn’t
What it will take to compete more effectively in 2026
Packed with insights, benchmark data and industry breakouts, this report helps proposal leaders understand the pressure points and act with confidence.
Survey of nearly 300 proposal leaders reveals the gap between AI’s promise and the reality on the ground.
reported year-over-year growth in proposal volume
saw growth in RFP responses year-over-year
workload spike for teams even with more AI
SME delays
Locating accurate content
Chasing approvals
Measuring win rates
weeks average time to complete an RFP response
contributors required per response
RFPs handled per month at a typical firm
Annual revenue at risk for professional services firms missing even one RFP response per month — with typical deal sizes of $1–5M each.
Have automated ≥25% of proposal process
73%
Say ROI/business case inclusion is important
∼90%
Cannot respond to 10–20% of RFPs due to bandwidth
Most firms
Say measuring effectiveness remains elusive
>25%
“The next phase of proposal work won’t be defined by who uses AI, but by who turns AI into a coordinated system.”
QorusDocs · 2026 Proposal Industry Benchmark Report · Survey of ~300 proposal leaders