Score RFPs Before Submitting Your Intent to Respond

We’ve already discussed whether clients should bother issuing RFPs, but today we’re focusing on whether vendors should bother to bid. More often than not, the right answer is to politely decline. There exist plenty of vendor companies dominated by salespeople who are inextricably married to, even enamored of, RFPs. We encountered one organization whose senior leaders openly boasted, “We never met an RFP we didn’t like.” That...

Read More

Wired Bids and Red Flags

RFPs are supposed to be impartial. That doesn’t mean they are. Have you ever responded to a bizarre, seemingly impossible RFP and had that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” epiphany? Your gut may really be raising the alarm. To be fair, some poorly conceived RFPs result from the inexperience of the procurement groups issuing them. You will encounter, however, what we call “wired bids” -- documents constructed to...

Read More

Answer Direct Questions Directly

If you’re a proposal writer responding to an RFP, here is a surefire way to ruin what might have been a decent proposal: never, and I mean never, answer a direct question directly. When used properly, an RFP provokes thought, careful planning, innovation, and a solid basis for further discovery. Unfortunately, proposals are also driven by long and meticulous narrative. The offeror wants a thorough response, but brevity remains...

Read More

Quid Pro Quo: Sharing Information in Your RFP

“If I help you, Clarice, it will be turns with us too. Quid pro quo. I tell you things, you tell me things… Quid pro quo. Yes or no?” Taken in the very confined context of this scene from “Silence of the Lambs,” the relationship between a serial killer and a fledgling FBI agent strikes me as less dysfunctional and more productive, more honest, than many vendor-client engagements during the RFP stage. Here, Doctor Lecter represents...

Read More

Requesting Financials: Make Them Show You the Money

Success in the staffing industry is largely a numbers game. The retail security industry is quite similar. When crime plummets and peace of mind flourishes, alarm sales wane. After a major event, one that instills panic or the fear of compromised safety, alarm sales soar. Staffing isn’t much different. The profits of outsourced staffing providers are intrinsically tied to the fluctuations of the market. Their livelihoods depend...

Read More

Should You Issue an RFP for This Project?

To RFP or Not to RFP, That is the Question (Too Seldom Asked) The RFP process can be time-consuming and expensive. Drafting, distributing, reviewing, scoring, and evaluating responses requires the attention of numerous company resources. Those commitments cost money. And your pain doesn’t end after awarding the work to a successful bidder. New team members must then get involved to negotiate the contract terms, assist with...

Read More