What CEOs Really Think About Proposal Teams

NOTE TO READER: THIS IS A SHORTENED TRANSCRIPT.

Christina Carter: Ray, thank you so much for being on The Stargazy Brief. I really appreciate it.

Ray Meiring: Hey Chris, it’s awesome to be here. Thank you for having me.

Christina Carter: Most people listening already know who you are. You’re the CEO of CoreStox, now QorusDocs. You’ve been in this industry since 2012 and have seen huge changes in proposals and proposal technology. What do you think is the most exciting or important thing proposal professionals should be paying attention to right now?

Ray Meiring: I’ll give the cliché answer: AI. But genuinely, it’s making a substantial change. We’ve seen AI evolve from machine learning in the late 2010s to generative AI, which added big benefits. Now, with agentic capabilities, we’re seeing major gains in adoption.

Historically, using software meant learning steps: open this, click that, upload this. Now we can say, “Here are my documents. AI, take care of this and give me an outcome.” Then humans apply creativity and quality judgment.

The reasoning capability of AI agents is improving rapidly. We’ve all felt that jump personally with newer models. That’s what excites me most: removing mundane document work so proposal professionals can focus on creative and strategic thinking.

Christina Carter: You’re a CEO speaking to other CEOs, sales leaders, and managing partners. What are you hearing behind closed doors about RFPs and proposal teams that proposal leaders should know?

Ray Meiring: Everyone recognizes proposals are critical. What they don’t yet understand is how strategic the function has become.

Too often, RFPs are treated as something we have to do, not something we want to do. The conversation only happens when there’s risk or a loss. We need to shift that thinking toward proposals as part of a broader capture process that drives strategy and revenue.

That shift is happening behind closed doors, but it needs to happen faster.

Christina Carter: I see this constantly. Proposal teams are viewed as cost centers instead of revenue generators. What arguments or data should proposal leaders bring to change that perception?

Ray Meiring: Proposal teams need to be involved earlier in the end-to-end process. When win themes and strategy are developed collaboratively with sales, attorneys, or capture leads, win probability increases.

Handing work to the proposal team at the last minute doesn’t work. Proposals must be part of a cohesive, collaborative capture effort from the start.

Christina Carter: hat’s hard to do because of misconceptions about proposal work.

Ray Meiring: It is hard. One effective lever is proactive proposals. In legal or AEC, things like capability statements or smaller pitches introduce proposal discipline earlier. That builds trust and collaboration, which then carries into larger RFPs.

Christina Carter: Have you seen firms do this particularly well?

Ray Meiring: Yes, especially law firms shifting toward proactive work. Practitioners can generate capability statements themselves using AI, while proposal teams still own quality and governance. That builds trust because lawyers experience fast, high-quality outcomes and become advocates for the process.

Christina Carter: Proposal teams often focus heavily on compliance because requirements are strict. Are teams focusing too much on compliance at the expense of scoring and strategy?

Ray Meiring: Historically, yes. That’s where AI creates opportunity. AI can manage and validate compliance, freeing proposal teams to focus on value and win strategy.

Compliance will always matter, but as AI reduces the burden, teams can invest more time in what actually differentiates them.

Christina Carter: Many leaders don’t trust AI to handle compliance. They say humans still have to check everything, so time savings are minimal. What would you say to that?

Ray Meiring: I agree humans must remain in the loop. But reviewing AI output is very different from doing the work from scratch.

It’s like working with a lawyer: redlining a document is much faster than writing it. That’s still a productivity gain.

Second, AI is improving rapidly. Trust will increase over time. Today is the worst AI will ever be.

Christina Carter: When teams free up time, what strategies actually lead to wins?

Ray Meiring: Two areas stand out: evidence and value.

AI can surface options—CVs, case studies, experience—but humans choose what best fits the client and tailor it.

Second, value. Strong ROI narratives anchored early in the sales cycle dramatically increase win probability. That’s why we acquired a value management company. Winning isn’t about features; it’s about why the choice matters to the client.

Christina Carter: Before responding, how should teams decide which RFPs to pursue?

Ray Meiring:

It starts with relationships, especially in AEC and legal. Relationship-driven bids are hard to challenge.

One effective approach is looking backward: where were we forced to bid due to relationships, and what were the results? That data reframes the conversation around qualification.

Christina Carter: Are there universal qualification signals?

Ray Meiring: No one wants to be RFP fodder. If you’ve never spoken to the buyer before, that’s a major red flag in many industries.

AI can also surface immediate disqualifiers in RFPs. Ignoring those is risky and should weigh heavily in bid decisions.

Christina Carter: Is it worth pushing back when senior leaders insist on bidding?

Ray Meiring: es. Use data. Expect resistance. Build patterns over time showing what worked and what didn’t. It’s a difficult conversation, but it’s necessary.

Christina Carter: Many teams complain AI makes responses sound the same. How do teams stand out?

Ray Meiring: Most clients prefer their own boilerplate over AI-generated writing. AI should find and assemble existing content first.

For critical sections like executive summaries, we recommend AI write guidance, not the final text. Humans bring empathy, context, and value articulation.

Christina Carter: Beyond writing, where does AI save the most time?

Ray Meiring: Process. Standardizing RFP summaries, qualification analysis, clarifying questions, and workflows.

Writing is important, but AI’s biggest impact is orchestrating the end-to-end process.

Also, aesthetics matter deeply in AEC and legal. Visual quality, layout, and design influence perception. That’s not going away.

Christina Carter: Procurement teams use AI too. How is evaluation changing?

Ray Meiring: Transactional scoring will increasingly be AI-to-AI. Technical compliance and feasibility can be automated.

But executive summaries and strategic narratives will remain human-evaluated. Those are felt, not scored.

Christina Carter: So proposal managers become more strategic?

Ray Meiring: Absolutely. Earlier involvement, collaboration, personalization, value-driven storytelling, and AI-managed processes. Transactional work moves to agents.

Christina Carter: What separates top-performing teams?

Ray Meiring: They are data-driven and collaborative. They analyze everything, understand what wins, and are embedded in the business development cycle,not added at the end.

Christina Carter: Where can people find you and QorusDocs?

Ray Meiring: LinkedIn is best for connecting with me directly. You can also visit qorusdocs.com or connect through Stargazy.

Christina Carter: Thank you, Ray. This was fantastic.

Ray Meiring: Thank you, Chris. Great questions. I appreciate what you’re doing for the proposal community.