Glossary

RFx Fundamentals

RFP Process

Go/No-Go Decision

An internal checkpoint to decide whether to pursue a potential RFP opportunity. It typically considers fit, resources, timeline, and likelihood of winning.

Sample RFP Response

A mock or real-world example of a completed RFP submission. Often used for training or to streamline future proposals by templatizing high-performing answers.

RFP Cover Letter

A brief introductory document that summarizes your proposal, highlights key strengths, and sets the tone for how your company can best meet the client’s needs.

RFP Evaluation

The process of reviewing and scoring submitted proposals based on pre-defined criteria like cost, fit, compliance, and vendor experience.

RFP Win Rate

The percentage of submitted proposals your organization wins, showing how effectively your team converts RFP responses into successful deals.

Security & Compliance

Security Questionnaires

Detailed surveys used by buyers to assess a vendor's security, compliance, and data protection practices — often required in enterprise sales cycles.

Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ)

A comprehensive assessment tool used by buyers to evaluate a vendor's operational, financial, legal, and security practices before entering into a business relationship. DDQs are especially common in regulated industries and enterprise procurement.

Security Questionnaire Automation

Software tools that streamline the process of completing, managing, and reusing answers to security questionnaires.

SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2)

A widely recognized compliance standard developed by the AICPA that evaluates how a company manages customer data based on five trust principles: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. SOC 2 certification demonstrates a vendor's commitment to maintaining strong data protection and operational controls.

Proposal Management

Procurement

Sales & Presales

Presales Enablement

The tools, content, and processes that help presales engineers or solution consultants effectively support deals — from discovery to demos.

Presales Automation

Technology that streamlines tasks performed by presales or solutions engineering teams. Presales automation tools help qualify opportunities, prepare tailored demos, and generate technical responses more efficiently — reducing manual effort before the proposal stage.

Sales Enablement Software

Platforms that equip sales teams with the content, data, and tools needed to engage prospects effectively. Sales enablement software centralizes assets like decks, one-pagers, and case studies, often integrating analytics and AI recommendations to improve buyer interactions and close rates.

Deal Desk Automation

The use of workflow software to manage deal approvals, pricing, and contract reviews across sales, finance, and legal teams. Deal desk automation ensures accuracy, speeds up approval cycles, and improves visibility into deal health and compliance.

Glossary FAQ

Quick answers to common questions about RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, DDQs, and security questionnaires.

What’s the difference between an RFI, RFP, and RFQ?

RFIs explore capabilities, RFPs evaluate solutions, and RFQs compare pricing. Start with an RFI, then progress to an RFP or RFQ as requirements solidify.

How does automation improve response quality and speed?

Automation centralizes approved answers, routes tasks to SMEs, and generates first drafts so teams spend time on tailoring—not copy-paste.

Do we still need SME reviews if we use AI?

Yes. AI accelerates drafting and retrieval, while SMEs validate accuracy, nuance, and compliance before submission.

How do security questionnaires and DDQs fit into the RFx process?

They typically run alongside or after RFPs to validate security, privacy, and operational controls for procurement and risk teams.

Which tools does Iris integrate with?

Iris connects with common GTM and security stacks (e.g., Slack, Salesforce, Chrome extension, and more) to keep work in-flow.

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