If a supplier did all 20 of these, they'd win the RFP

Okay, it’s time. You’ve met the pre qualification criteria. Maybe you’ve even taken part in a Request for Information (RFI). I can tell you now that it’s show time.

If the business has decided to go all in on an RFP, it’s because the Procurement mandate is strong and the business is completely committed to the purchasing decision.

I’ve run hundreds of RFPs in my career and am amazed at how many things most suppliers get wrong.

The opportunities they miss that would make all the difference to their chances. Yet they never spot them.

The very best suppliers truly get it and that’s why more often or not they win. But there’s so many that just miss the cues and end up wasting so much time and resource in an RFP response they’ve unknowingly self-sabotaged.

Here’s the top 20 things that go on in an RFP, that if you (Sales) knew, would triple your success rate:

1. The evaluation criteria (that isn’t documented anywhere)

Seems a bit unfair doesn’t it? I’m not saying a well run RFP is not objective. But there’s a lot of things Procurement teams and the rest of the business are judging that are not on the scorecard….

2. Timeliness is next to Godliness

when it comes to the RFP. Most suppliers rule themselves out if they miss the basic deadlines set out on the first page.

Yet so many will miss the first deadline, the acknowledgement of receipt of the RFP or the 2nd deadline for them to have asked any questions ahead of submitting their response.

Why is this so important? It’s like dating. You don’t want your prospective partner to be late on the first few dates. You need to build trust, you need to feel the supplier takes the opportunity seriously.

3. Politeness and communication

Procurement doesn’t always get it right. Nor are we so hard-nosed or uncaring that we don’t accept there could be a genuine reason the submission deadline or proposed presentation demos are impossible for you to meet (e.g. sickness or holidays, or perhaps a pre planned conference).

All Procurement expects in this situation is for you to communicate quickly and politely to let us know. Again, think of the dating analogy, it’s about building trust and respect.

But more than this, it shows you respect the process and helps us to re-organise the timelines and communicate with the other vendors.

4. Asking questions on the final day is an ‘amber flag’

We know and respect that it may take time to review the document and don’t expect you to jump straight in.

But when you throw across questions on the very last day that questions are allowed within the framework of the RFP, it demonstrates you really are not dedicated to us as a client.

You usually don’t have just one opportunity to ask questions so they don’t all need to be saved up until the end. There’s often a window of 10 days or more and the suppliers that use this window well, tend to deliver the best response to the RFP itself.

5. Not reading the document properly is a definite ‘red flag’

So many RFP responses are incorrectly submitted or incomplete. Sometimes really clear and obvious steps are missed, such as the Terms and Conditions tick lists, or the commercial components.

We’re not marking your homework in finite detail, we accept sometimes there can be human error, but when there are whole sections missing or basic instructions that have been ignored, no matter how good your product or service, it raises serious concerns.

6. Just drop the sales literature, I’ll say it again for those at the back of the room DROP IT!

Unless there has been a specific request for it in the RFP, sales literature just winds us all up. An RFP takes considerable time and effort for suppliers but think of the evaluation panel who have to sift through a number of responses.

We don’t care if your marketing team has insisted you include the fancy 20 slide powerpoint deck telling us all about your company. When you submit the RFP please just ‘forget to attach it’.

7. Specific and Targeted wins every time

We know you have a good product and it’s a viable option. We wouldn’t have invited you otherwise. But make your RFP response all about how your product is right for us.

It doesn’t matter whether you are market leading or top right on the Gartner quadrant. If you can’t demonstrate within the RFP response why specifically you are the right fit for us, you are unlikely to win.

Research us, know the market, go back to step 4 and ask all the right questions. Then target your response towards showing how your product addresses all our challenges.

8. Mess with the process or act underhand and you’re out

I know that sounds harsh but I have to reiterate this. It’s vital in Public Procurement that there is integrity throughout the process for all sorts of public interest reasons.

But pretty much the same applies in a good private business. If we tell you contact is restricted to a named person on the document throughout the process, we really mean it. Procurement teams are hot on this but so are most business functions too.

Respect the process.

9. Playing the hierarchy game is also a huge no!

So many times I’ve been responsible for running an RFP and the account manager (often from the incumbent supplier) is playing ball, but there are other conversations being broached at a senior level (even CEO Level) by your sales Director or CEO that tells us everything we need to know about your integrity.

Just don’t do it. Those times are over. Respect and trust the process. Play fair to win. Don’t piss people off.

10. There’s no such thing as a free lunch

Like really, there isn’t! Think that one through. You could be a 21 year old junior Procurement officer and you’d know that. So when your business gets a sniff that we might be going to market, or if you are an incumbent supplier and you think you can ‘buy’ favour by hospitality, it doesn’t work. It will be shut down.

It also raises more questions than you’d think. “Why is this supplier so worried?” “What have they got to hide?” “Why are they trying to throw money at us now?

A well run Procurement process will specifically preclude any hospitality anyway, so do not offer it. Respect fairness and respect the other parties in the way you’d want them to respect you.

11. The Demo is a golden opportunity

The RFP response is very often ‘the CV that gets you the interview’. But first impressions at the product demonstration phase really can make or break.

Make sure your technology is working well, your demo is slick and will fit with the time (allowing for questions) and most importantly you have the expert in the room who can answer all the product questions.

12. It’s okay if you can’t answer it all in the demo though

But remember points 2 and 3. Timeliness and communication is key, as well as the common courtesy to follow up on any promises.

If you say you don’t know the answer to a question and will get back to us, that’s fine. Just follow up on that commitment within 24 hours where possible. Again, this helps to build trust.

13. The Demo is also an opportunity for you to find out more

Don’t hesitate to use the session to understand your potential customer further. It’s not all just about showing what your product can do. The best demonstrations I’ve chaired have turned into truly collaborative sessions that have also helped build understanding and rapport.

14. The Demo is your one chance to meet all of the Evaluation panel (so use it well!)

9 times out of 10, this is when everyone that is evaluating your product is meeting you and possibly the only time for you to build connection and rapport with the very people scoring your solution.

Treat everyone with respect, don’t just aim your responses at one person that you believe to be the decision maker.

Go at a pace that everyone can keep up with and check regularly in case anyone has any questions.

A well run Procurement process is democratic and objective which means hierarchy doesn’t come into it. Focus on delivering for everyone in that room and show you understand their differing perspectives and wants from your product.

15. A post demo ‘thank you’ is an opportunity most sales teams miss

Not only does this again show politeness and respect, but it’s also an opportunity for you to check you answered everything we needed.

This post demo ‘thank you’ is also an opportunity for you to keep that dialogue going in the phase where you’ll often feel blanked or ‘ghosted’ as the evaluation process can take a while.

16. It ain’t over till it’s over

Most sales teams submit the RFP, run a presentation or demo session and then sit back and move on to the next thing.

I’ve run many an RFP where the final results have been inconclusive. Often it can be neck and neck between two viable options.

I’m not saying you should break the process or hound the Procurement team, but don’t be afraid to check in afterwards.

Perhaps think of a few customer challenges that were discussed in the demonstration. Then drop a line with further thoughts about how your product or service can help address those challenges.

17. Show price flexibility but don’t destroy credibility

There is very little more frustrating to the Procurement team than a supplier who slashes their price post RFP in a dramatic bid to steal the win.

Of course, offering flexibility in the pricing model is a good thing but if you’ve managed to slash the price by 25% post the RFP to such an extent that your initial proposal lacked credibility then again trust is eroded.

18. The contracting stage is key

And it’s so often underestimated by suppliers. Don’t let this become an endless battle of the forms. Ensure your legal team is apprised of the deal that has been struck and that you are still sticking by the key terms documented within the RFP.

There have been many situations where a sales team has successfully won the RFP, only to subsequently lose the deal during the contracting process.

19. And this means even if you’ve lost, there’s still a chance

If you were unsuccessful in the RFP, a good timeframe to check back in would be 30 days after you receive the call and then again 90 days after that call. At this stage the prospective client will have a good gauge on the ‘successful’ supplier and there may well be an opportunity for you to save the day.

Don’t hound the Procurement team but it’s a good idea to keep in touch.

20. Get someone else to attend the ‘feedback session’

If you’ve not been successful, all good Procurement teams will offer a 30 minute feedback session to show you how to improve. We’ll discuss the process, the demo, how well you presented, and areas to improve.

The likelihood is though that you may feel personally responsible and potentially prickly from the feedback. Get someone else neutral in your business to hear the feedback and pass it back to you.

This is again a golden opportunity for you to hone your RFP responses to up your success rate for future bids, but so few sales people take this part seriously.

Get all these 20 right, and I bet the RFP will go well!