If you spend more time copying and pasting boilerplate into RFPs than actually thinking, you’re not alone. Most teams waste hours wrestling with the same questions over and over—usually because their “automation” is just a Google Doc and wishful thinking. This is for anyone who wants to actually make Loopio work for them, not just tick a box for the boss.
Here’s how to automate the repetitive parts of RFP responses in Loopio, step by step—with the ugly truths, shortcuts, and real pitfalls you should know.
Why Bother Automating RFP Responses?
Let’s be clear: Automation won’t magically win deals, but it will save your sanity. The goal isn’t to turn your team into robots; it’s to kill the copy-paste grind and free up time for the answers that actually need a human touch.
When you do this right, you: - Cut response time (sometimes by half—seriously) - Reduce errors and inconsistencies - Make onboarding new team members much less painful
But if you just dump all your past answers into Loopio and call it a day, you’ll create a bloated mess that slows everyone down. So, let’s do this the smart way.
Step 1: Get Your Content House in Order
1.1 Inventory What You Have
Before Loopio can automate anything, you need a solid library of content. Don't skip this. If you feed Loopio junk, it’ll spit junk right back.
- Gather your past RFPs, proposals, and security questionnaires.
- Identify the repeat offenders—the questions that show up again and again.
- Cut out anything that's outdated, too specific, or full of legalese nobody understands.
Pro Tip: If you’re not sure, ask your subject matter experts (SMEs) what they’re sick of answering. That’s your gold.
1.2 Clean Up the Content
- Rewrite answers so they’re clear, accurate, and can be reused with minimal editing.
- Remove client-specific info (“Acme Corp” doesn’t need to be in your template).
- Tag each answer with keywords, products, regions, or anything that’ll help you find it later.
What to Ignore: Don’t waste time on one-off questions or stuff that changes every quarter.
Step 2: Build Your Loopio Library (The Right Way)
2.1 Structure Your Library
Loopio lets you organize content into categories and folders. This isn’t busywork—it’s what makes fast searches possible later.
- Create broad categories (e.g., “Security,” “Compliance,” “Product Features”).
- Use folders or tags for sub-categories (“ISO 27001,” “Data Encryption,” etc.).
- Keep it simple. If your folder tree looks like a genealogy chart, you’ve gone too far.
2.2 Import and Format Your Content
- Use Loopio’s import tools (CSV upload is fastest for bulk content).
- Double-check formatting—bulleted lists, tables, links—so answers aren’t an unreadable wall of text.
- Assign owners to each answer. Someone needs to keep it up to date, or you’ll end up with zombie content.
What Works: Short, direct answers with clear tags. What Doesn’t: Dumping in every document you’ve ever written.
Step 3: Set Up Automation Rules
3.1 Use Magic (But Not Blindly)
Loopio’s “Magic” feature can auto-suggest answers by matching questions to your library. It works, but only if your content is clean and well-tagged.
- Enable Magic in your project settings.
- Set confidence levels—higher means fewer, more accurate matches.
- Test it on a real RFP before trusting it with live responses.
Reality Check: Magic won’t catch subtle context changes (“Describe your SOC 2 process” vs. “How do you maintain SOC 2 compliance?”). Review everything.
3.2 Set Up Custom Fields and Workflows
- Use custom fields to flag content that needs legal, technical, or executive review.
- Assign SMEs to categories so Loopio routes new or changed questions to the right people.
- Automate reminders for reviews—Loopio can nag people for you, so you don’t have to.
Step 4: Train Your Team (and Yourself)
Don’t assume everyone will just “figure it out.” Most automation fails because the team sticks to old habits.
- Run a short session to show how to search, edit, and flag answers.
- Make it clear which questions should always get a human review.
- Share a one-pager or cheat sheet—nobody reads 50-page manuals.
What Works: Quick demos and real examples. What Doesn’t: Hoping people will read the help docs.
Step 5: Test the Whole Flow
Before you roll this out for a big deal, run a full dry run with a real RFP.
- Assign roles as you would for a real response.
- Time each step—see where things still slow down or break.
- Ask for honest feedback. If people are still copy-pasting from old docs, figure out why.
Don’t Skip: Actually submit a test RFP and see how the final doc looks. Formatting surprises are common.
Step 6: Maintain and Improve
Automation isn’t set-and-forget. Your content will rot if nobody owns it.
- Schedule regular reviews (quarterly is fine for most teams).
- Track which answers get used most—and which are ignored or always rewritten.
- Prune or update content that’s outdated or no longer relevant.
- Celebrate when you cut your response time—then tighten things up more.
What Works: Keeping things simple and ruthless editing. What Doesn’t: Letting your library bloat because “someone might need it someday.”
Honest Pitfalls and What to Watch Out For
- Garbage in, garbage out: Loopio can’t fix bad content.
- Over-automation: Not every question should have a canned answer—review the critical stuff.
- Tag sprawl: Too many tags or folders makes searching harder, not easier.
- Team buy-in: If people don’t trust the system, they’ll ignore it. Show small wins early.
Quick Reference: What to Automate, What to Skip
Automate: - Standard company boilerplate (security, compliance, company facts) - Product descriptions that don’t change often - Process overviews
Skip (or review every time): - Pricing and SLAs - Client-specific use cases - Anything legal or custom
Final Thoughts: Start Simple, Iterate Often
You don’t need to automate everything on day one. Get the basics working: a clean library, clear categories, and a team that actually uses the system. Improve as you go. The less you try to do at once, the more likely you are to actually save time—and keep your team (mostly) sane.
Don’t let the promise of “automation” trick you into building a monster you can’t maintain. Keep it tight, review regularly, and use the time you save for the parts of RFPs that actually matter.
Now go reclaim your day.