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2024 RFP Trends & Benchmarks

Fifth annual report on the latest benchmarks for teams that respond to RFPs.
Insights from 1650+ global participants.

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WHO WE SURVEYED

Loopio surveyed 1,663 teams from around the globe, who responded to a collective 291,025 RFPs last year alone.

Percentage of respondents across the globe: 72% in North America, 17% in the UK, 4% in Europe, 4% in Asia, 2% in Africa, 1% in Australia.

Together, they influenced $528.5B in revenue.

 

But over the past year, RFP teams also experienced heightened pressure to respond more frequently, amid economic uncertainty.

”Looking back on five years’ worth of data, it’s clear that RFPs consistently influence more than a third of the average company’s revenue. But what’s changing is how companies respond to RFPs.
Zak Hemraj, CEO of Loopio
Zak Hemraj
CEO & Co-Founder
Loopio

10 Emerging Trends for 2024

1. RFP Volume Increases Amid Economic Shifts

Over the past year, submission volume leapt from an average of 162 to 175 RFPs annually. While volume does vary widely by company size, many teams leaned on RFPs as a potential growth lever, growing less selective in a year with a tough economy.

Small & Midsize companies submitted 80 RFPs; Mid-Market companies submitted 169 RFPs; Enterprise companies submitted 276 RFPs.

RFP Volume by Company Size | 2024 Trends

2. While Go/No-Go Use Decreases

At the same time (and perhaps unsurprisingly), use of a go/no-go decision process decreased this year, reversing an upward trend of becoming selective about which bids to participate in. On average, teams participated in 65% of the bids they were invited to—rising to the same average as 2020, another year that saw a lot of economic uncertainty.

The percentage of bids teams participated in over the years was 72% in 2020, 76% in 2021, 80% in 2022, and 77% in 2023.

Percentage of RFP Teams Using a Go/No-Go Process | 2024 Trends

3. Teams Spend 66 More Hours on Bids Annually  

Some quick math: If the average team submits 175 bids per year and spends 30 hours of writing time on each response. That means they spend 5,250 hours writing RFPs each year.

Last year’s report saw an average of 5,184 hours per year—which means teams are taking on an additional 66 hours annually, despite having the same size teams (8 people on average). That’s more than an extra week and a half of work per team. But is it leading to more revenue–or a recipe for burnout?

5,184 hours were spent writing RFPs in 2022 whereas in 2023 teams spent 5250 hours.

# of Hours Spent Writing Responses | 2024 Trends

4. RFPs Influence $317M on Average

In the last year, RFPs influenced an average of $317.8 million dollars of company revenue, a slight decrease from last year’s average of $325.4 million. But the average dollar value varies greatly by company size.

Enterprise organizations (5,001+ employees) were above average in terms of the dollar value generated from RFPs. But their lead is not as strong as last year, just $311M above average as compared to last year’s $532M lead.

Mid-market companies (501-5,000 employees) on the other hand, nearly doubled the amount of revenue they generated in the past year.

Small companies (<500 employees) experienced a noticeable drop, from $60M to $24M on average.

Revenue by Company Size: Small & Midsize - $24M in 2023 vs. $60.2M in 2022; Mid-Market - $282.5M in 2023 vs. $148.3M in 2022; Enterprise - $628.4M in 2023 vs. $828.2M in 2022.

Revenue Sourced by Company Size | 2024 Trends

5. But Teams Feel Less Confident About Resources

This year, just 57% of our 1,663 participants agreed with the statement “I have the resources and tools I need to efficiently and effectively respond to the RFPs we pursue,” which is the lowest result seen in four years.

Yet, the data shows that the majority of teams are working with the same level of resources. So, why are they feeling this way? It’s likely due to the fact that teams are submitting a higher volume, and decreasing go/no-go, amidst the economic shifts.

The percentage of participants who agreed they had the resources they needed to respond effectively was 63% in 2020, 71% in 2021, 61% in 2022, and 57% in 2023.

Teams Who Feel They Have Resources to Respond Effectively | 2024 Trends

6. Majority of 51% Say Working With SMEs is (Still) Their Top Challenge

Continuing a trend we’ve seen since 2020, collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs) held steady as the #1 challenge that RFP teams face. After taking the top spot for several years in a row, it seems this challenge is compounding, rather than reaching resolution.

Please see a detailed description of the chart in the Details below the image.
Detailed description of the graph on Top Challenges Teams Face When Responding to RFPs.

The top challenges when responding to RFPs in 2023, in order of difficulty:

  1. Collaborating with SMEs was selected as #1 challenge by 51% of respondents.
  2. Finding up-to-date, accurate answers was a challenge for 39%.
  3. Meeting deadlines and dealing with delays was noted by 33% of contributors.
  4. Having enough bandwidth to respond to all RFPs was a concern for 32% of participants.
  5. Burnout among team members was highlighted by 29% of participants.
  6. Selecting what RFPs to focus on was also chosen by 29% of respondents.
  7. Manually formatting responses was reported by 29%.
  8. Getting the resources/budget for the team was a challenge for 27%.
  9. Choosing the best answer from a group was reported by 25% of respondents.
  10. Increasing advancement or win rate was a difficult task for 23%.
  11. Maintaining consistent branding and tone in all RFPs was noted by 18%.
  12. Managing multiple versions of the project was a difficulty for 15%.
  13. 4% of participants stated they had no real challenges.
  14. Other challenges, although unspecified, were noted by 3% of respondents.

7. Generative AI Used by 34% of Teams (Mostly for Summarizing Information)

Sparked by the release of ChatGPT, this past year saw a lot of interest around generative AI. Despite the hype, only a third (34%) of respondents have used generative AI in their RFP response process over the past twelve months.

So, what are early adopters using it for? The top three uses are summarizing information (61%), creating a first draft (44%), and editing (43%).

Of the participants, 34% said they used generative AI in their RFP response process, 60% said they did not, and 6% were unsure.

8. Top Investments for 2024 = Training & Tech

Just 33% of teams plan to hire more staff, in comparison to 41% last year. This marks a pretty sharp drop—likely as a reaction to constrained budgets.

Instead, teams are doubling down on training for existing team members and considering investments in new technology (likely thanks to the rise of AI).

2023 vs. 2024 investments: Existing team training down from 46% to 43%; Technology up from 33% to 38%; Hiring staff down from 41% to 33%.

2024 Investments for RFP Teams | Trends

“Bringing together responses from APMP members worldwide, this year’s report provides 80+ pages of pure research covering the trends you need to know. From increased submission pressures to the rise of AI, you’ll find fodder for productive conversations with your team, manager, or organization as a whole.”
Rick Harris
CEO
APMP

9. Proposal Pro Age & Salary on the Rise

The average age of proposal managers is on the rise. Three-quarters of proposal managers (75%) are now older than 35.

The biggest change is a drop in the 25-34 age category, which went from making up 32% of proposal professionals in 2022, to just 19%.

But it’s not all bad news. While the average age goes up, so does salary. On average, proposal professionals earn $97,000 USD, a notable $8,000 increase over last year.

Age distribution of Proposal Professionals: 2% under 25; 19% aged 25-34; 33% aged 35-44; 23% aged 45-54; 20% over 55; 3% undisclosed.

Average Age of Proposal Professionals | 2024 Trends

10. Average Team Size Holds Steady at 8 People

Since 2021, the average team size has remained consistent at 8 people—despite increasing RFP volume over the past year.

Even though the average has remained the same, there are notable shifts within specific industries. Software, Financial Services, and the Non-Profit & Government all decreased their team size by an average of two people in the past year. On the other hand, the size of Healthcare teams increased.

In terms of overall rankings, Technology (Hardware & IT Services) have the largest teams. They also generate the second-greatest proportion of revenue through RFPs, which may explain why having more people resources is important to them.

On the other hand, Software has the smallest team size, experiencing a drop from 7 to 5 people over the past year.

Average team sizes by industry in 2022 vs. 2023.
Industry 2022 Team Size 2023 Team Size
Advertising, Media, Telecom 8 8
Financial Services 11 9 ↓
Healthcare & Medical 7 8 ↑
Insurance 9 9
Management Consulting – 8
Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Construction 8 8
Non-profit & Government 10 8 ↓
Software 7 5 ↓
Technology (Hardware, ITS) 10 10

Want to see more trends? Download your full copy of the report now.

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INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS
RFPs Are Competitive by Nature. How Does Your Team Stack Up?

See performance benchmarks unique to your industry. A quick snapshot of global averages for win rate, bid volume, AI use, and more.

199
Annual RFP Volume
42%
Win Rate
57%
Shortlist Rate
$97m
$ Influenced by RFx
65%
Use Go/No-Use
30%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

208
Annual RFP Volume
37%
Win Rate
51%
Shortlist Rate
$202.7m
$ Influenced by RFx
65%
Use Go/No-Use
27%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

155
Annual RFP Volume
37%
Win Rate
53%
Shortlist Rate
$1.3b
$ Influenced by RFx
60%
Use Go/No-Use
26%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

215
Annual RFP Volume
42%
Win Rate
64%
Shortlist Rate
$124.3m
$ Influenced by RFx
64%
Use Go/No-Use
19%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

159
Annual RFP Volume
48%
Win Rate
56%
Shortlist Rate
$221.8m
$ Influenced by RFx
88%
Use Go/No-Use
34%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

153
Annual RFP Volume
43%
Win Rate
53%
Shortlist Rate
$207m
$ Influenced by RFx
71%
Use Go/No-Use
33%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

124
Annual RFP Volume
48%
Win Rate
53%
Shortlist Rate
$85m
$ Influenced by RFx
75%
Use Go/No-Use
38%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

146
Annual RFP Volume
39%
Win Rate
60%
Shortlist Rate
$30m
$ Influenced by RFx
81%
Use Go/No-Use
33%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

194
Annual RFP Volume
45%
Win Rate
52%
Shortlist Rate
$224.6m
$ Influenced by RFx
87%
Use Go/No-Use
46%
Use Generative AI

Want to learn how Loopio helps teams win more RFPs in 2024? 💬 Chat live with our team.

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