5 Tips to Create a Winning RFP Response

1. Determine your company’s percentage chance of winning

Statistically, incumbent providers have a greater than 80% chance of winning if the client is generally happy with the services being provided. The companies that have the most success in winning new business have identified they have at least a 50% chance or greater of winning the business, and ideally an 80% chance of winning.

2. Build a strong bid team

When building a bid team, successful organizations determine the individuals who will: project manage the bid; respond to questions from various sections of the bid; design the solution; write the executive summary; and submit or print, package and deliver the bid on time. Writing and producing complex bids takes time away from employees’ other tasks, and we are sensitive to the demands it can create on your human resources. Contact us if we can help.

3. Create a project plan

The next step is to assign RFP tasks, roles and dates to a project plan. Then this project team can meet regularly at agreed-upon times to confirm the proposal’s progress. We use a Responsibility Matrix template to assign tasks and due dates, and to gain agreement from the project team before moving forward. Our goal is to keep the bid team on track, so the bid is finished efficiently and on-time, without a hurried rush and late-night of work before the RFP due date.

4. Develop a winning solution

A key requirement of a winning bid, is to deliver a solution that meets the exact needs as outlined in the RFP or RFQ–and possibly additional needs that the prospect decision-maker(s) had identified to sales people or capture managers in advance of the bid release. Winning bids typically reveal an understanding of the prospect’s business goals as well as its solution requirements. Winning RFP responses also demonstrate how the proposed solution is the best, relative to any potential competitor.

5. Craft a winning executive summary

The Executive Summary is the one document, other than the pricing section that is most likely to be read by the executive members of an organization, such as the CEO, CFO or CIO. The bidder’s best approach is to be succinct and summarize how the solution successfully meets the client’s needs better than any competitor. Further, if the bidder is aware of possible objections to its solution, these should be addressed in a way that overcomes them.

Great Executive Summaries end strong. They concisely demonstrate how the bidding organization and the prospect organization are well-aligned to work together. They also clearly emphasize how the bidding organization will support the prospect throughout the transition to their service. In short, winning summaries show clients that the bidding service provider is ready and able to commit to their critical projects–at the right price.