Say No to RFPs

As a new consultant, or salesperson looking to meet a quota, an RFP (Request for Proposal) can seem like manna from heaven. And now, I’m going to tell you to say no to it. You may think I’m crazy, but hear me out.

Being a salesperson, freelancer, or consultant, you may instantly want to grab onto an RPF, and spend a few hours preparing a suitable sales proposal. If you’ve already done this a couple of times, think back to how many have resulted in you actually getting the bid. And then calculate the time and effort invested into it. Chances are you’ll find it’s not a proportionate, much less, healthy, ratio.

I’ve seen it happen time and time again in the software business. You may think an RFP is a client’s way of initiating a software selection process. That’s often far from the truth. In your own field, speak to your mentor, sales manager, or someone who’s achieved success in your industry, and they’ll reiterate what I’ve just said—say no to unsolicited RPF’s.

And here’s why:

The prospect is looking for the best price: Price is top of the list because more often than not, a vendor who asks for an RFP is considering his bottom line. And ten to one, he’ll pick not the most qualified candidate or the most diverse software, but the cheapest.

The prospect has already made a decision: In larger companies, the manager is obliged to go through vendor selection process, where in actuality; he has already made a decision. If this is the case, no matter your efforts, he is unlikely to select you.

The prospect has not shared enough information with you: Creating a proposal based on someone else’s requirements can often lead to a biased submission. Yet, unless the prospect is willing to take the effort to provide you with information or put you in touch with the pain-holders, you have no choice but to trawl the internet and websites in a bid to gather this research. Will the prospect finally select you based on a generalized proposal? Sometimes, they may, if the other factors – price, timeline etc. – fit with your offer, but most likely, if they have not taken the trouble to provide you with research data or access to the pain-holders, they are not serious contenders for your services.

The prospect is fishing for free advice: Sneaky, but it happens often enough. Prospects ask for an RFP in a bid to acquire free information they can use toward their project. If this is the case, you may find the client already has someone or a product in-house they can use.

So does that mean you need to throw out a request without responding to it? You can apply guidelines for how you or your company responds to RFP’s. For example, have someone call the prospect and ask for more information which will help you draw up a proposal. If you have a past connection with the client or the department, you can also leverage this to gain the additional information you need.

You may also want to consider RFP’s if there is some way of engaging the prospect’s interest in your particular product or service, which gives you a slight edge over your competition. Remember though that meeting with or speaking to the decision makers does not mean you have cinched the deal.

Remember, prospective clients who have already asked for an RFP are generally at the end of their decision making process and ready to select a suitable vendor to get started. Your time to draw their attention to you is before they reach this stage.

Here are some questions to ask before you consider an request for proposal:

• What are our chances of winning?
• Do we know someone in the company who can help us?
• Is this client a long-term opportunity?
• What do we have that will give us the edge over competition?
• Is the work we secure worth the initial investment?

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