The RFP Success Show

Evaluation criteria seems to be a bit of an afterthought for most companies bidding on RFPs. Sure, it's one of the first things you look at. But are you making the evaluation criteria an explicit part of your bid strategy? And are you using it to your advantage in the content of your RFP response? On this episode of the podcast, I share 3 ways to leverage evaluation criteria in a proposal, challen...

Most people think there is little room for negotiation in a proposal response. But if you've done your homework to understand a buyer's needs, you can negotiate in your answers to the questions on an RFP and offer solutions they may not even be aware of. Don Carmichael is Chief PreSales Evangelist at Winning Skills Ltd. , a boutique technology sales enablement firm. Prior to founding Winning Skill...

Yes, your team is qualified and capable of doing the job required by an RFP. But so is every other business that submits a response. So, how do you take your technical content and make it persuasive? What does it look like to write from a sales perspective? Dave Rynne is the copywriter and RFP response specialist behind The Sales Enablement Writer . After two decades on Wall Street, he built a suc...

Are you so busy bidding on RFPs that you don't have time to build systems and processes? Creating systems may not be sexy, and it won't result in an immediate win. But if your proposal team reinvents the wheel with every new RFP, you're hurting yourselves in more ways than you realize. So, what is the benefit of setting up systems and processes for responding to RFPs? And what parts of the process...

A lot of my clients think they've got editorial peer review covered. But there's a lot more to it than simply having someone read through your response and check for spelling errors. And a proposal that hasn't been through a thorough peer review lacks the professionalism you need to win business with RFPs. So, what does an in-depth editorial peer review look like? Jana L. Burge is Founder and Pres...

Companies that are new to government contracting see it as a magic bullet. You respond to an RFP, and you win a lucrative five-year contract! And yes, it's easy to get excited about an opportunity that seems like a great fit for your business. But if you don't already have a relationship with the buyer, you're chances of winning are quite low. So, you're not doing yourself any favors by bidding co...

Should you build your own internal RFP team? Or outsource the proposal process? If your company is just breaking into the RFP space, you may be looking at larger companies that have as many as 10 dedicated proposal professionals and wondering, is that where we're going? Is that what we should be doing? So, what factors should you consider in deciding whether to buy or build an internal RFP team? O...

The state, local and education or SLED market took a hit in 2020 as COVID shutdowns forced governments to shift into remote or hybrid operations. But federal funding is helping the market rebound. And money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) means opportunities for businesses to break into or expand their reach in SLED government contracting. So, what industries look to benefit most from ARP...

Are you struggling with state government RFPs? Though it seems counterintuitive, you will win MORE contracts by bidding LESS. Just ask the team at Highstreet IT Solutions . They reduced their response rate from six to three formal RFPs per month. And doubled their win rate in the process. Josh Ezring is Vice President of Business Development at Highstreet IT. He has more than 20 years of experienc...

Bidding on RFPs that aren't a good fit is a waste of time and resources, and it takes a real toll on your win rate—and the morale of your team. But to make better go/no-go decisions, you need a system. So, what does it look like to develop a successful go/no-go decision-making process? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I share five steps to developing an effective go/no-go process, explaini...

Let's say you have grounds to file a federal bid protest. What does the process look like? Are there steps your company can take to prepare now, before a bid protest comes up? Carissa Siebeneck Anderson serves as Of Counsel at Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot, and her practice focuses on federal bid protests, government contracts, regulatory compliance and corporate law. Carissa has extensive knowled...

So, your small business lost out on a federal bid. But you feel like you were unfairly scored or that the contract requirements were biased. Do you file a protest? Carissa Siebeneck Anderson is Of Counsel at the Washington DC Office of Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot . She has expertise in the realm of small business government contracting, SBA 8(a), HUBZone, women- and veteran-owned programs, and s...

The $1 trillion infrastructure bill provides an opportunity for small businesses to develop a new revenue stream by way of state government contracting.  But if you jump in and start bidding without a game plan, you'll lose 95% of the time.  And while it might feel risky to put significant time and effort into the necessary prep work, you'll be much more likely to win state contracts than your com...

To grow a small business, you need more customers. But did you know that too many of the wrong customers is what keeps a lot of companies stuck?  According to Charles Fred, low-value clients are high maintenance, hard on your people, and they take up 75% of your time. That's why it's so important to define your high-value customers and bid only on the RFPs that fit those criteria.  Charles is the...

We'd like to believe that we make purchasing decisions based on logic. But consumer psychology research affirms that, in truth, we buy based on emotion. And we're unconsciously influenced by visual cues and sensory language. So, how might we apply the principles of consumer psychology and behavioral economics to the proposal development process? Marketing Strategy Consultant Sean Stewart has 20 ye...

How do you decide whether to bid on an RFP? Too many companies make a go/no-go decision solely on their ability to do the work. But when you bid on everything you can do, you water down your resources. And you don't have enough time and energy to put into the opportunities you really do have a chance of winning. So, what criteria should you use to make the go/no-go decision on an RFP? On this epis...

We process visuals 60,000 times faster than we do text. And yet, most proposal teams see graphics as a nice-to-have. Something you add in at the last minute to make a response more visually appealing. But what if you leveraged the visuals to support the story you're telling in an RFP? What if you were just as strategic in planning the graphics as you are in crafting the text of a proposal response...

When you write an RFP, you're not just competing on qualifications and capabilities. In fact, everyone who's bidding can answer the questions from a technical perspective.  But you can differentiate yourself with a strong brand and tell the story of what sets your business apart throughout a proposal document. Michael Zipursky is the Cofounder and CEO of Consulting Success , a firm that specialize...

If your company makes it to orals, take a moment to celebrate. But remember, you haven't won the bid yet! So, how do you prepare for the RFP oral presentation? How can your team leverage orals to build rapport with the evaluators and make them want to work with you? Andy McGowan is Senior Vice President and Director of Strategic Initiatives at CommCore Consulting , a specialty public relations fir...

So, you have nearly all the qualifications necessary to bid on an RFP, but you need to partner with another business to fill in the gaps. How do you choose the right company as a partner? What makes for a successful partnership in the proposal development process—and beyond? Anne Tarantino is the VP of Corporate Sales at Velocity Tech Solutions , an IT support company out of Roseville, Minnesota....

Everybody assumes that the majority of an RFP response timeline should be devoted to the writing. And yes, of course, the writing is very important. But there are many other pieces of the puzzle that contribute to a win. Pieces that take more time than we realize. So, what does an effective response timeline look like? How much time does the proposal team need AFTER the first pass of technical wri...

As proposal professionals, we know that the work of winning an RFP begins long before the request for proposal is released.  And if your team has developed a strong capture planning process, you will already know what issues the potential client is up against and have a solution that addresses their specific needs. Lisa Ehrlich and Tom Gillin are the Vice President of Proposals and Vice President...

Is there a place for storytelling in business?  According to Paul Furiga, story plays a crucial role in differentiating a company from its competitors and attracting customers, employees, partners and investors to the brand.  But how do you figure out what your business' story is and then tell it effectively in an RFP response? Paul is the President and Chief Storyteller at WordWrite , a top-ranke...

You know it's important to distinguish yourself from the competition in an RFP response. And one surefire way to set yourself apart is by demonstrating industry authority. But few companies do this well.  It's not enough to say you have multiple years of experience or advertise how many hundreds of clients you've helped. So, what is the best way to communicate industry authority in a proposal resp...

Are you making the time to do a strategic review before you submit a proposal response? If not, you're missing an opportunity to elevate the level of your RFP and stand out from the crowd. So, what does a strategic review look like? And how can you make it a regular part of your RFP process? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I share the three steps to completing a successful strategic revie...