Business Software

Proposals are a necessary evil in a time when skepticism and fear have completely replaced a willingnessto operate by word of mouth agreements in the business world. Up until now, a way to organize and share proposals was distinctly absent from the tool box of sales and operation executives, but with Proposal Software’s (News - Alert) (News - Alert) innovative software, the labyrinth of paperwork associated with business deals gets a convenient road map.

Able to organize Requests for Proposals (RFP), Requests for Information (RFI (News - Alert) (News- Alert)), Requests for Quotation (RFQ) and Sales Proposals on one easy-to-use platform, Proposal Software offers a way for users to keep information on hand and collaborate effectively with a teams across the globe. The program has been leveraged to a browser-based platform that can be accessed by Smartphone applications. Sharing options allow users to set rules for modification and view-only access, ensuring that documents cannot be tampered by those without access.

In an interview, Proposal Software CEO, John Laurino, discussed some of the needs that lead to the development of the platform and adoption in the industry. “We are literally in a proposal tsunami, because of the recession, the number of RFPs our clients handle have increased by about a third.” As it turns out, while most organizations have floundered in the recession it has actually been a boon for the proposal management  industry. “We call it the Bernie Madoff phenomena, most weren’t asking the right questions previously. People started wondering about the process and wanted more accountability.” In standard forms Laurino says what was once a 200 question process is now in the 400 question range.

Especially in markets like healthcare and asset management  where processes are highly regulated, the need for this type of software has become paramount. The handshake model has been destroyed by years of complacency and customers now require culpability.   

“The market is huge but there are not yet any specific analyst firms  dedicated to investigating this growth. It’s a subset of CRM, but here you have people who are bidding and rebidding to get something as cheap as possible. At one end you have huge government type infrastructure bids that are one of kind, and then the commercial space has reoccurring ones.” Laurino added.

The industry is approaching $1 billion dollars, and currently Proposal Software is the only company truly focusing on it as an activity wholly different from CRM. “It’s really going to change how everyone works together. Typically company departments are at odds with one another, but this will hopefully bring everyone together.  Sales people have to have big egos, so you have rouge agents; this connectivity puts them on a corporate party line and makes sure that all the ducks are in a row before anyone gets the green light,” Laurino says. “Our software allows them to be in control of all aspects of the proposal management process. They can control all the pieces, and use them to their advantage, as salespeople always say they don’t have the most recent information.

By allowing seamless collaboration, and real time updates to a process that has been historically difficult to manage, Proposal Software Inc. is leading the charge in the field and is offering companies a new way to organize and fulfill their requests.