Eight signs your team needs proactive proposals
Eight signs your team needs proactive proposals
7 minute read
Industry-wide RFPs are getting more complex, and response and sales teams are under increased pressure to respond and win more. Often this means companies are saddled with the burden of focusing on reactive responses to RFPs, spending hours crafting responses and answering complex questionnaires.
But is that really making an impact? With limited resources, increasing competition, and dwindling industry-wide win rates, companies are chasing fruitless opportunities. If you want to stand out from the competition, increase win rates, and put your sellers back in charge of the buying process, you should be focusing on proactive proposals, not just reactive responding.
What is a proactive proposal?
Proactive proposals are highly personalized introductions to your company. Generally, these are shorter than your typical Request for Proposal (RFP) and focus on how your company has the perfect solution that fits a potential buyer’s needs.
In a traditional response process, sales teams usually wait for a buyer to send out an RFx and then, upon receiving that, rush to reactively respond to those needs. These types of responses are typically hundreds of pages long and contain detailed information on your company’s product, services, pricing, background, and so much more.
The proactive proposal process flips the script on the traditional response process, giving your organization a better chance at standing out from the competition, getting in front of key decision-makers early, and improving overall win rates.
Who benefits from proactive proposals?
Almost anyone can benefit from using proactive proposals. As it stands, RFPs account for a big slice of a company’s revenue. However, as anyone involved in the process understands: they’re very competitive. By the time a RFP has been pushed out to the world, you can be certain that you’re competing with hundreds, if not thousands, of companies for one opportunity.
Proactive proposals set your organization up for success by giving your team more control over the buying process. Additionally, proactive proposals are more likely to be directed at the final decision-makers rather than initial procurement teams. By impressing the decision-makers early on, you’ll end up increasing win rates while also improving deal velocity.
But, how do you know if your team is ready to start pivoting to proactive proposals? We’ve got you covered with these eight signs:
Eight signs your team needs proactive proposals
Your win rates are down
The biggest sign that your team could benefit from investing in proactive proposals is low win rates. As anyone in the industry knows, it’s already incredibly hard to stand out from the competition. In fact, industry trends show that the average win rates for RFPs have been trending steadily downward. Why? Competition is increasing while overall opportunities are decreasing. Proactive proposals can help you stand out from the crowd rather than shrink into the middle by positioning your sellers as trusted advisors, not just vendors.
Your deal sizes are shrinking
Are you noticing your deal sizes shrinking year over year? You’re not alone. A recent study by Deloitte of Chief Procurement Officers found that 72% of enterprises surveyed reported improving margins via cost reduction and cost avoidance a top priority in 2025. As more companies cut costs, the average deal sizes for new investments also decrease.
Just as troubling: RFPs are increasingly tailored to a specific product, service, or offering. This leaves your company in a tricky situation of wanting to grow deal sizes by offering more services without losing the initial opportunity.
Proactive proposals give your team more control over the buying process. By proposing solutions to problems before a specific request arises, your sellers can craft tailored solutions that address multiple needs or provide additional value beyond what’s often found in a typical RFP.
Your deals are taking too long to close
If your buying process takes multiple quarters (or longer), you’ll definitely benefit from proactive proposals. A traditional reactive response process often leaves teams powerless to control the speed or pace of deal closure. You’ll spend countless hours rushing to produce the perfect personalized response only to be left with radio silence as buyers review potential offers and establish follow up questions and next steps.
Proactive proposals reduce the back-and-forth that’s common in reactive RFP engagements, making it easier to close deals faster.
You’re struggling to build strong relationships
Let’s be real: when you’re reacting to hundreds of RFPs each year, it’s hard to find time to build relationships. If you find that it’s getting harder to establish a relationship with potential buyers, a proactive switch might be just what you need. With proactive proposals, your sellers can build trust and credibility early on–before buyers even express specific needs for your products or services. Instead of hoping to make a big splash with a perfectly tailored RFP, you can do the heavy lifting yourself by reaching out early, establishing your expertise, and highlighting your overall commitment to solving the buyer’s problems.
You’re having trouble standing out from the competition
As mentioned above: win rates are down because competition is up. As more companies respond to the shrinking number of RFPs, it becomes difficult to stand out. Why? Well, it’s not because your products or services aren’t great. It’s also not because your proposal isn’t personalized or well-written. In all honesty, it’s simply a numbers game. With so many competitors, plenty of shining stars are bound to get lost.
Your company can use proactive proposals to set the narrative early by framing the buying criteria and establishing what makes your company different than the others before the real competition has even started.
Your buyers are price sensitive
Are your buyers laser-focused on price? Does it seem like all they care about is the final sticker price of your product or service? Proactive proposals can help! The typical response process incentivizes sellers to focus first on price and second on overall return on investment.
Using the proactive mindset, your sellers can shift this by focusing the conversations on overall ROI instead of final price. This doesn’t mean price won’t be a final consideration, but by clearly articulating outcomes early on you can avoid sticker shock or buyer price sensitivity.
You’re finding it hard to focus on needs and desires
The typical RFx stages don’t leave much room for your company to focus on needs and desires. Sure, you can craft an amazing and highly personalized proposal, but even if you say all the right words and offer all the right services, it’s still one response out of many. Additionally, after the response has been submitted, your sellers are generally stuck in a holding pattern as buyers sift through responses.
However, proactive engagement encourages dialogue and discovery early on. Your sellers can make introductions, ask follow-up questions, provide opportunities for future discussions and discoveries, and so much more.
Your sellers aren’t controlling the sales process
We saved the best sign for last: if your sellers aren’t controlling the sales process, proactive proposals can fix that. Why wait around for unpredictable RFP or buyer engagements when you have a team of qualified and highly experienced sellers ready to work? With proactive proposals you’re putting your team in charge of the overall sales process, giving your company more flexibility, input, and authority over each opportunity.
Make the pivot and start thinking proactively
Done well, proactive sales proposals prove to prospects that your organization can uniquely solve their challenges—perhaps in ways they haven’t even considered yet. Implementing a proactive proposal strategy helps your organization stand out. It also increases the odds your company’s unique value proposition will reach decision-makers at the right time instead of getting buried in a mountain of competing RFP responses.
If you want to learn more about the proactive proposal process or how Qvidian can help you make the pivot, check out our on-demand webinar.
