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Getting started with RFx

PLACEHOLDER - A comprehensive guide to get your team up and running with AI-powered RFP management and product matching in minutes.

Last updated: December 1, 2025

Getting Started with OurFX

Welcome!

OurFX helps sales engineering teams respond to RFPs faster and more accurately by leveraging AI-powered semantic search to match requirements with product capabilities. This guide will help you get started in just a few steps.

Quick Start Checklist

  • [ ] Upload your first product and features
  • [ ] Create your first RFP
  • [ ] Import RFP requirements
  • [ ] Run your first match
  • [ ] Export results

Step 1: Build Your Product library

Your Product library is the foundation of accurate RFP matching. Start by documenting your product's features and capabilities.

Option A: Manual Entry

  1. Navigate to Library → Products

  2. Click New Product

  3. Fill in product details:

    • Product name
    • Product owner (your name or team lead)
    • Brief description

  4. Add individual features:

    • Feature number/ID
    • Category (e.g., Security, Integration, Analytics)
    • Feature name and description

Option B: CSV Upload (Recommended)

For faster setup, prepare a CSV file with your features:

Feature Number,Category,Feature,Description
SEC-001,Security,SSO Integration,Support for SAML 2.0 and OAuth 2.0 single sign-on
INT-002,Integration,REST API,Comprehensive REST API with rate limiting and webhooks
ANA-003,Analytics,Real-time Dashboard,Live analytics dashboard with customizable widgets
  1. Navigate to your product page
  2. Click Upload CSV
  3. Select your file
  4. Review the preview
  5. Confirm upload

The system will automatically generate embeddings for semantic search.

Step 2: Create Your First RFP

RFPs represent the opportunities you're working on.

  1. Navigate to RFPs

  2. Click New RFP

  3. Enter RFP details:

    • Title (e.g., "Acme Corp CRM RFP 2025")
    • Company (select or create)
    • Product (which product you're pitching)
    • Description
    • Submission date

  4. Select owner and status

Step 3: Add RFP Requirements

Requirements are the questions or criteria from the RFP that you need to address.

Option A: Manual Entry

  1. Open your RFP
  2. Navigate to Requirements tab
  3. Click Add Requirement
  4. Enter:
    • Question/requirement text
    • Category
    • Priority (if applicable)

Option B: CSV Upload (Recommended)

Prepare a CSV with requirements:

Category,Question,Priority
Security,Does the system support single sign-on?,High
Integration,Can the platform integrate with Salesforce?,High
Reporting,Are custom reports supported?,Medium
  1. Open your RFP
  2. Click Upload Requirements
  3. Select your CSV file
  4. Review and confirm

Step 4: Match Requirements to Features

Now for the magic! OurFX uses AI embeddings to find the best feature matches for each requirement.

  1. Open your RFP
  2. Navigate to Match tab
  3. Click Run Match
  4. Wait for the AI to process (usually < 30 seconds)
  5. Review match results:
    • Each requirement shows top matching features
    • Confidence scores indicate match quality
    • Green (high confidence), yellow (medium), gray (low)

Understanding Match Scores

  • 0.75+: Strong match - feature directly addresses requirement
  • 0.60-0.74: Good match - feature is relevant with some gaps
  • 0.40-0.59: Weak match - partial relevance, may need clarification
  • < 0.40: Poor match - consider manual review or "no match"

Step 5: Generate Answers

Use the AI assistant to draft responses to RFP questions.

  1. Navigate to Answer in the main menu
  2. Select your product
  3. Ask a question or paste an RFP requirement
  4. The AI will:
    • Search your feature library
    • Generate a contextual answer
    • Cite relevant features
    • Maintain your product's voice

Tips for Better Answers

  • Be specific in your questions
  • Reference technical requirements
  • Mention customer context when relevant
  • Review and edit AI responses before submission

Step 6: Export and Review

Export your matches for offline review and collaboration.

  1. From the Match tab, click Export to CSV
  2. Share with your team for review
  3. Use exported data in your RFP response document
  4. Update match status as you complete each requirement

Best Practices

Product library Maintenance

  • Update features when new capabilities are released
  • Use consistent naming conventions
  • Include detailed descriptions for better matching
  • Organize with clear categories

RFP Management

  • Create RFPs as soon as opportunities arise
  • Update status throughout the sales cycle
  • Archive closed RFPs for historical reference
  • Tag related RFPs by customer or industry

Team Collaboration

  • Assign RFP owners clearly
  • Share insights from successful RFPs
  • Build a library of reusable answers
  • Document common objections and responses

Common Questions

How accurate is the AI matching? Match accuracy improves with detailed feature descriptions. Typical accuracy is 80-90% for well-documented products.

Can I edit AI-generated answers? Yes! Always review and customize AI responses to match your style and add customer-specific details.

How many features should I document? Start with your top 50-100 core features, then expand. More features = better coverage.

What if there's no good match? If match scores are low, it may indicate a feature gap or unclear requirement. Review manually and consider adding to your roadmap.

Can multiple people work on the same RFP? Yes, team members can collaborate on RFPs within your organization.

Next Steps

Ready to dive deeper?

  • Read Sales Engineering... Prompt Engineering for advanced AI techniques
  • Check out Keeping Product Knowledge Fresh for maintenance strategies
  • Explore the Chat feature for ad-hoc product questions
  • Join our community for tips and best practices

Getting Help

If you need assistance:

  • Check the help articles in the main navigation
  • Contact your account manager
  • Email support@ourfx.ai
  • Visit our documentation site

Happy RFP responding!