20 RFP Memes for Overworked Proposal Managers

Those of us who have worked on a Request for Proposal (RFP) understand the pain.

Proposal managers need to be able to juggle complex tasks while hitting deadlines and keeping up with a high volume of questionnaires. They coordinate with teammates across the sales organization, from SE’s to solution consultants, product managers, sales reps, and even security engineers. Even the simplest RFP questionnaire can take weeks to complete.

And after all that hard work, you might just find out that you didn’t win the deal. Yeah, that’s real pain.

Luckily, we’ve got the internet to distract us. Here are our 25 favorite memes for the overworked proposal manager in your life.

It’s not like we don’t enjoy filling out hundreds of questions while the sales team hovers over us.

The proposal process is a team effort and you’re gonna need all the help you can get.

The entire process has its ups and downs, but the proposal end of it is by far the most painful.

At least it pays well. Right? Luckily you can make it slightly less painful by automating RFP responses.

After a 5-month process and hundreds of hours spent answering questions? Yes it do feel that way.

P-L-E-A-S-E. SIGN. NOW.

The best sales teams know you’re gonna want to evaluate the proposal before responding.

Is this the right account? Can we meet the requirements? Are they just using us to compare against someone who already won the deal?

Ask yourself the hard questions and you’ll focus on the deals that are most likely to succeed.

That proposal took you 2 days to complete. You just have to wait another 2 months to get it signed.

Look, we got nothing but love for the procurement department. But do they ever make the deal easier?

You don’t have to love sales to be great at proposal management but you do need to enjoy staring at an excel spreadsheet for 36 hours.

We have enough on our plate, thank you.

I don’t blame them. In this day and age you need all the luck you can get.

If you’re working a proposal and you need help from legal, it’s probably time to let that one go.

To be fair, everyone in the sales org looks like this now.

If you’ve ever tried any of the legacy proposal management tools, you know the feeling.

Especially true of the folks who create proposals with dozens of tabs, multiple choice questions, macros, and images.

Now add a 32-page proposal into the mix and a hard deadline. Perfection.

Lie on an RFP and future you will not be happy.

Are you working on an RFP right now? We don’t envy you. In fact, we understand what it takes. Check out our deep dive into what makes RFP responses so slow?