Teams tasked with responding to more and more proposals each year seek out various automation solutions to get work done. However, finding ways to automate is a daunting task—especially if you’ve never done it before. As a result, many organizations look in-house at their current suite of tools and try to cobble together a custom automation solution from the various pieces of software they’re already using.  

While this theory seems promising and timesaving at first glance (after all, why invest in something completely different when you already have so many tools), the end result is usually…less than ideal. Many teams end up with a sort of Frankenstein’s monster approach to proposal management and response. Teams might use Word templates to streamline work, generative AI tools like Copilot with Studio Agent, or ChatGPT to quickly craft content. Individually and in small doses, these tools might work well, but as teams scale up and start crafting more and more responses, the cracks really start to show. 

Rather than trying to repair those cracks (or breathe fresh life into some manufactured monster), you’ll get a better return on investment when you invest in a purpose-built proposal automation system. Don’t believe us? Here’s 6 reasons why: 

Purpose-built solutions are tailored for proposal management

Here’s the truth: while many products can be used in multiple ways, they’re always going to work best when used as designed. For example, you can technically use a hammer to open a can, but you’ll likely end up with a bit of a messy end product. 

Proposal management software offers a specific suite of tools that address the unique needs of bid and proposal professionals. From customizable templates to centralized content libraries, these pieces of software provide all the necessary features to craft compelling, consistent, and compliant proposals and responses in seconds.  

Additionally, since these pieces of software are built by a team of proposal experts, they include the precise features and functionality that professionals need to be successful. Take Qvidian for example, we’ve been in business for nearly 50 years now, helping shape the proposal automation landscape from the ground up. We know that teams need things like customizable metadata, automatic ways to answer DDQs and security questionnaires, and the ability to keep all of their data secure, compliant, and audit-ready. Other pieces of software simply can’t compete with that attention to detail because their products aren’t built for the proposal industry. 

Purpose-built solutions enhance compliance and accuracy

Proposal professionals know that compliance and accuracy are critical parts of winning business. This goes double for anyone working in highly regulated fields like financial services, healthcare, or information and technology. Software like Qvidian has built-in compliance checks, ensuring that proposals meet all relevant standards and regulations while reducing the risk of errors. 

AI-powered tools like File Analyzer or File Query from Qvidian AI Assist help teams quickly scan RFPs for all critical details, ensuring that nothing’s missed in the process. Other features such as full-audit trails, change-tracking, security and permissions, and automatic flagging of AI-generated answers also help keep data up-to-date, compliant, and secure. 

Other tools may offer similar AI-driven capabilities, but they don’t provide the unique level of specialization that comes from a proposal automation company. In the same way, many alternative pieces of software don’t provide the comprehensive approach to change-tracking that industries require to remain compliant.  

Streamlined workflows and collaboration

Let’s be honest for a second: would you rather jump from application to application to finish your proposal or keep work centralized in one specific place? When teams build their own custom solutions for proposal automation, they often take advantage of multiple pieces of technology to get the job done. While some of these might integrate together, there’s no promise they all will. This disconnect results in team members spending all day bouncing from platform to platform just to finalize a single document. That continual context-switching can wear you out and whittle away the work hours, not to mention increase the likelihood of mistakes. 

Purpose-built solutions like Qvidian excel in automating the proposal process because they streamline workflows while enhancing collaboration. Whether you’re generating templates, managing approvals, or tracking revisions and updates, you’ll do it all in one platform. This “single hub” approach gives teams more time back to focus on high-value tasks rather than getting bogged down in administrative details or endless context-switching. 

Centralized content management

Perhaps the biggest plus for investing in a purpose-built solution is that most of them have centralized content management. Why is this important? Organizations have many different types of information management systems across departments, which contain collateral and files not approved for responses. Software like Qvidian maintains a single source of truth, storing all proposal-related content in one platform. This ensures that when your team is working on the latest proposal, they’re only approving the most up-to-date and relevant content.  

While other platforms might connect to existing content repositories, they don’t act as their own content storage solution. This can lead to inconsistencies, outdated information, and a frustrating process for everyone. 

Data-driven insights

Great proposal teams know there’s more to proposal success than simply writing a proposal and hitting send. Teams should be tracking each individual proposal for key insights, using the available data to identify winning pieces of content and improve their processes. 

Custom-built solutions often have no analytics capabilities, or the analytics they do have are built for something completely different. Software like Qvidian offers deep insights into proposal and content performance, helping teams identify out-of-date content, track winning messages, and win more business overall. 

Industry experience and support

We’re going to brag a little bit, but we’ve been in the industry for a long time, so we’ve earned it. Qvidian has almost five decades of experience crafting and building proposal automation solutions. Additionally, our team’s expert support staff averages at least 10 years of tenure. This means from the original conversation, through implementation, and even as you continue to add future features to your growing business, you can always speak with a real, friendly Qvidian expert to help guide you through the process. 

Other custom-built solutions simply can’t match that. While they might have technical and implementation assistance, their software is not specifically designed for the unique needs of the proposal industry. Even worse, if you’re going with a completely in-house build, you might be reliant solely on your already taxed IT team to offer critical support and ongoing quality-of-life updates. 

Overall, when it comes to automating your proposal and RFP response process, you’ll get more bang for your buck by investing in a purpose-built solution. Qvidian stands out as a superior choice, offering specialized features that enhance compliance and accuracy, streamline workflows, and keep all your content easily accessible. While other tools might be powerful and offer broad capabilities, investing in specialized and focused software backed by years of industry experience will help you save valuable time and money and win more.