RFP Process: A Seller’s Guide
Understanding the RFP process as a seller is critical to your success. Each phase of the RFP process provides an opportunity to connect with the customer and position your company to win the contract. By developing an approach for each phase of the RFP process, you will see your RFP win rates increase and your business grow.
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Pre-Request
Before companies release an RFI or an RFP, they work through the Buyer’s Journey steps to identify their challenge and how to resolve it. During this phase, buyers will research potential vendors, learn about applicable solutions, and develop their goal to solving their problem.
It is important as a seller to make sure that your company is on their radar at this phase. If you create a marketing, business development or capture plan that places you in front of these customers at this beginning stage in the process, you will position your company for success during the actual RFP.
Request for Information (RFI)
A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal request to learn more about potential solutions to a challenge. RFIs tend to be the first round of the process where the organization learns more about potential vendors. However, not every organization releases an RFI before an RFP, which means you should be prepared in case they move directly to the RFP.
The RFI is not the phase where you should submit pricing and detail your solutions. Instead, use the RFI as a way to guide the customer to create an RFP that will work in your favor. For example, if you create a custom-built solution and competitors offer off-the-shelf, highlight in the RFI why a custom-built solution is a better approach for the organization’s specific challenge. You might be able to narrow down the future RFP field.
Some organizations require vendors to “pass” the RFI in order to be invited to the RFP. Keep this in mind when deciding if you should respond to an RFI or not. In some cases, you might not be able to bid on the RFP and will automatically miss out on that opportunity.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal request for proposed solutions, with pricing, to address the customer’s challenge. The RFP includes several key steps for which you should be prepared.
Pre-Bid Conference
The Pre-Bid conference is your opportunity to join a call or meeting to hear directly from the procurement team about the project and what they expect. This conference allows you to ask questions directly to the customer and receive a response on the spot.
Keep in mind, however, that all of your competitors are at the conference as well. If you ask pointed questions about your solution, you may give away valuable information on your proposal strategy, which they can counter in their proposal. Take notes during the conference to learn what other companies are bidding, their approaches, and how you might be able to compete.
Note: not all RFPs include a Pre-Bid conference. This tends to be early in the process, so thoroughly read the RFP to make sure you don’t miss the date.
Question Period
Typically RFPs include a question period where you are able to ask anything related to the RFP or the project. Most organizations share all questions and answers with every bidder, which means you should take a similar approach to the pre-bid conference. Ask questions that are absolutely essential to creating your proposal, but don’t ask anything that can give away your position to your competitors.
Some organizations have very strict requirements for submitting questions that must be followed. Always submit questions exactly as outlined in the RFP and pay attention to the deadline. Miss the question deadline and your questions likely won’t be answered. If you use a method to provide the questions that was not detailed in the RFP, such as emailing when they said to use a portal, the questions also might not be answered, or worse, you may be tossed from the RFP for not following the rules (it sounds extreme, but it does happen).
Proposal Development
From the moment you receive the RFP, you should start your proposal development process. The first step is to understand the format that you need to follow in your response. Most RFPs detail a specific format, but in cases where they don’t, you can create your own.
Before you create content, you should first establish a proposal story and key themes to highlight throughout your response. To do this, identify the main pain points of the customer, how your business solves them, and any unique differentiating factors that make you more qualified than your competitors. Incorporate these points throughout your proposal to connect directly with the customer. Make sure you use the executive summary and cover letter as a way to introduce your story.
Presentations
After you submit your proposal, you’ll wait to hear back on if you’re invited to present. Some organizations have specific requirements for how you should approach the presentation. No matter what their requirements are, however, you should align the key themes of your presentation with those established in your proposal. Maintaining a consistent message across the different mediums will show trustworthiness, credibility, and authority.
Best and Final Offer (BAFO)
Some organizations will request a Best and Final Offer (BAFO). During this phase, you will be asked to submit a lower offer than what you provided with your proposal (if possible). Some RFPs will indicate if this phase is likely, and if that’s the case, make sure you price during the proposal with room to lower if asked.
Contract Negotiation
The final step of the RFP process is contract negotiation. Here, the two legal teams will work together to create a final, mutually agreed upon contract. It is best practice to provide any redlines or exceptions as part of the proposal (especially if asked), which can speed up the negotiation process.
Some organizations simply require that you agree to their contract with no room for negotiation. Your company will have to decide if this is something you can accept in these cases.
Award
Finally, after all of these steps, an award decision is made! If you’re responding to a government or other public RFP, oftentimes an official award will be announced at a board meeting or on their website for all vendors to see.
Post-Bid
After the RFP process, hold a debrief meeting to determine what went well and what didn’t to improve next time. If you’re responding to public agencies, use the debrief phase to submit a FOIA request to review proposals submitted by competitors to the RFP. You can then use this information to better develop your strategy for next time.
Conclusion
The RFP process is filled with red tape and a lot of time, but winning that coveted large contract is worth it. Take the time at each stage to develop an approach and strategy to increase your likelihood of winning. Don’t forget to celebrate each time you make it to the next stage to avoid burnout during this lengthy process.