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Thanks for adding to the conversation! But responding can dilute your brand, undermine your credibility, shave your margin and ultimately devalue your company when it is time to sell.
Even if you win the work, the same rules that forced the company to tender the RFP in the first place will kick in again and force them to host another beauty contest next time, no matter how good a job your company does. The value of your business is linked to how repeatable your model is. Responding means you are agreeing to be shoved into a box with a bunch of half-rate competitors who compete on price. The RFP is structured so that the customer designs the specifications of the job and then you explain how cheaply you can deliver their specs.
The buyer is trying to get the very best price using an apples-to-apples comparison. It actually makes more sense to start with why your need exists, and what you hope to achieve by solving it. Instead of sending out an RFP indicating what respondents should do or make, reframe it around the challenge you want to solve or the goal you want to achieve.
It may be tempting to focus on factors like price and speed to market in an RFP, and yes those are extremely important — but once again, you risk disqualifying top-tier agencies that specialize in well-researched, battle-tested strategic work.
Forego investing your hours and brainpower in an RFP, and book a good old-fashioned consultation. Companies make bold requests in hopes of attracting the best agencies, and agencies make bold promises in order to win an RFP.
But too often, neither party comes away satisfied. You can nurture your network of agencies with several lower-stakes projects, and get a sense of which ones work well with your team and deliver great results. You can focus on these agencies for future projects. Be direct in soliciting their input. Too many companies are convinced that they can beat the odds and hit all three marks of the project management triangle: low cost, high quality, and fast time to market.
That enthusiasm carries across responses and suggests a good partner. Answer directly, upfront, right off the bat. If you have more to say, either include after your direct response, or reference a supplementary document that delves more deeply. Respond using the documents and format requested.
This creates a huge challenge in a large event — do everything possible to reduce the tactical work so that we can all focus on higher-level strategy. I source the same categories with different clients at different times, and may end up reaching out to a provider with multiple opportunities. Consider also that buyers may leave the organization you support today and go to a new company that could also use your services.
Considering if any are at play with your own submissions is a good starting point to building a better response. Author: Brian Seipel. A procurement advisory consultant who helps organizations perfect their strategic sourcing abilities, better manage supplier relationships, and refine their processes to clear away roadblocks. September 20, Procurement Management.
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