What makes an excellent RFP?
Responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP) is usually a lengthy and painful course of. And but, it’s develop into a vital a part of gross sales.
Everybody who responds to an RFP has an image of their thoughts of what the successful submission seems like.
Will or not it’s me or another person who wins this deal? What makes the most effective response? Is it the font?
(Trace: it’s not the font)
I’ve seen lots of of proposals over time. And whereas there’s no precise science, there are some repeatable methods that may enhance your odds of successful.
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Listed here are the 5 RFP greatest methods:
1. Don’t write notes, write responses.
I’m all the time baffled by a number of the brevity of the responses.
Rushed solutions like “Sure. No. Perhaps sooner or later. We don’t do this.” won’t assist your case. They give the impression of being extra like scribbled notes than an expert response to a proposal.
Brief, unexplained solutions go away room for the shopper to fill within the blanks. That’s not going to enhance your possibilities of successful.
All the time attempt to clarify your solutions. When you don’t meet a requirement, clarify why.
We get it, you need to spend as little time writing as potential. Assuming you’re not already utilizing an RFP automation device, that is smart. However think about how a lot effort your buyer places into crafting the proposal doc. It will profit you to reciprocate that effort in your solutions.
2. Much less is extra
In that very same vein, let me advise you to not deal with the RFP such as you’re writing a e book.
An efficient RFP doesn’t have to learn prefer it was written by an expert writer. Each reply doesn’t must be a college-level dissertation.
There’s somebody on the opposite finish of that submission who has to make sense of your solutions. So hold your solutions to the purpose and trim the fats the place potential.
For instance, as a substitute of writing 3 paragraphs in your community structure, embody a diagram. This leads us to our subsequent level.
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3. Embody hyperlinks to supporting content material
You get a query like this:
“Do you assist [insert obscured integration here]?”
You reply “Sure.”
The shopper might be going to ask “How do you do this?”
As a substitute of ready for the inevitable follow-up query, embody your supporting materials upfront. Hyperlink to net pages, paperwork, or diagrams that may assist clarify your response.
Most RFP response templates include a “supporting data/rationalization” part so be certain that to make use of it. Even when they don’t, you’ll be able to all the time add extra depth to your solutions or submit content material alongside your submitted RFP supplies. Who’s going to cease you?
4. Ask questions
This can be a nice solution to hold your buyer engaged throughout the RFP course of.
Far too usually, respondents will full an RFP and throw it over the wall. Then they wait, hoping for a response. This isn’t a successful technique, and extended episodes of silence can damage your deal.
Asking your prospect questions all through the method can’t solely hold you within the dialog, you need to use these as alternatives to disclose details about the aggressive course of.
Clarifying questions on necessities can be vital to writing a successful response. Don’t suppose it makes you look “weak” – the fact is most respondents won’t meet each requirement for a venture. Getting readability on what’s actually vital to the client can significantly enhance your odds of successful.
Listed here are some examples:
- “Why did you ask this explicit requirement, is it one thing you’re seeing from opponents?”
- “How vital is that this requirement? Do you know you may get higher outcomes with XYZ?”
- “ABC is on our roadmap. How do you suggest we reply to this query?”
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5. Deal with buyer objections preemptively in your response
Among the best issues you are able to do is to make use of the responses as a way of objection dealing with.
Each RFP is actually an asynchronous gross sales dialogue in written type.
Fake you’re having a dialog and the shopper challenges you on a specific requirement. Are you simply going to surrender on the decision proper then and there?
Clearly not.
So when confronted with a difficult RFP requirement, struggle again and clarify your case.
Embody trap-setting questions the shopper can ask your opponents. For laborious necessities you don’t meet, ask the shopper why these necessities are vital. Clarify alternate options and supply buyer proof for the way they will go about the issue together with your answer.
Each reply is a chance to embed one thing you do higher than the competitors.
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Bonus: Listed here are 3 RFP practices to keep away from
- Not Responding
This can be a frequent piece of gross sales recommendation:
“Don’t reply except you understand you’re ready to win.”
Sure, you need to keep away from losing time on an RFP the place you’re not greatest positioned to win. Nevertheless, declining to reply to a chance shouldn’t be a method.
It is best to have the ability to shortly decide in the event you’re simply getting used as a comparability to somebody who has already received the seller choice course of. If not, then there’s no motive why you shouldn’t reply - Ready till the final minute
Early fowl will get the worm. You don’t need to be the final firm to submit on the eleventh hour. It doesn’t matter if the choice course of takes weeks, and even months. Getting the RFP completed shortly will mean you can get again to promoting.
Far too usually, we see firms delay the method to some extent the place it seems like they’re submitting a rushed e book report on the final minute. - Assuming nobody reads the doc
Nobody’s REALLY going to learn these large responses, Proper?
Unsuitable.
The truth is that the majority firms that run vendor picks have devoted staff members who handle the method. That’s a mistake that may lead you to poor/incomplete responses.
Keep in mind, “assumption is the mom of all.”
Conclusion
Responding to an RFP is painful. We get it.
However what’s actually painful is losing the chance on a sub-par response.
Comply with these pointers to generate responses that may enhance your possibilities of success.
Picture by Drazen Zigic on Freepik
