Most RFPs are accompanied by public meetings, at which prospective bidders can hear background and ask questions. They are almost never run by a decision maker, but rather by members of the committee responsible for issuing the RFP and vetting responses.
The meetings are very inconvenient, in that they may be held in the home base of the entity, say, Washington, DC, and you happen to be in San Francisco or London! However, there are often company or even governmental rules mandating such a meeting, so it’s held. The assumption is also in place that large firms are going to respond, and large firms have offices in many cities and the capacity to put people on airplanes to attend the meeting. Occasionally, there is more than one meeting in more than one place.
You can let the issuers know that you can’t attend the meeting and request copies of any handouts or a summary of any additional background provided. There may even be copies of visuals available. Sometimes you can obtain these items, sometimes not. You can also have someone else attend in your place, and they simply need to identify themselves as your representative, and not need to be an employee of your firm. This is a good reason to consider a colleague who is a member of a trade or professional association to which you belong, and a favor you can reciprocate in some manner. You can prepare this person with some questions, they can gather up materials, and provide insights on who else was there and what kinds of questions were asked.
If you can attend the meeting, I suggest that you arrive early and remain later. Talk to the organizers informally if it’s permitted. Among the information you’d like to learn would be:
- How important is price and how important is value?
- What underlying needs prompted the alternative represented by the RFP?
- Who is the primary force behind the request (e.g., who is the real buyer)?
- What else is going on that has bearing on the request (what additional value might be powerful)?
- What has characterized winning bids in the past in this organization?
- What are the procedures after proposals have been received?
Also try to network with other attendees. Try to understand:
- What type of organizations are attending the meeting and might bid?
- Have they worked with this organization before?
- What are the distinctions of working with this organization?
- What is their usual process after receiving proposals?
- Are there likely to be further attempts at negotiation?
Listen to the questions asked in response to the information provided at the meeting, especially from those who have successfully bid in the past. These responses will give you some insights into the key buying considerations.
If you can establish any kind of relationship with any of the client’s people, do so. There usually is no restriction on your contacting them at later points with questions or clarifications.
Here are seven techniques that may or may not be possible and allowed, but are worth pursuing if you are intent on bidding on such projects:
1. Find out who the actual buyer is and whether a personal meeting can be arranged.
2. Introduce yourself and do something to create an impression with as many of the committee members as possible, so that when they see your proposal they can relate to a name.
3. Find out about the “automatic rejection” issues, for example, failure to provide evidence of malpractice insurance, or failure to provide a banking reference. Often, they don’t ask you to resubmit, they simply eliminate you.
4. Find out the deadlines and time frames the group has in mind. There will be requests for your time needs, but if you can match them up to the general expectations of the committee, that will help.
5. Explore what other projects or initiatives are taking place, and their relationship to the one you’re bidding on. You might be able to suggest synergies in your proposal.
6. Make sure that you learn the buyer’s name and position, because you might want to try to bypass the process (especially if you discover that you just may be able to qualify for sole-source status).
7. Try to have a clear understanding through your formal and/or informal questioning as to what the preferences are that aren’t stated in the RFP. These may include length, appendices, charts, staff resumes, testimonials, or lack thereof. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot if you don’t have to!
Public meetings can range from very informative to the dullest couple of hours in your life. They may be run by one low-level person, or by members of the committee issuing the RFP and, in rare cases, by the ultimate decision maker.
My advice is to avoid RFPs in general unless you can take advantage of some inside advantages, such as I described earlier in this chapter. But if you insist—or have no choice because you deal primarily with government or certain nonprofit entities—then attend those meetings that:
- Are reasonably inexpensive to attend.
- Demonstrate some advantage in your presence.
- Represent RFPs that you feel you have a good chance for success.
- Provide a unique insight or relationship that cannot be attained merely by securing the handouts.
It always helps to know “when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em,” so I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t make it clear when you should take your chips and walk away from the table.