Responding to a request for proposals (RFP) is a feat in itself. As any experienced contractor will tell you, fighting for the right to a project, especially a government one, is incredibly challenging. Ironically, bidding on government contracts can rival the actual project work itself! There are about 2,000 government agencies in the United States, most of which issue RFPs in one time or another. Still, even with such a high number of agencies, a bid on a government contract has on average a 12% chance of winning. Those are daunting odds in any field!
There are about 200,000 cost analysts in the U.S. today. Some of them review responses to government (as well as private) RFPs. In order to grab their attention and make an impression on them and other readers, contractors often use proposal management software to create their response. What is proposal management software? Proposal management software (otherwise known as proposal creation software, proposal pricing software, and simply proposal software) is a program that aids in the application process by gathering the required information, storing it, and then arranging it all in an engaging and memorable presentation.
Responses to RFPs typically require a considerable amount of paperwork and documentation. Business proposals, business letters, invoices, quotas, inventory lists, company history, employee information, contact information, etc. Contractors can get bogged down in the paperwork, as one can easily imagine. With proposal management software, however, collecting and storing paperwork is a breeze. In addition to collecting all the needed documents, proposal software also can check for duplicates or inadequate information — two problems that often arise when dealing with mounds of paperwork. Once everything is gathered and accounted for, the software helps organize it in a way that is sure to catch the eye of whoever is reading it.
For more information about proposal management software, feel free to leave a comment or question at the bottom.