Answer
Jul 17, 2018 - 10:14 AM
I’ll try to summarize briefly and then I can expound if needed.
Warm regards,
Jo-Anne
JoAnne Jaspan
Founder, Principal | Jaspan Consulting
joanne@jaspanconsulting.com
206.683.1760
- If you're looking for a sort of quick and easy way to add a viable biz dev funnel- this is NOT it.
- I won’t respond to (or allow my team to respond to) RFPs - UNLESS the RFP was specifically written for our company / our solution.
- To qualify: we would have been working with the prospective client for months, engaged in an active sales cycle that is clearly moving forward and getting traction with key internal stakeholders. In some cases, we would have completed a pilot with the prospect.
- There are sites where you can register to be notified of any RFPs going out- however, I personally have never won net new business this way, and I have only personally seen exactly 1 instance when someone on my team blindly responded to an RFP and won the business.
- RFP responses are typically extremely arduous and time consuming. If you are concerned about resources spent X conversion rates = net new revenue, RFPs will yield very low results.
- The world of RFPs almost speak their own language- it is very common for companies to have a FT internal RFP specialist or even RFP team quarterback or project manage the responses.
- Often will need detailed input from multiple functional areas (finance, legal + compliance, IT, etc. )
- In the tech space it’s covert, however real-life scenario often works something like this:
- The prospective client has already decided which vendor they want to work with- however due to internal corporate mandates, they are required to get x # of comparison quotes. They work with the chosen vendor to write the RFP in a manner that lends a strong bias towards that vendor’s solution and then invite competitors to respond.
- This relates back to my 2nd bullet point…
- All of this being said- often Government Agencies will post RFPs without bias- however I find these more applicable to verticals like Manufacturing, Construction, Utilities, - sometimes finance- like compensation, accounting, tax and regulatory compliance solutions.
Warm regards,
Jo-Anne
JoAnne Jaspan
Founder, Principal | Jaspan Consulting
joanne@jaspanconsulting.com
206.683.1760
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