Responsive, the leader in Strategic Response Management (SRM), in partnership with the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), released new research highlighting the significant contribution that bid and proposal teams make to topline revenue. The “2024 State of Strategic Response Management Report” reveals that more than 90% of survey respondents recognize proposal teams as central to revenue generation. Additionally, 77% noted an increase in the volume of RFPs and other strategic responses over the past year. Nearly half of the respondents identified tighter buyer budgets, demands for more information to be delivered faster, and increased competitive pressure as key challenges.
The growing pressure to generate more revenue, coupled with the increased volume and complexity of information requests, has catalyzed the emergence of Strategic Response Management – the people, practices, and technology that unlock organizational knowledge for profitable growth.
“Historically, bid and proposal teams have been seen as cost centers, but this view is outdated,” said Danelle Morrow, VP, North America Proposal Development Center at Sodexo. “By elevating the practice, proposal teams are transforming into strategic response teams that align cross-functional stakeholders, processes, and systems to deliver winning responses to information requests by harnessing a company’s knowledge. The results are happier employees and greater topline revenue. It’s time to recognize proposal teams for their vital role in making the revenue engine hum.”
“Bid and proposal teams have always been key growth drivers. As they face even more pressure to contribute to revenue, they are rising to the challenge, and in doing so, raising their profile in their organizations,” says Rick Harris, CEO of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals. “There is power in leveraging all of an organization’s internal and external knowledge to position bid and proposal teams for the win. By embracing AI and linking strategic responses to better outcomes like higher win rates, increased revenue and better employee experiences, these teams are elevating their profession, gaining more investment, and raising their visibility as a critical part of the revenue engine.”
In the SRM report’s second year, Responsive surveyed over 750 sales, proposal, and IT executives and practitioners in the US, UK, and India who have ownership or influence over their company’s bid, capture, and proposal management activities. Participants were categorized as Leaders or Novices based on win rates, revenue growth, or employee satisfaction.
The Impact of AI on Strategic Response Management
The research indicates a clear divide between leading companies, which report increased revenue through the use of a response platform incorporating AI, and Novices, who primarily use traditional productivity tools and ad hoc processes. Most Leaders view AI as augmenting human input rather than replacing it, with 56% of Leaders anticipating that AI will optimize staff time without increasing team size.
“With an increase in the variety, complexity, and volume of information requests, combined with greater pressure to grow revenue, the benefits of AI-powered Strategic Response Management are clear. Today, AI is bringing measurable value to bid and proposal teams, not only by increasing productivity but also by driving more revenue,” said Ganesh Shankar, CEO of Responsive. “Forward-thinking leaders are reaping the benefits of the latest AI advances, as evidenced by greater win rates and employee satisfaction.”
Eighty-nine percent of respondents are experimenting with or have already used AI software to respond to information requests. But it’s the leading organizations that are driving greater revenue by investing in platform-level capabilities that extend beyond GenAI functionality for generating responses. Forty-five percent of Leaders, who experienced year-over-year revenue growth, use SRM platforms with natively embedded AI.
Other key findings:
85% of proposal teams designated as Leaders shape their company’s go-to-market strategy.
80% of Leaders are more likely to use data and analytics from response systems to improve processes and increase win rates, compared to only 61% of Novices.
Less than half of Novices have self-service tools for bids and grant access to users outside of the response team to content used in strategic responses, while 84% of Leaders do, boosting employee satisfaction.
