What’s really happening behind the scenes in the world of RFPs in 2025? We dug through the latest data and trends to bring you a handpicked list of the most interesting and sometimes surprising RFP statistics that every proposal team should know. For each one, we’ve added our take on what it means, why it matters, and how it might influence your strategy moving forward to offer you an additional perspective.
1. Average RFP Win Rate: 45%
The average win rate for RFPs across all industries has increased from 43% in 2024 to 45% in 2025. This reflects smarter RFP strategies like stronger go/no-go frameworks and better targeting.
Our Take: A 2% lift might sound small, but when scaled across dozens or hundreds of RFPs, that shift can translate to meaningful revenue gains. To us, it is a clear reflection of teams becoming more strategic, more selective, and more focused on RFPs they can actually win. Rather than chasing every opportunity, high-performing teams are learning how to say no. That kind of discipline is what moves the needle over time. A better win rate is, in our opinion, directly proportional to making better decisions before the proposal even starts.
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2. Enterprise vs. Mid-Market Win Rates: Enterprise: 47%, Mid-Market: 45%
Enterprise companies are leading in win rates at 47%, while mid-market firms are holding strong at 45%, up from 42% last year.
Our Take: This gap is getting smaller, and that’s a good sign. It shows that mid-market teams are learning how to punch above their weight. With the right tools, tighter collaboration, and smarter qualification, they’re staying competitive with enterprise giants. The key takeaway here is that process maturity and proposal culture matter. And mid-market companies are catching on quickly. You don’t need the biggest team. What you need is a focused one that knows what to chase and how to deliver it.
3. RFP Submission Volume: 153 per year
Organizations now submit an average of 153 RFPs annually, down from 175 the previous year, indicating a move toward strategic bidding.
Our Take: This drop tells a story. Teams are realizing that more submissions don’t necessarily mean more wins. In fact, they often mean more burnout. By being more selective, proposal teams can focus on crafting responses that are tailored, strategic, and actually winnable. Quality or over quantity. A sign that the industry is maturing. Teams are moving from reactive chaos to proactive strategy, and that’s where real efficiency lives.
4. High-Volume Submitters: Only 10% submit 500+ RFPs
Only 10% of teams are submitting over 500 RFPs per year. Meanwhile, 41% submit between 51 and 250, making high-volume responses the exception, not the norm. RFP statistics show that most teams are operating within a manageable range, not chasing sheer volume.
Our Take: We get it. It’s natural to believe that success comes from volume. But the data shows that most successful teams are operating within a manageable range. High-volume RFP submission is resource-heavy and often results in rushed, lower-quality responses. Agreed? The majority of teams are proving that it’s not about how many proposals you submit but about how well you choose and how thoughtfully you respond. In our world where resources are tight and attention spans are shorter, thoughtful beats frantic every time.
5. Revenue from RFPs: 39%
On average, 39% of company revenue comes from RFPs. In industries like Advertising and Telecom, that number jumps to 46%.
Our Take: RFPs aren’t just part of the sales funnel—they are the funnel for many companies. And yet, so many organizations still treat proposal development as a side task or something to scramble through last-minute. This stat is a wake-up call. When nearly half your revenue comes from one channel, it deserves structure, investment, and a clear strategy. It’s time to stop viewing RFPs as one-off projects and start treating them like a serious revenue function.
6. Impact of Automation: 68% using generative AI
68% of teams are using generative AI in their RFP workflows, which is double the rate from the previous year.
Our Take: Massive, right? The pace of adoption here is rapid for a reason. AI. AI that is supporting all avenues of a business. Drafting content, structuring answers, surfacing relevant materials… AI takes on the heavy lifting, in proposal building as in everything else, so teams can focus on tailoring and storytelling. But the teams getting the most out of AI are going beyond using them. They’re integrating it thoughtfully into their proposal-building process, including refining their RFP statistics. They’re building prompts, creating internal libraries, and training their teams to review AI-generated content with a critical eye. When used right, AI is a serious accelerator.
7. Investment in Technology: 44% plan to invest
44% of teams are planning to invest in new RFP tech and training this year.
Our Take: This should make you stop looking at this as a trend. Proposal teams are no longer being asked to do more with less. They’re getting resources, budget, and recognition. And companies are ready to pay for a modern proposal function with repeatable systems and scalable workflows. Investment signals that leadership is paying attention, and that’s the first step toward building a team that’s not just operational while being strategic.
8. Increase in Submission Intentions: 61% plan to submit more RFPs
Over 61% of organizations say they’ll increase RFP submissions this year, up from 49% last year.
Our Take: To us, this is both exciting and overwhelming. It shows growing confidence and ambition, but it also signals more competition. If everyone is submitting more, standing out becomes even harder. That’s where differentiation becomes non-negotiable. Your messaging has to be sharper. Your design tighter. Your value proposition clearer. This is the year to level up. Do more and do it better.
9. RFP Challenges Faced by Smaller Firms: SMBs hold at 42%
Small and midsize businesses have held their RFP win rate at 42%, but face increasing competition from enterprise-level firms with more resources and stronger brand equity.
Our Take: It’s tough out there for smaller teams. But this steady win rate is proof that size isn’t everything. What SMBs lack in scale, they make up for in speed, flexibility, and personalization. If you’re small, lean into that. Customize like crazy. Build relationships. Respond like you actually care… because you probably do. That human touch is your edge.
10. Unfinished Proposals: 20% go unfinished, costing $725K/year
About 20% of RFPs go unfinished each year, costing companies an average of $725,000 annually in lost revenue.
Our Take: That number is wild. It’s revenue lost. But more importantly, it is about time, energy, and morale. Unfinished proposals usually point to broken internal processes, unclear roles, or poor qualification at the start. We all know that. But honestly, with the kind of competition out there you have to finish as strongly as you started, at the very least. And that means building a workflow that supports your team from intake to submission. And knowing when to walk away before it drains your resources.
11. Satisfaction with RFP Software: 24% higher response capability
Teams using RFP software report a 24% higher capability to respond effectively, compared to teams managing it manually.
Our Take: For us, the difference between a manual process and a modern one is night and day. Obviously, an RFP software speeds things up, but it also reduces errors, improves collaboration, and creates consistency. That boost in capability is as much about confidence as it is about functionality. This is a simple calculation. When your team isn’t scrambling to find the right doc or chasing approvals in Slack, they can actually focus on building a proposal that wins.
12. Sector-Specific Insights: Insurance leads RFP activity
The insurance industry currently leads in RFP submissions, followed by advertising and financial services, highlighting the critical role RFPs play in driving business within these sectors.
Our Take: We want to thank Loopio for these insights. This kind of sector data helps teams get a sense of where the RFP landscape is most competitive. If you’re operating in insurance or advertising, it gives you context for where you outperform your competition. It means the bar is higher, timelines are tighter, and expectations are more formalized. For proposal teams in these spaces, success depends on consistency, rapid turnaround, and a system that scales without sacrificing quality.
13. AI in Proposal Strategy: Predictive analytics and content automation on the rise (ADD INTERLINK OF OUR BLOG)
The use of automation is evolving. Teams are now leveraging AI not just for content generation but also for predictive analytics to better understand what makes proposals win.
Our Take: This is where AI goes from helpful to powerful. Predictive analytics can help teams understand what content resonates, what structure converts, and what pricing models win. When AI starts to inform not just what you write, but how and why you write it, you move from reactive proposal writing to data-driven strategy. And that’s a fact.
What to Do With All This RFP Statistics Data
There’s a reason these stats matter. They’re are interesting observations and profound signs of what’s shifting, what’s working, and what needs to change if you want your team to compete and actually win. Applying these takeaways can help you tweak how you work and can fundamentally change the way your team approaches RFPs.
So if you’re thinking, “Okay, but how do we actually use this?” here’s a starting point. Nothing complicated. Just some smart moves that can make a big difference.
Be more intentional about what you respond to. The win rate data tells us that fewer, more strategic submissions tend to outperform high-volume spray-and-pray efforts. Take a beat before jumping into the next RFP. Ask: Is this a good fit? Do we have the resources? Can we genuinely bring something valuable to the table?
Use AI and automation, but don’t lose the human. It’s clear that AI is making a big impact but don’t fret it is not about replacing your team. It’s about clearing the clutter so your people can focus on higher-value work. Think faster drafts, smarter knowledge search, and fewer formatting headaches… not emotionless, robotic proposals.
Get your house in order. If unfinished RFPs are eating into your revenue, that’s not just a resourcing issue. Yes, it’s a workflow one. Get serious about internal alignment. Set clear roles. Build reusable content libraries. And please, make sure someone owns the final submission.
Treat proposals like real growth work. We often see RFPs treated as an afterthought—something you deal with when sales slows down. But nearly half of revenue is coming from RFPs in some industries. That’s not side work. That’s core business. The more seriously you treat it, the more results you’ll see.
Track what’s working and share what you learn. If your team isn’t learning from each submission (win or lose), you’re just repeating the same process and hoping for different results. Keep track of what resonates. Talk about what failed. Build a culture where every proposal leaves your team a little smarter.
This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing it better. And that mindset is what separates teams that grow from those that burn out.
Bonus Tip: What’s Your RFP Win Rate?
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Tracking this number shows how effective your team is at closing deals through proposals and helps spot trends early.
Here’s a super simple way to check how your proposals are doing:
RFP Win Rate = (RFPs Won ÷ RFPs Submitted) × 100
That’s it. It is ust one number, but it tells you a lot.
As we have already seen, the average RFP win rate in 2025 is 45%.
If you’re not tracking yours yet, this is a great place to start. It helps you see what’s working, what’s not, and where you might want to tweak your strategy next time
About Proposal.Biz
There’s no shortage of tools, tactics, or templates out there, but the teams that consistently win are the ones who know how to apply what actually matters. If you’ve read this far, you’re clearly trying to be one of them.
And that’s exactly the kind of team we’re building Proposal Biz for.
Proposal Biz is different from the RFP tools already in the market. It’s being designed from the ground up with input from teams who are in the trenches chasing deadlines, aligning stakeholders, managing content chaos, and trying to close real deals. We’re not here to replace your team. We’re here to help you make their work easier, faster, and more effective.
If that sounds like something you want early access to (or if you simply want to help shape the future of better proposals), join our insider waitlist. We’d love to build this with you.
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