Turbocharging sales: Automating RFP responses and DDQs to focus on selling

For many B2B sales teams, responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Due Diligence Questionnaires (DDQs) is a necessary but time-consuming process. These documents are essential for building trust with potential clients and demonstrating a company’s ability to meet specific requirements. However, the manual effort involved in filling out RFPs and DDQs often slows down the sales process and diverts resources away from core selling activities.

Automation offers a way to turbocharge the sales process, allowing teams to focus more on building relationships and closing deals while still ensuring that RFPs and DDQs are handled with precision and accuracy.

Here’s how automating these tasks can help B2B companies improve efficiency, reduce manual workload, and ultimately boost sales.

1. The time-consuming nature of manual RFP and DDQ responses

Sales cycles in B2B markets can already be long and complex, and when you add the need to respond to RFPs or DDQs, the timeline can stretch even further. These documents are often highly detailed, requiring input from various departments, including legal, compliance, and product teams. The sales team must compile responses, review them for accuracy, and submit them within strict deadlines.

The challenges of manual RFP and DDQ responses include:

Repetitive work: Many RFPs and DDQs ask similar questions, leading to repetitive manual work that eats up valuable time.

Inconsistent responses: When multiple teams contribute to responses, inconsistencies in wording or information can arise, potentially leading to confusion or the need for revisions.

Slow turnaround times: Manually gathering data and responding to these requests can take days or even weeks, slowing down the overall sales process and leaving leads to cool off.

2. How automation speeds up RFP and DDQ responses

By using an automated platform like Platformed, sales teams can streamline the process of responding to RFPs and DDQs, reducing the manual workload and speeding up the sales cycle. Here are some key ways that automation can help:

Pre-built response libraries: Platformed’s AI-driven toolkit allows you to create a library of pre-approved responses - called core responses - to common RFP and DDQ questions. This means that instead of starting from scratch each time, sales teams can quickly pull from a set of accurate, vetted answers, drastically reducing the time it takes to complete these documents.

Automated data syncing: Platformed continuously syncs with your company’s latest policies, compliance certifications, and product details, ensuring that all responses are always up to date and are self-maintained. This eliminates the risk of providing outdated information or manually tracking down the latest versions of documents.

Centralized information hub: Platformed provides a centralized platform where all RFPs, DDQs, and related documents are stored. Sales teams can access this hub anytime to retrieve or update information, ensuring that all departments are working with the same set of accurate data.

AI-powered automation: With AI-driven automation, Platformed can analyze RFP and DDQ documents, identify the relevant questions, and automatically populate answers from your response library. This significantly reduces the time it takes to complete each request and allows your team to focus on higher-value tasks.

3. Focusing on selling: Freeing up resources for core sales activities

By automating RFP and DDQ responses, sales teams can redirect their focus to what matters most - selling. Instead of spending hours or days manually filling out questionnaires, teams can devote more time to engaging with prospects, building relationships, and moving deals forward.

Here’s how automation helps sales teams stay focused on selling:

Faster response times: With automated tools handling much of the heavy lifting, sales teams can respond to RFPs and DDQs much faster, which keeps the sales process moving and ensures that leads stay warm.

Consistency across responses: A self-maintained knowledgebase and ever-learning AI will ensure that all responses are consistent and accurate, reducing the need for time-consuming revisions and back-and-forth communication between departments.

More time for client engagement: Automation frees up sales teams to spend more time on value-added activities, such as personalizing their pitch, addressing client concerns, and negotiating deals. This leads to stronger client relationships and a higher likelihood of closing deals.

4. The competitive advantage of automation

Speed and efficiency are key competitive advantages. Companies that can respond quickly to RFPs and DDQs without sacrificing accuracy or quality are more likely to win deals. Automation provides the tools needed to streamline this process, giving your sales team a distinct edge.

With shorter response times, higher accuracy, and less manual work, automated RFP and DDQ responses can:

Increase sales conversion rates: Prospects are more likely to choose a vendor that provides quick, accurate responses to their requests, positioning your company as a responsive and reliable partner.

Boost sales team productivity: Automation allows sales teams to handle a higher volume of RFPs and DDQs without being bogged down by repetitive tasks, leading to more opportunities and faster deal closures.

Automating RFP and DDQ responses is a game-changer for B2B sales teams, allowing them to focus on selling while still providing accurate and timely information to prospects.

By leveraging AI-powered tools like Platformed, companies can reduce the time it takes to complete these critical tasks, improve response accuracy, and ultimately boost their chances of winning deals. In an increasingly competitive market, automation is the key to turbocharging your sales process and staying ahead of the competition.

Platformed works with innovative companies all over the world to accelerate the paper process. Find out how pricing operations platform, m3ter, benefits from Platformed’s full product suite to relieve its teams of onerous admin.