Whether you’ve been invited to respond to an RFP or you found the posting online, coming across an RFP for a project that aligns with your business goals is an enticing prospect. RFPs are typically for large projects, and those large projects mean more revenue and often a better bottom line. While the opportunity might be tempting, there’s often just one thing standing in the way: how do you actually create a winning RFP response?

In this blog post, we’ll go over the RFP process and everything you need to know to create your best proposal.

What is a Request for Proposal (RFP)?

First things first: what is an RFP? RFP stands for Request for Proposal, and it is the formal process where a buyer solicits proposals from potential vendors to provide a product or service. RFPs in the public sector, such as government agencies and public school districts, are posted publicly and anyone can respond. RFPs for private organizations (as in, no government funding) are only sent out to organizations who they want to submit proposals.

Public sector RFPs tend to be longer and more complicated than those coming from private organizations. They also often have stricter compliance requirements and less flexibility if you don’t strictly adhere to their requirements. Fortunately, most RFPs clearly detail what is required.

RFP Response Process Overview

The RFP response process will closely align with the procurement process. Let’s take a look at this in more detail.

Request for Information (RFI)

Many organizations will release a Request for Information (RFI) before the RFP is released. During this stage, the buyer is trying to learn more about potential solutions that currently exist in the market and, in some cases, develop a better idea for what they should budget. The RFI is a great place to persuade the buyer that a solution like yours is the best option to ensure the RFP is aligned with what you do.

While most RFIs don’t require a response, there are a few that are mandatory if you want to proceed to the RFP stage. Before you decide to not submit a proposal, confirm if this is the case.

***Note: In the construction industry, RFIs may instead be called Request for Qualifications (RFQ). This is similar to an RFI, but they normally have a more defined project and solution in mind already, and the RFQ is released to narrow down the pool of vendors who are asked to respond to the RFP. Typically responding to the RFQ is mandatory to respond to the RFP, so pay attention if you see a Request for Qualifications come your way.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

After the RFI, the buyer will finalize what they need for the project and release the formal RFP. The RFP is where you will be asked to submit detailed information on how you will fulfill the request. If it’s for products, you will describe your products and provide specifications. Services projects will often ask you to respond to a Scope of Work and share information on your team. As stated above, most RFPs tell you exactly what you need to provide, which makes the process easier. Provide answers to questions, pricing, and completed forms as part of your RFP response.

Always read the RFP front-to-back to ensure you don’t miss anything.

Pre-Proposal Conference

Many organizations will have a conference shortly after the RFP is released to address any questions and allow you to hear directly from the customer why they are searching for a vendor. Some of these conferences are mandatory, and even if one isn’t, it’s still a good idea to attend to see who else might be bidding and ensure the opportunity is a good fit for your organization. Many times you can ask questions during this conference, so prepare a list in advance if desired.

Q&A Period

RFPs will also have a formal question period where bidders are invited to submit questions related to the technical, administrative, and legal requirements laid out in the RFP. Many RFPs have a specific format that you must follow when submitting questions. Always meet the deadline to ensure your questions are answered.

Most organizations will share a list of all questions that were asked and the answers with all bidders. For some private sector RFPs, they will instead respond to you directly and not share the questions. This normally is outlined in the RFP.

Proposal Development

Proposal development should begin as soon as you receive the RFP and decide to pursue the opportunity. The proposal development process varies at each organization, but all will include some element of the following areas:

Kickoff meetings. The kickoff meeting is an essential step in the proposal process. This meeting allows you to bring together all members of the proposal team (see below) to develop a proposal strategy, agree to a schedule, and assign sections of content. After the kickoff meeting, everyone should know what action to take to make the proposal a success.
Core Content Creation. Developing the core proposal content is the largest part of the process. This might involve collecting notes from a Subject Matter Expert, gathering financial data, or revising your company overview. The core proposal content includes responding directly to any questions or requirements in the RFP. Typically this takes several weeks and will require multiple status calls by the project/proposal manager to keep everyone on track.
References & Case studies. Any required references or case studies will be listed in the RFP, but this section is often tricky for organizations to pull together since it involves contacting existing clients. When you see this requirement in an RFP, contact potential references early to avoid last minute scrambling.
Pricing. Pricing is always a key part of the RFP process. Your team should develop a strategic approach to your pricing based on what you know about the customer and potential competitors.
Cover letter & Executive Summary. Some RFPs require these sections, and others don’t. Unless you have a strict page limit, including a cover letter is a nice way to add a personal touch and a human element to your proposal. Writing the cover letter and executive summary last will reduce the amount of revisions and ensure you create documents that accurately reflect your solution and competitive advantage.
Production & Submission. Once everything is finalized, it’s time to produce your proposal. For electronic submissions, this means saving the final version as a PDF (or in the format requested by the buyer) and submitting via email or a portal. Some organizations require hard copy submissions, which means production includes physically printing and mailing your proposal. If only a hard copy is requested, it is still best practice to send a flash drive with an electronic version as well.

RFP Deadline

The RFP deadline is the final date and time by which proposals must be received. Plan your production schedule to allow time to meet the deadline if there is a technical issue or an delay in shipping (for hardcopies).

Presentations

Most RFPs will include a presentation after the proposal deadline. Often the proposal portion is used to narrow down the list of presenters. In some cases, all organizations will be invited to present. This is typically outlined in the RFP.

Best and Final Offer

Some buyers, especially in the public sector, may ask you to submit a Best and Final Offer (BAFO), which is often revised pricing. Specific instructions on what is required will be provided by the buyer during the request.

Contract Negotiations

After presentations and any applicable BAFOs, you will enter into negotiations with the buyer. For some organizations, this is a very short process and simply a matter of signing the contract. In other cases, there will be extensive negotiations by both legal teams. This varies based on the scope of the project, the requirements within the contract, and how much your company is willing to agree to.

Once negotiations are completed, the contract is signed and the work begins.

Developing a Winning RFP Response

Now that you have a better idea of the RFP process, let’s take a look at what you need to develop a winning RFP response.

Proposal Team

First and foremost, to create a compelling proposal, you need a strong team. Winning an RFP is a group effort, and it’s helpful to have your team figured out before the RFP is released. On your team, you will need:

Proposal Writers. RFPs require a lot of content, and that means you need someone to write that content. This may be a group of writers, a sales person, a marketer, or the CEO, but whoever is writing the proposal should know as much about the RFP and the customer as possible to create great content.
Proposal Manager. A proposal manager is the project manager who develops the schedule and ensures all requirements are met. This role may be shared with the proposal writer (i.e. the same person writing and managing), but there should be only one main person managing the proposal to avoid confusion.
Sales Teams. The sales team typically knows the most about the customer and why they went to RFP. They should be involved in the RFP response process to share insight into customer pain points, challenges, and goals that can be addressed within the proposal content.
Subject Matter Experts. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are essential to creating proposal content that showcases your solution. SMEs will craft content for the section related to their area. For example, an engineer will write technical content while a project manager will share content on the project management process used to ensure project success.

Technologies

In addition to the people creating your proposal, you need technologies to finalize, format, and create your proposal. A few popular proposal technologies include:

Microsoft Word. Most organizations use Microsoft Word for writing and formatting their proposal.
Adobe InDesign. Organizations who have a designer on staff (or who specialize in design) will use Adobe InDesign to design the final proposal.
RFP Software. If you respond to RFPs regularly, there are several RFP softwares available to make the process easier. Examples include RFP360 and RFPIO.
Adobe Acrobat Pro. If you’re responding in the government sector, you will likely be asked to complete forms to include with your RFP response. Adobe Acrobat Pro makes it easy to merge the completed forms with your proposal in a final, customer-ready PDF.

Next Steps for Responding to RFPs

Now that you know a bit more about RFP responses, it’s time to get started on your own! If you need more guidance, check out our blog for tips, check out our RFP Response Template bundle or reach out for help.

Creating Your RFP Response: A Comprehensive Guide

What is a Request for Proposal (RFP)?