6 Dos and Don'ts of Responding to RFPs
Winning RFPs can be life changing for a business. By their very nature, RFPs are large projects that require a lot of work and management – and they come with the associated cost. Winning an RFP takes an equal amount of work, and this blog post breaks down a few of the Dos and Don’ts of responding to RFPs.
Don’t: Only Respond to RFPs You Find Online
The first thing you should not do is focus on RFPs that you find through online databases. While this is helpful for understanding what organizations are buying, many times your competitors have already spoken with the buyer before it goes to RFP, and you face an uphill battle to show why your company is a better choice.
Responding to RFPs with no relationship (often called “blind RFPs”) can work in some cases, but you will need to determine if it’s worth investing all of the time into creating proposals for projects that might not win.
Do: Build Relationships First
Instead of responding to blind RFPs, focus on building relationships with buyers, partners, suppliers, and anyone else who will be essential to winning the project. Your business development or capture team should focus on identifying organizations that have a need for your offering and develop relationships with them well in advance of the RFP. This will position you to win in the long run, and might even result in smaller projects that don’t require an RFP.
Don’t: Respond to RFPs if you have no references
Because RFPs are for large, complicated projects, they are a risky investment for the customer. Many, if not all, RFPs require references, testimonials, case studies, or some similar information to show that you have done similar work for other customers. If an RFP requires this information and you don’t have it, it’s better to focus on building references with smaller projects than to spend time creating the proposal that likely won’t win.
Do: Subcontract to build reference base and reputation
If you want to get references for RFPs but are unsure where to start, a great option is to team up with a Prime bidder on a larger project where your company acts as the subcontractor. This is especially popular in the public sector as many government and education entities want experience with their specific industry. In doing this, you can test the water with a new service area without the added work of being the prime contractor.
Don’t: Use Low Price as Your Win Strategy
It’s tempting to price low to win a few contracts as you build your portfolio. While this can be a good strategy in some cases, if you aren’t strategic with your approach, it can actually turn off buyers. Pricing too low will create an assumption that you don’t fully understand the scope of work, reducing your credibility as a company. If you don’t account for unexpected costs well, you may end up with a contract where you’re losing money rather than earning a profit.
Do: Value-Based Pricing
Value-based pricing is the way that many companies price and what most buyers expect to see. With this approach, you provide quality service or products with a lot of value to the customer and price accordingly. The goal isn’t to be the lowest cost bidder, but to instead be the one who provides the most value for the amount of money.
Don’t: Bid on a Tight Deadline
You learn about an RFP three days before it’s due, and it’s the perfect opportunity for your company. Naturally, you drop everything to spend the next few days creating the proposal.
While this may be tempting, it’s not the best idea. The first question to ask is: why didn’t we learn about this earlier? If you find out right before the deadline, it means there are likely other companies that the customer notified when the RFP was released, making them the preferred vendors. Even if that’s not the case, you’re unlikely to create a competitive proposal on that short of a timeframe, especially if it’s a complex project.
In cases such as this, it’s better to take notes on the questions they’re asking to create responses for future opportunities.
Do: Allow Time to Plan and Strategize
If you’ve focused on building relationships, then you should learn about the RFP well in advance of the deadline. Many times you will know before it is even released, and that gives you plenty of time to begin crafting your content and gathering any other information you may need for the proposal.
When you learn of the RFP within a few days of its release, quickly vet the opportunity to determine if it’s a good fit. If not, drop it and don’t waste time creating content. If it is a good opportunity, then start working on the proposal immediately to ensure you hit the deadline. When working with RFP timelines, it’s important to make fast decisions to not waste any preparation time.
Don’t: Copy and Paste the Same Proposal
If you submitted a good (or winning!) proposal in the past, you may want to simply copy and paste that proposal to reuse for future opportunities.
While this saves time, it comes with many challenges. First, you need to understand why that proposal resonated with the client to ensure it will with the new lead. Second, it’s easy to transfer over information that was specific to that project and doesn’t align with the new opportunity. This can result in confusion with the new customer or commit you to work that you weren’t intending.
Do: Customize to the Client
Instead of copy and pasting, you can use your content library as a starting point and customize it for the new customer. You’ll want to add in any pieces of information that show you understand their goals and pain points (see above) and can help them to achieve it along the way.
You don’t need to write every proposal from scratch. Instead, create a content library that is easy to customize for each opportunity while sharing the same relevant information.
Don’t: Assume They Know Technical Jargon
Another big mistake that happens way too often is using jargon that the reader might not know. Many words and phrases might be common to those in your industry, but an organization is buying from you because you are the expert, which means they often aren’t in your industry. Using too much jargon can make your proposal difficult to understand and sometimes push away the reader.
Do: Write to the Evaluation Committee
Focus on using language that speaks to the evaluation committee. This means avoiding jargon, using the terms they use in the RFP, and speaking with their goals in mind.
Avoiding these common mistakes and following the steps for improvement will help your RFP response stand out and increase your win rates.