What’s your approach to RFPs?

This particular topic I had originally put on my calendar to publish my thoughts on FOUR months ago...four months, pathetic. I’ve had a great deal to say about the good ol’ RFPs, particularly ever since putting my perspectives to use on a recent RFP, which resulted in a tremendous win - one of those “wins” you know will stay with you forever.

I can’t count how many RFPs I have participated in over the course of my Sales career, but what I can count is the number of RFPs that I decided to decline to participate in: Four; and, while this might sound strange, I hope to see that number significantly increase over the next few years.

While some of the thoughts expressed in this article are from my personal experience in Sales, some ideas and inspirations as to both my opinions as well as my approaches have stemmed from some of the most highly acclaimed authors of the past decade (Mike Weinberg, Anthony Iannarino, Lee Salz, to name a few). They either reaffirmed some existing beliefs about RFPS, or inspired new ways of thinking about them.

RFP: These three letters are like nails on a chalkboard. I hear / see / am invited to bid for them and my immediate thought is “puke.” Now let’s be clear: NOT because of the tremendous amount time, resources and work that they require, that’s no bother at all for someone who accepts that this profession is not for the lazy, “where are my leads,” self-entitled coasters who get by either from others who do the heavy lifting for them, or because they have completely inept management who themselves are too lazy to replace this subpar talent with the top-notch talent that exists in abundance today; or who lack the courage to do what’s right for the business. Or perhaps they play favorites (Okay, I’m rambling and have veered off course). Focus, Ruthie...Focus.

Rather, I despise RFPs because in their very nature, they rob true Sales professionals of the ability to do their job effectively: To gain a thorough understanding of the challenges (why the RFP is being issued in the first place). Are there even challenges? Or is this just a typical (and I’ll add, infuriating) attempt to do the required “due diligence” and “evaluate the marketplace” every few years, but secretly plan to remain status quo?

The rigid rules prevent me from clarifying goals, digging deeper into their current state and pain points, thoroughly understanding their vision for a better, future state, ask why certain questions posed are important to the respective group / team / organization, act as a partner to help assist them in navigation such a critical business decision and instead be lumped into a massive group of “vendors,” each perceived the same way and expected to follow THEIR process, even if their process makes it nearly impossible to achieve their vaguely stated goals in the classic cover letter. The list goes on, and on, and on.

What’s refreshing is that more and more, I am observing a select few forward-thinking organizations shifting from the traditional “follow our rules or be disqualified” RFP, to the more flexible approach that allow for thoughtful discussions, flexibility in how we navigate the process together, and accepting different approaches to responding to their initially formatted RFP rules of engagement. Bravo to the still-way too-small-amount of companies who embrace this new way of finding the best partner.

I remember the words, verbatim, that I was told by a former manager when I received a very strict, lengthy and thorough RFP that we were invited to “bid in.” His words: “Ruthie, remember, the goal is always simply to get to the next stage. Just focus on getting to the next step.” That’s the goal?!?! By any means possible, just ensure I’m part of the batch that checked enough boxes to be moved to the next robotic set of requirements?! What if we are wasting our time by not asking for a meeting to ensure we even CAN or SHOULD continue on in the process based on the requirements and if we even WANT to win the business of this organization based on their refusal to be more open-minded? After all, they are in fact looking for the most ideal solution from a trusted partner that is eventually devised as a result of both teams’ inputs and ideas, ensuring win-win results, right? Sadly, often not.

Without realizing it, they are doing a massive disservice to themselves while engaging in a massive undertaking that would ultimately dictate their long-term success.

And don’t get me started on the due dates and timelines, which the vendors are stringently held to, yet inevitably the organization who created these deadlines hardly ever meet those dates.

Or the pricing: “Please provide your pricing for this ambiguous scope,” with zero consideration that, well, it doesn’t quite work that way! Every “vendor” prices differently, and we all know in complex deals, this is nearly impossible at this stage in the game. BUT, it’s required to “get to the next step,” so suck it up!

That’s my beef with RFPs. There’s more, but that’s enough. If you haven’t caught on by now, I despise the word “vendor.” It should be banned from the dictionary. Or reserve it for those who are just that: vendors.

Shifting Gears...

Now, let’s move to how I’ve chosen to navigate them, with my most recent RFP win as the example I’ll reference for the remainder of this article.

Context:

-RFP of a Fortune 500 company issued.

-More “competitors” invited to bid than any other RFP I’ve partaken in (60, to be precise, ~50% of which were not even considered competitors because they simply did not specialize in what the RFP was calling for).

-Potential pay-off for this was too high to walk from, but decided it was time to take a risk, and stop playing by their rules, and instead challenge them to think about this differently.

-Management / leadership declined my suggestion to respond to the “you’ve been chosen” email politely by thanking them for the opportunity, but requesting to first meet with the stakeholders to ensure we were aligned on what they were looking for, which was just not clear, or clear enough. And no, that’s not code for gaining a competitive advantage over the others. It’s code for “this is in YOUR best interest if you are in fact serious about finding a long-term partner who actually gives a damn about your business.”

-Asked leadership why not. Was told it’s too risky and they clearly laid out the rules. I push back, with a valid case for why this is not only important, but necessary to even stand a chance.

-Agreed to find $3M in revenue elsewhere if this request resulted in being ousted from the RFP, reminding them that if that was the case, was this a customer we want to work with for the long-haul...

-Annoyed with my persistence, they reluctantly gave me permission, reminding me for millionth time what’s at stake.

-Sent the email. The response came back about 45 minutes later, saying while they understand and can respect that I want to ensure we understand what they are looking to achieve, they simply can’t because it wouldn’t be fair to the others.

-I challenge back, with: “Let me ask you a question. How many of the “vendors” asked you for a meeting before filling out the RFP?”

-They responded, “none,” to which I said “My point exactly. Should any of them do the same, by all means they should also get the opportunity to meet. Fair enough?”

-SCORE! I get the meeting, which, for the record, went 45 minutes over, was extremely insightful, and allowed us to not only gain a meaningful understanding of their needs more thoroughly, but also offer up suggestions that they so appreciated. Imagine that!

-This was a very long process after this, but for the purpose of this article, I will say we were awarded the business, beating out 59 other “vendors,” who went by the book the entire way.

-We continued to meet more and more as the RFP progressed, and it was down to 5.

-Outcome: We were awarded the business, for $3.3M, three year contract, $9.9M total, with payments terms and an MSA that worked for both sides.

The testimonial that followed the successful implementation of our solution highlighted that my initial request for that meeting was a “wake up call,” and how valuable that meeting proved to be to them. They jokingly promised to never call us a vendor, and that ultimately, the approach differentiated us as a partner that was genuinely invested in their long-term success, making what they initially thought was going to be a very lengthy and difficult decision much easier.

*Take a risk. Take a chance. Throw out the rule book. Let’s redefine the RFP process, in turn changing the image of the traditional “salesperson,” for the sake and betterment of both sides involved.