Can Automation Help You Ace Your RFP? I Used AI to Find Out

May 1, 2024

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Almost any business, at a certain point, finds itself in need of external expertise. For some industries, the way to find the right partner is obvious — creating and putting a request for proposals (RFP) into the world.

However, these businesses will tell you that it takes them hours upon hours to create each document. Let alone shortlist candidates and select the winning bid. Luckily, as in many other business areas, AI can come to the rescue.

In this article, I look at how you can use automation and AI to speed up your work on RFPs. I paid particular attention to the writing stage and checked how helpful ChatGPT can be in creating a template. Let’s dive in.

What is an RFP?

Using AI to Help Create My RFP.

RFP Automation tools.

Best Practices for RFP Automation.

What is an RFP?

An RFP, short for a request for proposal, is a document businesses and government institutions use to announce a project and find qualified contractors to collaborate with.

RPFs include a detailed project description and vendor requirements. Those who publish an RFP verify the quality of the received proposals and the bidders’ abilities to successfully deliver the project.

One way to make it even simpler? You can use HubSpot’s free, tried-and-tested RFP templates to ensure you’re asking vendors all the right questions.

Using Automation When Writing RPFs

According to Loopio, 44% of organizations already use RFP software to automate repetitive work. With the rise of AI, I believe this number will continue to climb.

RFP automation is about more than just template creation. It can also:

Save time by generating RFP content. If your tool offers generative AI capabilities, you can ask it to create ready-to-use instructions for bidders. Depending on your needs, you can also prompt it to adjust template sections or make layout suggestions.
Boost team collaboration. Automation tools let you share your RFP with others at your company to collect their feedback quickly. Best of all, it automatically merges work from different collaborators to make sure everyone is working on the latest version.
Simplify proposal evaluation. RFP software can organize applications automatically based on your custom labels or information from the document, like industry or company size. This allows you to review and score bids in an organized, more effective manner.

I will review these and other benefits later in this piece. Let’s move on to test out RFP automation.

Using AI to Help Create My RFP.

I hear every day that AI is revolutionary. But, I want to test it out for every use case. In this scenario, I use ChatGPT to create an RFP document. I gave the experiment three attempts.

I made each prompt more detailed than the previous version to see how the output would improve with more information.

Here are the results.

RFP Automation Tools

Responsive

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Responsive is a strategic response management platform that uses AI to assist proposal teams in creating RFPs that are both compliant and of high quality.

It makes content recommendations and automates tedious tasks, which would normally require a lot of manual work. It offers numerous integrations and APIs, making it easy to integrate with your current tool stack. Among others, it offers features like:

Automation. On top of helping you select the best RFPs, it automates formatting, branding, and drafting.
Searchable knowledge libraries. You can find answers to some of the toughest questions within seconds
Customized responses. Use tables, images, and rich text to enhance your answers.

What I like: It’s easy to navigate and allows multiple people to work together on a single project. The fact that all projects are within a single space is also very helpful, and you can track the progress as the writer inputs their answers.

Loopio

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Loopio makes answering RFPs and security questionnaires easy. The main goal of the platform is to simplify and streamline the RFP process. On top of requests for proposals, you can use Loopio for:

Requests for information (RFIs).
Requests for quotes (RFQs).
Due diligence questionnaires (DDQs).
Security questionnaires (SQs).
Any customer questions.

It offers the following features:

A customizable library. You can add stacks and tags to all the answers to nicely organize them.
Project translations. You can translate your RFPs into multiple languages.
Duplicate detention. Loopio spots duplicate entries automatically, thanks to machine learning.
Freshness scoring. You can view when the content was last reviewed and whether it needs to be updated.

What I like: I can use the library to find answers to the previously asked questions, which is a real time saver. Being able to conduct reviews throughout the year helps with keeping answers up-to-date.

Also, the fact that duplicate content is removed automatically lets you keep the database well-organized.

Deep Stream

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Deep Stream is more than just an RFP automation tool. It acts as a centralized vendor platform. Teams use it to create, update, and share RFPs and to collect proposals from interested vendors.

To create a new RFP, you can repurpose your existing content. Your template will be pre-filled with copy from your previous documents, saving you the hurdle of manual copy-pasting.

Once you’ve published the RFP and collected responses, you can also keep bidders up-to-date by sending out status updates from the system.

What I like: Deep Stream lets your vendors handle their profiles and update information. This will come in handy, especially for recurring bidders. When you need to get in touch regarding an RFP application, you’ll have all the current contact information.

PandaDoc

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When I see PandaDoc, I immediately think e-signature software. Not everyone knows this, but this handy tool also includes advanced RFP automation features.

PandaDoc offers a library of free, customizable templates. While most of these are tailored towards vendors who are looking for ready-to-use response frameworks, you can still benefit a lot from PandaDoc as an RFP publisher.

You can upload your own RFP templates and give access to everyone involved in writing these requests on your organization’s behalf. Plus, you can create automated workflows, deciding on what happens once your RFP is ready.

As PandaDoc says, you can create “endless automations so you can put reminder emails, document updates, payment collection, and signing orders on autopilot.”

What I like: As a PandaDoc fan myself, I like how RFP automation features are blended in with the core, electronic signature capabilities. These let you accelerate your request for proposal formalities even further.

Best Practices for RFP Automation

1. Manage your legal compliance and secure better proposals.

You can use RFP software to improve legal compliance and secure better proposals.

Jonathan Feniak, general counsel at LLC Attorney, says, “With software, you can assign user permissions to control who accesses data and keep version histories to track changes made to the RFP document for audit trails.”

It’s also possible to use integrated e-signature features for secure and legally binding agreements, all while prequalifying or disqualifying vendors using project-specific criteria.

Feniak adds that “it’s much easier to manage legal compliance and pull higher-quality proposals with the help of the right automation software.”

2. Establish clear, standardized templates for RFPs.

To maximize the efficiency of RFP automation software, it’s best to come up with clear, standardized templates. These should include predefined sections, questions, and criteria that match the company’s needs and values.

Michael Campbell, owner of SAT Stained Concrete, says, “By standardizing the format, you streamline the creation process, ensuring consistency and saving time for both your team and potential vendors.”

Additionally, Campbell suggests including clear instructions and guidelines for vendors to follow when submitting proposals.

This clarity reduces the likelihood of misunderstandings and ensures that you receive relevant and comparable responses. That makes the short listing process smoother and more objective, adds Campbell.

It’s also worth creating a content library with pre-approved questions, response frameworks, and pricing tools. This is an approach that John Pennypacker, vice president of sales and marketing at Deep Cognition, follows at this company.

“This allows us to quickly spin up new RFPs by mixing and matching pre-built modules rather than starting from scratch each time,” he says. “Having these proven templates on hand drastically cuts down time-to-publish while ensuring a consistent structure and language across RFPs. It also makes it easy to enforce our brand voice and messaging guardrails.”

3. Use automated reminders and notifications in RFP automation.

If you receive a lot of bids, it’s worth turning to automated reminders and notifications to let vendors know about the deadlines. This will help you keep the entire process under control.

Peter H Hoopis, president of Peter Hoopis Ventures, LLC, says that “you can customize notifications based on urgency and vendor response status. For example, send reminders a week before the deadline for vendors who haven’t submitted, and closer reminders as the deadline approaches.”

Hoopis also adds that it’s beneficial to include clear instructions along with a confirmation that you’ve received each vendor’s application.

He says, “When you send notifications, personalize them by using the vendor’s name to create a more engaging experience. This speeds up the RFP process and ensures vendors are well-informed and engaged, leading to smoother short listing and selection.”

4. Provide clear, detailed, and specific requirements for project vendors.

The more specific you are about the project requirements, the higher the chance of receiving high-quality bids. They should be clear and detailed to reduce any misunderstandings.

Andrew Cussens, owner of film and photography studio FilmFolk, says that the more details his team provides, the better the quality of proposals.

“As for distributors’ requirements, such as capacity, we could leave open but specify the expected minimum output, such as the production capacity. We could also require a response to questions asked by both clients and distribution vehicles,” he adds.

5. Select the right software.

This one is probably a no-brainer. Pick a tool that is in line with your business needs and your budget.

You might look for a specific feature such as automated scoring or the number of integrations it offers to make sure it seamlessly integrates with your tools.

The latter was one of the main selection criteria for Richard Morgan, founder of Catalyst Fund.

He says, “A key practice I’ve found in using RFP automation software effectively is leveraging its integration capabilities to synchronize with our existing CRM and ERP systems. This integration allows for seamless data flow, which is crucial for creating RFPs quickly.”

He adds that by automatically pulling data, he can ensure accuracy and consistency in the RFP documents, all while significantly reducing time spent on manual data entry.

Meanwhile, Michael Sawyer, operations director at Ultimate Kilimanjaro, underlines the importance of industry specificity.

“Finding a platform specific to your industry is important. Since I run a travel excursions and tourism-focused business, Navan has worked the best for us. It has helped me keep track of vendors and acceptance of the ones that are a good match for us,” Sawyer says.

6. Incorporate AI-powered features to make things easier.

After seeing how well ChatGPT had done with our demo RFP, this piece of advice surely isn’t surprising. One of the professionals who spoke highly of AI-powered content in the RFP process is Lily Bradic, marketing lead at Outverse.

She says that RFP content creation is at the top of her list, right next to the more popular AI support assistants and intelligent documentation features.

This way, “organizations can expedite the generation of RFP content, streamline the process, and allow teams to focus on strategic aspects of vendor selection rather than getting bogged down in repetitive tasks.”

All this lets teams become faster and more accurate in their work. “They’re also more adaptable to evolving requirements, ultimately facilitating smoother procurement processes for modern startups and CX teams,” Bradic concludes.

7. Define clear objectives for the entire RFP process.

Everyone who publishes an RFP knows the goal of the call for proposals. After all, they’re looking for a web design agency because they know they need a website change in the first place, right?

This clarity should extend to all other steps of the RFP journey — from writing the document to selecting the winning bid.

Let’s take RFP scoring as an example. How will an automation tool help you score vendor applications? What criteria will you use, and how many team members do you want to involve in the evaluation process?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you improve the quality of vendor selections and use fair, standardized scoring factors.

8. Enable collaborative scoring.

Lisa Rehurek, founder and CEO at The RFP Success Company, calls this her number one piece of advice.

“Allowing team members to score vendor responses is a crucial best practice for RFP automation,” she says. “You can leverage everyone’s diverse expertise and views. They can be subject matter experts or come from procurement, IT, or legal.”

That said, Rehurek also mentions that they should be using predefined criteria. Users can rate factors like technical capabilities, pricing, implementation plans, and vendor qualifications.

“The fact that it doesn’t rely on one decision-maker ensures a full and fair evaluation,” Rehurek says.

Based on aggregated results, you can identify the top-ranking candidates and short list them for further consideration.

Perhaps most importantly, Rehurek says, “The software can also show scoring discrepancies, prompting more discussion and alignment among the review team.”

Collaborative scoring promotes transparency, accountability, and buy-in throughout the evaluation process, Rehurek says. You can then make better vendor choices.

“Many types of stakeholders back the results with their input. This teamwork is particularly vital for complex, high-stakes RFPs,” Rehurek says.

9. Create automated workflows for most time-consuming processes.

Break down your RFP process into smaller steps. Which stages require the most back-and-forth communication or manual work? These should be your first candidates for automation.

Think of things like distributing the RFP, replying to vendor queries, or keeping all applicants updated on the selection process.

For Ryan Carrigan, CEO and co-founder of Move Buddha, one such process was requisition. “Automating it has freed up time that I can use to focus on growing my business,” he says.

By streamlining the RFP creation process, Carrigan can better handle intake workflows and supplier requisitions.

“It even automates the management of our purchase orders,” he says. “Investing in a good RFP can help you run and grow your business more effectively.”

10. Centralize all vendor communication.

Using an automation platform for all vendor and internal communication helps keep everyone posted on the latest events and prevents any miscommunication.

“One best practice for utilizing RFP automation software effectively is to leverage its centralized communication hub feature,” says Cache Merrill, CEO at Zibtek. “This ensures that all queries and communications between your organization and potential vendors are stored in one accessible location.”

One source of truth allows teams to maintain clarity, reduce the risk of missed communication, and ensure that all parties are equally informed, Merrill says.

Merrill notes that effective communication is also crucial for fairness and transparency in the selection process.

“Moreover, this practice not only optimizes the RFP process but also enhances collaboration among team members, leading to more informed and cohesive decision-making,” she adds.

Automating Your RFP Process to Save Time.

There are many tools that can make the RFP process easier and quicker. On top of specialized automation software, you can also turn to ChatGPT for help in the conceptual and requirement creation stages.

Based on my experiment, I think it’s a real time saver. Feed it with the right information and a good prompt, and it will come up with a satisfactory proposal that might need just a bit of editing.

Good luck with finding the absolute best fit for each project!

Source link

Can Automation Help You Ace Your RFP? I Used AI to Find Out

What is an RFP?

Using Automation When Writing RPFs

Using AI to Help Create My RFP.

Take One

ChatGPT’s Output

What I Think

Take Two

ChatGPT’s Output

What I Think

Take Three

ChatGPT’s Output

What I Liked

Take Four — My Version

RFP Automation Tools

Responsive

Loopio

Deep Stream

PandaDoc

Best Practices for RFP Automation

1. Manage your legal compliance and secure better proposals.

2. Establish clear, standardized templates for RFPs.

3. Use automated reminders and notifications in RFP automation.

4. Provide clear, detailed, and specific requirements for project vendors.

5. Select the right software.

6. Incorporate AI-powered features to make things easier.

7. Define clear objectives for the entire RFP process.

8. Enable collaborative scoring.

9. Create automated workflows for most time-consuming processes.

10. Centralize all vendor communication.

Automating Your RFP Process to Save Time.

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