How To Solve 5 RFP Challenges [Infographic]

Creating an optimal RFP response is no easy feat, and dealing with proposal team management can present major challenges within this process.

Alarmingly, only 18 percent of proposal professionals consider their proposal administration to be of excellent quality. Leaders can improve on this by addressing common pain points throughout the proposal process. Whether you’re on an RFP team issuing RFPs to prospective vendors or on a proposal team responding to RFPs, both has its challenges. Let’s take a look at a few.

1. Executing Training for Proposal Teams

Proper professional training is a crucial component to the success of any team. Yet, only 52 percent of companies provide career development training for proposal team members. Businesses should foster professional growth of staffers specializing in proposals by creating targeted training programs and investing in learning resources.

2. Premature Bids and Collaboration

Another problem many proposal teams encounter is premature proposal creation. 70 percent of the time, proposal writers begin drafting responses before outlines have been approved or edited. Try leveraging content management software to promote easier collaboration. When businesses use tools such as Savo, Qvidan and Loopio, upper management and writers can easily access proposal content, making editing and approval a much more manageable task.

3. Streamlining Proposal Content and Communications

Access to valuable data is key when crafting a proposal. As such, it is a major problem that 17 percent of professionals cite a lack of access to important information for proposal writers as a pain point. This can make it difficult for writers to get a clear picture of an organization and their responsibilities. Leaders should work to improve their communication and collaboration processes by encouraging teamwork across departments.

4. Improving Proposal Processes

When it comes to consistency in proposal processes, many businesses are falling short. A concerning 43 percent of companies claim that they do not have a documented or repeatable approach to proposal creation. Moreover, 37 percent of professionals reported that errors are common in their proposals. This issue can be fixed by creating and enforcing standard processes. Proposals should go through the same process for creation every single time and have multiple rounds of edits before delivery.

5. Meeting Strict Deadlines

Proposal professionals are no strangers to hard deadlines. However, these delivery dates can cause some proposals to be rushed and ultimately sacrifice quality. Businesses should seek out print on-demand solutions that allow for last-minute changes and speedy turnaround times.

By addressing these problems, proposal professionals can increase the efficiency of proposal creation considerably. Pair these improved standards with the Mimeo standard of excellence and your proposal will be in optimal condition for approval.