Our request for proposal RFPs are rough. Our response needs improvement. It’s not our forte. We’re seeing more and more of them. We want to get in on the action. How do we start winning a fair share?
Thoughts of the Day: Request for proposal RFPs are not all equal. Building a team and a template will help things go more smoothly. Make a schedule. Manage your time. Get good at doing RFPs. Then figure out where to get more of them.
Effect request for proposals RFP
Some request for proposal RFP request for proposal are going to be right for your business. Others a waste of time. Before you jump in, determine “right” or “waste of time” with the following questions:
- Why is the RFP issuer going out for bid? How much will low bid be a factor?
- Does anyone at the issuing company know about my company, or have reason to do business with us? If not, can we get intros to key players before the bid is awarded?
- Is there anything unique that we do that increases our chances of winning?
- Who has the business now? Are they bidding?
- Are there any likely “inside bidders” who are well known to the issuer, who have the ideal solution, who have a fast track to the finalist list? Can we partner with them?
- What is our goal: To get introduced for future consideration? To raise our visibility in the industry? To win the bid?
- How much will submittinng request for proposal cost in time, money and effort to respond? Can we afford to make that expenditure and not win? What would we do with our time if we didn’t respond?
- What will bidding and not winning do for our future prospects?
In addition to winning, bids can be an opportunity to get exposure. To introduce your company. Find out what other bidders are offering. Keep in mind your chances of winning. Before considering other factors, chances are 1/All Bids. Prretty small odds. If there’s an inside track and you’re not on it, your chance of winning drops through the floor.
Carefully consider all that you’ll have to go through to raise those odds.
Add clients and increase revenue
On the other hand, some industries live on bids. Getting into the bidding game can be a way to add clients and increase revenue. They may get your company in the door and qualified for future opportunities.
Prepare to respond. Pull together a request for proposal team – sales, marketing, operations, research & development, finance, human resources. Gather bids that have recently been awarded to your industry. Find out who won, and why. Cull through looking for common questions. Save time later by building persuasive boilerplate answers. Highlight your sizzle. Make your company’s advantages seem clearcut.
Get started. When you first open a new bid, make note of all deadlines. Bids usually have a due date for questions, a specific bid conference date, and of course final submission time. Put these dates on a calendar and make sure team members know them.
Win a major deal
Assign people to read the request for proposal bid in it’s entirety. Consider what your company has that’s unique to offer that increases its chances of winning. Can you handle the work if you win? Would an award take your company forward? Would winning be a diversion? Identify key issues posed by the bid. List things your company knows about that would be valuable. Hold a meeting to debate the bid.
Resolve the question: should the company respond. Layout a request for proposal plan of action for attacking the bid, including who, what, by when. Identify any specialists needed. Figure out if you should partner with another company. Hold periodic meetings to bring the bid team together for updates.
Looking for more bids? There are RFPs circulating all the time in most industries. Check your industry for bid lists. Ask customers and their peers if they ever use bids. Try government bid lists – state, county, local and federal. There are RFP monitoring services, and their subscription prices vary. Do an internet search for how to find RFPs, you’ll find a wealth of information.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION:
Looking for a good book? Request for Proposal: A Guide to Effective RFP Development, by Bud Porterl-Roth.
