There are times when the best way to win the bid on an RFP is to offer even more value than the prospect requested.
Once you comply with the details requested in an RFP, always try to add additional value. The purchasers are not required in most cases to choose the lowest proposal, as if this is a highway paving project or a request for textbooks. They can identify and choose the highest value that represents the greatest return for their in- vestment. That’s where your creativity can turn the tide.
Here are factors to consider that are often either overlooked or considered implicit in an RFP that your competitors might not highlight or address:
- Preparation work.
- Surveys of employees, management, customers, suppliers.
- Tests of assumptions for validity.
- Reinforcement tools on the job.
- Monthly “boosters” via newsletter, special website, e-mail, and so on.
Case Study: USA Today
I had been contacted by someone I knew at the newspaper USA Today and asked to bid on an RFP. I agreed and did so, and was named one of the finalists, so I was invited to make a presentation to the inevitable committee.
About 30 people sat around a U-shaped conference table with the finalists, one by one escorted in and out as if they were Grand Jury witnesses in some organized crime ring, presenting their best arguments. I alternately felt like a criminal and a performing seal.
Yet my contact told me I had an “inside track” from what she had seen, and wanted me to throw all of my energy into this. I did, everyone asked questions and made notes, and I left and waited. And waited. Remember, the longer it takes, the more bad things happen.
Finally, I called my contact who sheepishly told me that another firm had been chosen. “Was I just too expensive?” I asked.
“No, the winners were more expensive than you,” she confided.
Now I was stunned. “How could that be?”
“Well, they offered to also train the managers of the people going through the initiative to better reinforce the results on the job.”
“But the RFP didn’t request that!”
“That’s why the committee liked it so much.”
- “Audits” at fixed periods (quarterly) to assess progress and fine-tune.
- Post-project testing to compare to prior baselines for improvement.
- Compilations of best practices.
- Access to you for key people for given time periods.
You get the idea. None of these is especially labor-intensive or difficult, and most require no on-site presence at all, or only occasional visits. You can often derive these from reading the extensive background provided with most RFPs or through public meetings (see the following segment).
You can give options in your responses to RFPs, and I urge you to do so if you’re going to pursue this route at all. The trick is to ensure that your first, lowest fee option meets all the project’s objectives. Once you’ve established this, you can build on the value in your following options. You don’t have to provide a “take it or leave it” or “make or break” proposal where the extra value you can provide is part of the basic package. This gives you two “shots” at the prize: The basic option for those evaluators who seek nothing more, and advanced options for those who would love to see additional value.
You never know what’s going to constitute a “hot button.”
When providing “extra” value, focus on two conditions:
1. Something of a mild surprise to the evaluators. “Interesting, we never considered that, but it’s a great idea,” is the kind of response you’re seeking here. That should set you apart from the competition.
2. Something in your own suite, so that it’s easy for you to provide and not something that will erode your margin and keep you competitive.
Complete the RFP as you normally are requested to do, but use an “addendum” or extension to demonstrate your options and additional value being suggested.
I suggest one more opportunity to stand out in this crowd. It doesn’t always work, but it rarely hurts, and you can use your own judgment: I often provide a copy of my own proposal format to accompany the RFP response.
I actually tell the evaluators that, for their information and for the sake of comparison, I’ve also included a copy of my own proposal format for the project, which in effect, can serve as an executive summary. I like them to see the brevity and focus on objectives, measures, and value. And I like them to see the options in this con- text. It can often help you to stand out in a crowd.
One more key point before we move on: You’ll usually have to “distill” the conceptual agreement on your own. That is, there is no trusting relationship with a buyer in the example I’m giving here, so you will have to “create” the objectives, measures, and value as you see fit from the information provided. The probability is that it’s not presented in this manner, but rather as an arbitrary alternative, which has prompted the RFP. But the prompting occurred to produce some results, and you should infer what that is and work from there.
Even with an RFP, the evaluators are going to be better able to analyze your proposal and your worth if they can see their ROI, and the best way to do that is in our format, not theirs. So don’t be bashful about creating your own objectives, measures, and value and creating the approach that puts you in the best light. There are objectives, they just have to be unearthed from the rubble and detritus of the RFP process!
So get your mining gear and get moving.