The RFP Success®️ Magazine

THE RFP SUCCESS MAGAZINE

®

with Lisa Rehurek

10

4 BAFO options

HOT TIPS FOR BEST-IN-CLASS EDITORIAL REVIEWS

you need to consider

RESEARCH RFPs LIKE A PRO

Use THIS winning

4x4 Framework

The exact strategies our proposal team uses to win 73% of submissions

AS FEATURED IN

2nd Edition | www.theRFPSuccessCompany.com

The RFP Success® Show I am an avid listener of The RFP Success Show® and have found it absolutely crucial in my learning over the past year. We have actually made it a required listening within our company for new writers!

- Tom C. I love the fact that Lisa’s approach to RFP covers both the big idea and manysimple yet important details. It gives a complete 360-degree view on all theplayers involved as well as what steps need to be taken to complete and deliver apowerful (and winning!) proposal.

- Francis K.

Learn what today’s capture & RFP teams are doing to increase their win rates by 10%, 20% and even 40%.

I know enough about the RFP and proposal process to understand there is always something new to learn. The RFP Success Show® provides fantastic informational interviews that give you take-aways you can put to use right away. Let’s be real, making RFPs fun may be a challenge but this podcast will at least spark your inner joy.

- Josh K. It’s an awesome show. And thank you for being a champion for best practices. It’s awesome that you’re doing it and you’re helping evolve the industry. You rock!

- Mike P.

Listen to our 2x monthly episodes at www.therfpsuccessshow.com, or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

The RFP Success® Magazine

Editor-in-Chief, Lisa Rehurek

Headquarters 222 S Mill Avenue Tempe, AZ 85281 +1 (866) 473-7411 | wecanhelp@rfpsuccess.com

© 2019-2023 The RFP Success® Company, All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS

Note from the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Foundation or Fail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Zig Zag to Success. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Why the Basics Bring RFP Wins . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

3 Reasons Why Process Equals Profit. . . . . . . . . 27 Our 4x4 Framework: Why it Works . . . . . . . . . . 30

How to Create a Dynamic Proposal Team. . . . . . 31 Tips for Capturing Evaluator’s Attention . . . . . . . 37 The Top 3 Proposal Mistakes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 RFP Response Editorial Peer Review . . . . . . . . . 42 Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Proposal . . . . . . . 42 Short -Term Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Best and Final Offer (BAFO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 How to Create a Research & Bid Foundation . . . . 60 The Secret Strategy for Winning RFPs. . . . . . . . . 65 Establishing Elite Customer Service. . . . . . . . . . 68 Orals Presentations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

3 Tips for Harnessing the Power of AI. . . . . . . . . 82 RFP Facts You Should Know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Contact Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

“Avoid and ignore is

not a strategy for success.”

- Lisa Rehurek Page 6 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Note from the Editor Welcome to our second edition of The RFP Success® Magazine!

Since our first edition, we have built a bigger team. We have more clients. We are now an Inc. 5000 recipient. You could say a lot has changed.

We’ve also streamlined the framework with which we guide our clients – called The RFP Success® 4x4 Framework.

Through the implementation of their proprietary RFP Success Framework, The RFP Success Company has helped our clients secure over $500 million in state government contracts, averaging a 73% RFP win rate and a 98% downselect rate for our clients.

What hasn’t changed is our team’s love and passion for sharing resources with those of you who respond to State Government RFPs. This magazine is chocked full of articles that guide you through our framework. With the implementation of these strategies, we know you will find more success in winning those contracts.

We continue to provide additional resources, including The RFP Success ® Show podcast, The RFP Success® Book, A Roadmap for RFP Success® book, The RFP Success® Accelerator, and more!

Visit us at www.RFPSuccessResources.com to access our full resource library.

We continue to meet you where you are.

The articles presented in this edition are a collaborative effort amongst myself and the following team members: Cheri Fisher Ted Koval Kevin Cleary Julie Schulze We hope you enjoy!

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 7

DO BETTER. WIN MORE

®

with The RFP Success® Company.

Page 8 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Here’s the deal: All the other companies that are bidding are probably qualified, too!

How to Win the Game of RFPs Winning RFP bids is an important aspect of your business. But one thing we see time and time again, is that businesses just don’t take it seriously enough. They think they’ll slap together a response, and they end up chasing the win.

They get a little cocky about their qualifications and capabilities, and they lose time and time again because they’re not aligned for consistent wins.

Does this sound familiar?

It’s so much more than just responding to the actual questions that are presented in an RFP. You must embrace the overall game of RFPs.

How do you do that?

You lay a solid foundation internally for bidding on RFPs. A poor foundation will follow you all the way to the roof, so make sure you build a solid business and bidding strategy before diving in.

You have a process that is simple yet systematic.

Without a solid process, you will be dysfunctional, and it will affect your results. Having that process will save you and your team hours and aggravation. And a lot of money.

You have to pay attention to team dynamics.

Often overlooked, your response team will make or break the outcome. Make sure you are in tune with the skills and motivation of your team members, and that you have the right people in the right roles. Don’t let misaligned internal dynamics affect your external results in a negative way.

55%

of high-performing companies have a dedicated RFP Person or Team.

2023 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 9

Know how to write persuasive content that builds trust and sells your solution.

Don’t make it hard on the evaluators to choose you. Keep your response simple yet attention grabbing.

Here’s the deal: All the other companies that are bidding are probably qualified too. Qualifications and capabilities aren’t enough anymore.

Evaluators can tell if you aren’t taking that response seriously. They don’t want to just hear you say what you can do for them; they want to know that you understand their environment and their challenges.

That’s your job in the RFP response.

Page 10 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

The companies that have that high win percentage that you are craving, have embraced the culture of winning RFPs. And they don’t rest on their win percentage. They strive to always get better. They get continued training on how to up their game; they value their people; they know how to build trust in their response; they build relationships with the buyer(s) outside of the RFP; they know how to get the evaluator’s attention.

So, my question for you is this:

What are you waiting for?

RFPs can be boring, time-consuming and intimidating for your team.

The requirements alone can leave you wondering where to start.

The RFP Success® Book is written for the “newbie” to the ”know it all” when it comesto submitting proposals for RFPs. In this best-selling RFP resource, Lisa shares her 25+ years of tools, insider secrets,and real-world strategies that have had her clients winning state government & private sector RFPs time and time again.

Get The Book www.therfpsuccesscompany.com/rfp-success-book For bulk orders, reach us at wecanhelp@rfpsuccess.com “It is insightful, entertaining, well written, and inspirational!”

— KEVIN KURT

Easy read with great tips, tricks, and straight- forward, yet practical advice without an overwhelming amount of theory and statistics. Lisa does an effective job at walking the walk in keeping the reader in mind while using easy to understand concepts, effective use of white space and examples.”

— TINA KEARNEY

“An excellent book that packs tons of RFP response value.”

— DAVID RYNNE

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 11

NEW BOOK: AVAILABLE NOW! Winning in State Government: A Roadmap for RFP Success Your guide to mastering winning RFPs with our proven 4x4 framework. www.therfpsuccesscompany.com/book

Page 12 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Selling is not about what you offer; it’s about what they need.

– LISA REHUREK

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 13

ACTION TIP! Develop an internal writing guide for your team to ensure consistency, adherence, and follow-through.

It should include key grammar rules, a list of verbiage consistencies, the bid theme, your differentiators, critical client successes to highlight, and key writing tips.

FOUNDATION

OR FAIL

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 15

Foundation or Fail The foundation of your internal RFP system is the framework for building a winning culture.

My dad always says: “If you don’t get the foundation right, it will follow you all the way to the roof.”

And we see it time and time again.

If you are consistently losing RFPs, I’m here to tell you, the foundation isn’t right. Something is amuck and you need to fix it in order to stop that losing cycle. It’s frustrating (and expensive!) as all get out to put the time and money into an RFP response, only to lose over and over again.

Page 16 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

What do you need to do to build a solid foundation?

Start with these three things and you will be well on your way.

01

Develop a solid business development strategy. Know who your targets are as a company, know what type of clients your company wants to do business with, and understand your strengths and weaknesses in the market. Sounds basic, but most companies that we work with haven’t ever thought of this.

02

Develop (and use!) solid assessment criteria. Trust me when I say, having a really solid written assessment criteria is going to save you all sorts of time and frustration. Your assessment criteria should be aligned with your company’s business development strategy, and it should be written down. We recommend the checklist format. Run through the assessment criteria for each and every RFP that you think you want to bid on.

03

Always have a bidding strategy for every opportunity. What is your key theme and how will you differentiate yourself from the competition? Each bid is different, and if you can’t figure it out, you probably shouldn’t be bidding.

This is the hard stuff, folks.

I know a lot of businesses don’t love to plan. They don’t love to work on the strategy. But this is a long-term play.

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 17

Zig Zag to Success I cut my teeth on RFPs back in the hotel industry many moons ago. At the time I thought I understood RFPs. These were relatively easy “check a few boxes”, give them a rate, tell them why we would be the best property for them, and send it off. A handful of pages. Hmm. Not quite the full story.

Fast forward a few years, now working for a health care consulting firm, I was a little cocky when they asked if I had any experience with RFPs. I answered with an exuberant YES! Then someone tossed a 200-page Medicaid actuarial RFP on my desk. I thought to myself, what the hell is this??

That was over 20 years ago!

Page 18 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

I went on to build the RFP function for a specialty practice within a large global consulting firm. I played a key role on client teams helping to develop RFPs for our clients. I was a partner in a health insurance brokerage where we helped to write the actual RFPs and then evaluate the proposals for our clients. I have experience on all sides of the aisle which gives me a unique perspective. And now, we have a team of proposal professionals who have similar experience.

After leaving corporate America and starting my own business, I realized that people really needed help, and that I’m darn good at helping people do better and win more.

Today, helping our clients respond to RFPs is our whole business.

I love RFPs in a way that most people don’t. I love taking the frustration out of it for our clients. And I absolutely love getting the call from our clients that they won – sometimes with tears because it’s their first win in the last year, or ever.

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 19

DID YOU KNOW? Less than 8% of RFP responding teams win 80% or more of their bids.

So, what sets apart the top 8%?

USE A GO/ NO-GO STRATEGY FOR EVERY OPPORTUNITY

HAVE AN INTERNAL DEDICATED OR FRACTIONAL OUTSOURCED PROPOSAL TEAM

HAVE A DEDICATED PROPOSAL MANAGER THAT SPENDS AN AVERAGE OF 34 HOURS WRITING EACH RFP

KNOW THEIR COMPETITORS VALUE PROPOSITION, DIFFERENTIATION AND POSITIONING IN DETAIL

ARE SELECTIVE IN WHAT THEY BID ON

MISS LESS THAN 1% OF RFPRELATED DEADLINES

Page 20 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Our RFP Team

Helps The Wins Roll In We help companies in the Healthcare, Technology, IT, Staffing and more win more state government and private sector RFPs. The RFP Success® Company started with just little ol’ me. I was salesperson, strategist, project manager, content writer, editor, with a few contractors to support me when needed. Like many others that do what we do, I was a solo consultant providing this service.

Turns out, there are more people that need our help when I even imagined. And after years as a solo practitioner, we brought on our first employee. That was 12 employees and dozens of bench contractors ago.

“Our team is small – but we are mighty, passionate, and excellent at what we do.

From strategy, content, process, and people, we’ve got you covered!”

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 21

We also adore being resourceful, so our rolodex* is extensive and we have amazing partners, connections and resources for just about anything you’ll need.

We are all in it to win it – for you.

P.s. I fully realize there maybe one or two of you who don’t know what a rolodex is. Look it up, you’ll get a good laugh.

P.s.s. We don’t actually use a rolodex anymore.

Page 22 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Clients winning 50% or more of their RFPs have a specific Go/No-Go process for each new opportunity.

Make better decisions by assessing each opportunity!

Develop solid assessment criteria. Use it as a checklist for each and every opportunity.

You can keep it as simple as a checklist, or you can get fancy shmancy and use a chique automated tool that gives each opportunity a score and a decision by answering a few key questions.

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 23

“DOING EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN IS NOT A BADGE OF HONOR FOR A BUSINESS; IT’S ACTUALLY A SIGN OF WEAK LEADERSHIP.” – LISA REHUREK

Page 24 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Why the Basics Bring RFP Wins Here at The RFP Success Company, we have a very simple philosophy that boils down to four key components of RFP Success:

Content

Strategy

(aka Foundation)

People

Process

Most responders want to go straight to the content. That’s the sexy part because it’s seemingly the immediate fix. It’s what feels like the magic overnight weightloss pill. You have an RFP in front of you, they’re asking specific questions that you think if you answer, you’ll immediately win $8 million in business.

Ah, if only it were that easy. www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 25

The thing about Content is this:

Here’s a few places to start:

Your Content is only as good as your strategy, your people, and your process. It’s like trying to add a roof to a house that doesn’t have any walls.

For Strategy, make sure you’re building relationships with the buyers long before the RFP hits the street. This helps ensure you’ll have a keen understanding of their needs and their challenges that you can write to.

Consider this: If you don’t have a solid process in place, you will miss key requirements and understanding of what the RFP is really asking for; If you don’t have the right people in the right roles, they won’t be able to communicate that content appropriately; and most importantly….

If you don’t have a bidding or business development strategy, you won’t have the information you need to provide winning content.

For Process, one of the first things we implement is assessment criteria. Make sure you have an efficient and effective process for assessing opportunities. We generally find that companies that don’t have solid assessment criteria bid on way more than they should, and have a low win %.

That’s the wrong approach.

Could does not equal should.

Page 26 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

People is often the most overlooked area. Companies, particularly mid-sized and small companies, throw any available resource at RFPs. That approach will just get your team frustrated and will keep your win rate low.

Create appropriate role descriptions and fill those key proposal team member roles with rockstars that can’t wait to get you RFP wins.

Be willing to take a step back and get your ducks in a row, I promise you will reap the rewards!

3 Reasons Why Process Equals Profit Process is one of those “ugly” words that scares people off. It’s also one of those things that people think they have in place.

The question is: does your process help or hinder?

The process is what will keep you sane when responding to an RFP. It allows your team members to know what to do. It keeps things organized. It ensures consistency. It helps avoid confusion. It helps significantly with training. But there are a lot of components to the process.

Here are just a small handful of processes that you should have in place: • How to assess an opportunity • How to assemble the right team • How to kick off an RFP response • How to manage an RFP response • How to approach the writing • How to direct the technical writers • How to close out an opportunity

76%

of high-performing proposal teams use a go-no-go approach.

(2022 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio) www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 27

Do you have processes in place for all of these things?

Here’s how to get started with developing a solid and not over-complicated process:

01 02 03

Determine what processes you need. This can be difficult because it’s sometimes hard to see when you are in it. Anything you do over and over should have a written process to it. Again, this isn’t to overcomplicate things; it’s to help simplify.

Create a process map. For each individual process, create a process map. The process map starts with the first thing that needs to happen, and walks you through the journey from A to Z. What all needs to happen in order for this particular component to work. Use of post-it notes on a large board is a great way to create a process map.

Document the process. Once you have the process map completed, document the process and train your staff so that everyone is on the same page. You’d be surprised at how many different perspectives there are in the room when you make a statement; these documented processes will help alleviate miscommunication and get everyone on the same page.

Page 28 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Once the process is documented for our clients, we have a check-in milestone twice per year to see how it’s working, to tweak what needs to be adjusted. It’s also great to look into technologies that may help the process run smoothly and not bog people down.

This is probably the hardest sell for us – because people really don’t think they need a process, or think they already have one that works.

But each and every time, the client is surprised and thrilled with the outcome. And, so is the staff.

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 29

Our 4x4 Framework: Why it Works The RFP Success® 4x4 Framework was designed to make sure you are building a complete culture of winning. If you are bidding on RFPs, why would you want anything less? The Framework works because it doesn’t Band-Aid it together. It creates the right culture so the pieces work seamlessly together.

It’s like the perfect marinara sauce – when all ingredients can simmer together, they perfectly complement each other. If you have the wrong mix of ingredients, it doesn’t taste as good. It’s forgettable.

If leadership is looking at things in a silo, the result won’t be cohesive and there will be challenges, frustrations, and breakdowns. And that will affect your results.

The RFP Success® 4x4 Framework is your roadmap for success.

Embrace it!

Page 30 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

How to Create a Dynamic Proposal Team We get a lot of questions about the dynamics of a proposal team. As prior chair of a local APMP (Association of Proposal Management Professionals) chapter, this topic comes up often as one of their top struggles. It might not be a topic that is on the minds of leadership, but it sure is a topic that is on the minds of proposal teams.

The questions usually come in several general categories:

01

02

How do you get leadership to value the proposal team and give them a “seat at the table”?

How do we make sure we have the right people in the right roles?

03 How can we continue to improve our skills?

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 31

I’m going to address each one of these below. Before I do that, I want to send a message to both proposal team members, and leadership. Hopefully both are reading, or feel free to share this article with your internal teams.

Dear Proposal Teams.

Dear Leadership.

You can only control what you can control.

Take ownership and create value. Take steps to improve your ability to influence. Find different trainings that will help you hone your skills – not just proposal skills, but your soft skills.

RFPs equal money. They are sales. Stop treating your proposal teams like secondclass citizens. They are an extension of your sales team. If you want more wins, they need to be involved in the conversation.

Network with other proposal professionals to learn new and innovative approaches. Improve your Emotional Intelligence. Build relationships with the people in your organization that you need to influence.

If you want more wins, they need to feel valued. People give what they get – if they are getting treated like “less than”, the output is going to be “less than”.

Page 32 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled topic…..

1. How do you get leadership to value the proposal team and give them a “seat at the table”?

Learn how to communicate the value you bring, build relationships with leaders. Don’t be intimidated by the hierarchy. You bring a value that they may not see, or may not relate to. It’s your job to share that value, but it’s not about “telling” them the value; it’s about showing it, and relating it back to what’s in it for them.

2. How do we make sure we have the right people in the right roles?

First, you should have very solid role descriptions, based on what is needed in the role, not by who is in the role now. Second, determine the strengths and motivation of each team member (the best way to do this is through assessments), and make sure it aligns with what they are doing. Make adjustments where needed. Hard, yes. Necessary, yes.

3. How can we continue to improve our skills?

There are a lot of learning opportunities out there. APMP has a plethora of national and chapter webinars, website articles, a national conference as well as regional conferences.

If you aren’t involved, take some time to check it out and see what’s available. You can get involved with our learning options – our book, the podcast, our customized team trainings, or our team assessments.

The average highperforming mid-market

Of high-performing proposal teams, their #1 response challenge is internal collaboration.

company has proposal team members.

(2022 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio)

8

(2022 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio)

80%

of high-performing companies are increasing resources for their proposal teams.

(2022 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio)

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 33

10 TOOLS TO HELP YOU “DO BETTER, WIN MORE.” We love knowing about great tools, apps, technologies and resources to help us better serve our clients. We made a list of favorite resources, along with those that our Community has shared, that can help you do better, win more and make your RFP life easier!

Canva

ChatGPT

CV Partners

Grammarly

Jasper

PMI

Asana

StandUp

UPS Service Alerts

Voicea app

Page 34 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

ACTION TIP! Know your proposal team and treat them like a key part of the business development team. I see all too often how proposal teams are cast aside as unimportant. Or companies will assign the “less busy” people the task of writing an RFP response.

NO. JUST NO. You should value the people working on the response just as much, if not more, than you value the outcome of that response.

High-performing mid-market

companies lose 15% of sales-led RFPs due to missed deadline, whereas the average lost when led by a proposal manager is 0%.

(2022 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio)

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 35

ACTION TIP! Your content needs to persuade and convince the evaluators that you are the right choice. But they can’t make that choice if they don’t read, or absorb, what you’ve written. That means you have to capture (and keep!) their attention.

Add some personality, don’t make it boring, don’t overwhelm, make it simple but impactful.

Page 36 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

8 Hot Tips for Capturing the Evaluator’s Attention The evaluation team is made up of real, dynamic human beings with different personalities, heavy workloads, varying degrees of understanding on the topic, and all sorts of other undercurrents.

The more you can relate to them, the easier it will be to capture their attention.

Here are some top tips to help you pull in the human touch:

01

02

03

04

Don’t overwhelm them. A confused mind doesn’t buy.

Don’t bore them was the last time you were persuaded by boredom?

Remember they are “real” people, so speak to them like real people.

Some evaluators will make decisions with their head, so give them quantifiable statistics.

05

06

07

08

Other evaluators will make decisions with their emotions, so paint a picture and build trust; help them visualize what it will be like to work with you.

Make it easy on them to give you the points you deserve.

Don’t make them work too hard to understand your answer or to get the information they need.

8 Stop making it about you, and make it about what they will get by working with you.

Use this as a checklist as you are going through your response. It will elevate your proposal and the evaluators will resonate with it more. The more it resonates, the better you will be scored. www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 37

REAL RFP ADVICE, REAL SUCCESS STORIES. (REALLY ACCESSIBLE) The RFP Success Show is a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to sharing the proven tips, tricks, and resources for winning RFPs today.

Best of all it is delievered directly to your favorite device via all major podcast hosting platforms.

Listen in to hear actual RFP success stories from the business leaders and RFP experts leading the charge in winning state government and private sector RFPs. Visit TheRFPSuccessShow.com

Page 38 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

The Top 3 Proposal Mistakes We see a lot of proposals. We do proposal audits for our clients of past proposals. We do strategic reviews of draft proposals. And, of course, we help develop proposals for companies.

In addition, we ask any evaluators and procurement people that we meet one question: What are some of the biggest mistakes that people make when responding to RFPs? Lastly, we look at strong proposals to continuously learn what is working well.

With all of that, we know the common themes when it comes to mistakes that people make with content.

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 39

Let’s talk about the top three mistakes that we often see:

01

Not answering the question fully. This is the one we see the most, and that we hear most from evaluators. And it’s the one that most people are shocked by. How does anyone miss answering the question? It happens All. The. Time. There are a few reasons.

First, we (aka responders) tend to read the question the way we want to interpret it. It’s like the old adage of “listening to respond, not to hear”; it’s the same thing with RFPs. Second, many there are multiple questions within one question. So responders may answer one of the questions, but not address all of them. Be very careful here and make sure to address the whole question, and all parts of the question.

Third, responders tend to try to fit canned language in, without customizing it for the actual question.

Page 40 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

02 03

Not writing to the evaluation criteria. The evaluation criteria is a key guide in writing your response. This is how the evaluators are going to grade you on paper. This is how their evaluation tool is arranged. Make sure you address the evaluation criteria.

Making it all about you. The evaluators don’t really care about you, until they care about you. What that means is, they want to know what’s in it for them. Talk less about you and make it more about how the buyer(s) will benefit by working with you. That will get their attention and will build trust. Then and only then do they care about the details of who you are.

Pay attention to these three things and you’ll be well on your way to the win!

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 41

RFP Response Editorial Peer Review: Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Proposal An often overlooked task among mid-market firms that don’t have a dedicated proposal team is the Editorial Peer Review. This may seem like a simple task, but it’s more involved than you might think. It’s something that higher level executives almost always undervalue and under-resource. It takes longer than you think. And no, not everyone can do it.

What is an editorial peer review?

An editorial peer review is the practice of reviewing the response to an RFP to confirm that the writing is readable, consistent, and organized with correct grammar, syntax, and formatting. It also ensures there is a clear and concise point of view. The goal of this review is to ensure a succinct presentation that is structurally sound and fully addresses all requirements of the proposal.

Page 42 | www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

Why is editorial peer review important to the RFP response process?

The first impression of your proposal is important. If the evaluators are constantly noticing typos, inconsistences, or incorrect verbiage, that will lead to an unconscious bias against your content. That will, no doubt, affect their scoring in a negative way.

Performing an editorial peer review before submitting a response will:

01

02

Provide consistent content

Allow for an objective look at the content

03

04

Identify any formatting and grammatical errors

Give recommendations for changes

A good editorial reviewer will: • Check every letter in every word, every word in every sentence, every sentence in every paragraph, and ensure it pertains to the subject • Check for misused words. For example, if someone writes from and meant form, spell check won’t catch that • Check for references to tables, charts, footnotes, etc.

• Verify links work (in the Word document and when printed to PDF) • Verify headers and footers are correct and the date on the first page matches the date on the following pages • Look for missing letters or words

www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 43

The editorial peer review process involves checks and balances which allows for confidence in submissions. An editorial peer review consists of four major points: consistency, readability, compliance, and formatting. A document that is consistent, easy to read, and follows the given instructions will score higher than a document that is complicated and messy. Editorial review will also catch things specifically laid out in the response instructions, which could prevent disqualification.

What to look for in an editorial review?

Consistency: Anomalies trigger the brain something is “off”. It may be subconscious, but our brains are hardwired to notice outliers. Stay consistent.

Readability: There is no struggle like reading a proposal full of jargon and unnecessary words.

Avoid a proposal full of complicated and overly explanatory responses.

Compliance: Each RFP is unique. Some have requirements such as specific font style, size, and number of pages for each response. Make sure you are in compliance.

Formatting: Formatting is the aesthetic of the document. Consistency is key. Unless there is a violation of the requirements, inconsistent formatting probably will not result in a disqualified RFP. But it will receive a lower score!

Two of the most overused words in writing include:

“THAT”

The word “that”. If the sentence can stand on its own without the “that”, remove it.

“VERY” The word “very”. It is a subjective word and subjective words should be avoided at all costs. What does very even mean?

In relation to what? Never answer a question by raising questions as that will just confuse the evaluators

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Keep this analogy in mind when thinking of the presentation you are making in an effort to win: if you serve a perfectly prepared filet mignon on a trash can lid, it’s trash.

If you serve a greasy hamburger on a beautifully prepared place setting in gold, you have a gourmet meal. Serve your filet on the gold setting!

Editorial Review Best Practices Everyone has their own style when reviewing so it is important to try the recommendations and figure out what works best for you. Incorporating the following tips in your review will ensure your own checks and balances are effective: • • •

• •

• • •

Run spell and grammar check, but don’t rely on it.

Review and fix formatting with Track Changes off When peering for content, turn on track changes! Your writer will likely want to review every context change you made.

Increase your zoom. Try peering at 130% instead of 100%.

Don’t forget to update your table of contents. Always peer each line to ensure body text was not inadvertently set to a heading style.

Make sure headings and tables are consistent Double check that Appendices are referenced correctly Make sure all parts of the questions were answered Important note: A general rule of thumb is that it takes 11 to 15 minutes per page to editorially peer review. Use that to calculate the timeline for editorial peer review and build that into your response timeline accordingly. Do not skimp on this time allotment!

Closing Editorial peer review is not the only step to a winning response, but it is integral.

Your review ensures the submission flows in an understandable manner, answers all questions without raising more, and looks professional. www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 45

80%

of high-performing proposal teams are using a Go-NoGo process.

(2023 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio)

Short -Term Framework Responding to an RFP can be daunting for those who don’t regularly do so. We get that.

That’s why we at The RFP Success® Company have developed a detailed process, based on years of experience, to help you successfully work your way—step-by-step—through the process of responding to an RFP solicitation.

After helping our clients win hundreds of millions of dollars in state government contracts, we have seen what’s worked, what hasn’t worked, and what stands out from the masses. From that, we developed what we call our RFP Success® 4x4 Framework.

We know that those companies that have the highest win rates of 60% or higher have a solid footing in four key areas:

Content

Strategy

(aka Foundation)

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People

Process

Let’s dive into each of these components in more detail.

1. Content When you are writing an RFP response, your content should compel the evaluator to give you an “Exceeds Expectations.” Most responses focus on “Meeting Expectations,” by simply answering the question. You have to go further than that.

Sure, you want to meet the requirements and qualifications. But your competitors will be doing the same thing. It’s time to shoot for “Exceeds” every time.

Remember there’s a human being on the other end who has to read your, and many other, responses.

We could write a whole book just on content strategies (oh wait, we have!). But here are some key best practices to get you the “Exceeds”: When it comes to evaluating our clients’ responses, there are five key strategies you can implement immediately that will drastically improve your content:

• Speak to the solution.

Make it less about you, more about what your solution can do for the buyer. The more they can relate to your content, the more they will lean in, the more they will absorb and comprehend your content. That’s what will get you more points.

• Answer the Questions!

Answer the question they have asked directly. This requires you to slow down and really think about it. It requires you to think about it from their perspective instead of jumping to your standard answer. Make sure you answer all parts of the question as well. www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 47

• Squeeze the Sponge

For each of your answers, ask yourself these questions: “So what?”, “How does the client benefit from this?” and “Why does the client care about this?”. This helps you resist the urge to put in extra detail that doesn’t matter at this stage of the game. We call that “Squeezing the Sponge.”

• Repeat Key Points

Telling your potential client something once isn’t going to resonate. Studies show that it takes hearing something 5-7 times for it to really sink in. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself throughout the proposal on the most important points.

• Put the Proof in the Pudding

Don’t make claims in your response without supporting them with proof. For example, don’t just say, “We have the fastest response time in the industry.”

You need to back this up by stating what your response time is and how it compares to the industry standard or your competitors. In addition, back up your response with details on specific past client successes and testimonials.

The challenge is, you can’t implement these strategies if you don’t have the right information.

Which leads us to the second pillar of The RFP Success® 4x4 Framework.

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2. Strategy Strategy is about laying the foundation and garnering information. When you get this right, you will bid on the right opportunities and be able to develop content that will resonate with the evaluators. You always want to make sure you have enough information (outside of the RFP itself) to write a convincing argument that you are the best solution.

Some of the biggest mistakes we see businesses make are: • • • • •

Responding to too many RFPs Responding to the wrong RFPs Not differentiating themselves Talking too much about themselves Not relating to the needs of the buyer

They may be submitting a beautiful looking RFP response, with gorgeous graphics and tables, but if their expertise doesn’t fit the specific objective and requirements of the solicitation, or if they don’t have a full understanding of the challenges that face that client, chances are they won’t get past the evaluator’s first review of their proposal.

Remember…

• Hope is NOT a Strategy • Blind bidding is NOT a Strategy • Bidding on everything is NOT a Strategy Strategy lays the foundation; without it your efforts will be futile. Do not, and I repeat do not, avoid your strategy! www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 49

There are two pieces to strategy: Business Development Strategy and Bidding Strategy.

Business Development Strategy Have you ever gotten into your car for a road trip, driven to a new state thousands of miles away, without a map? Likely not unless you weren’t overly concerned with when or how you would get there. You’d use a map or a GPS to help guide you.

Your business development strategy is your map. Answer these questions to lay the business development foundation: •

Who is your high value client that you love to work with?

•

What pain points do your high value clients generally have?

•

What solutions can you provide?

•

What is your value proposition?

•

What differentiates you from the competition?

•

What types of projects are great fits for your solution and your team members?

When you have a solid business development strategy, you will make better decisions regarding which opportunities to bid on.

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Bidding Strategy The bidding strategy utilizes the core foundation of your business development strategy but pulls in specifics for each individual bid.

Do you feel like skipping over that bidding strategy? Sure, that’s fine. Here are the results you’re going to get time and time again:

Your bidding strategy includes thinking about and answering these questions: •

•

• • •

How does this opportunity fit into your bigger revenue and client acquisition goals?

How are you going to differentiate yourself from the specific competition for this bid?

•

How aggressive do you want to be in your offering?

•

What are the main messages you want to share about how you will help this specific buyer address their needs?

• •

Low win rate Loss of money, time, and energy Increased stress, aggravation, and annoyance Decreased revenue Unmotivated team members

Bidding without a strategy is the equivalent of a cold response and experts say you have a less than 5% chance of winning a cold response. I’d argue that it’s less than 1%, but go ahead, try. Then kick yourself afterwards.

Instead, here’s what I want for you:

How will you meet (or better yet, exceed) the requirements of the RFP?

•

Ability to better manage resources

•

Continue to improve your win %

You need a separate bidding strategy for Every.

Single. Opportunity.

•

Waste less time

•

Decrease stress, aggravation, frustration, and annoyance among team members

•

More money!

•

Your bidding strategy sets the stage and ensures everyone is on the same page. It sets you up to knock your content out of the park!

There is nothing more frustrating than working your arse off, day and night, on a bid and then losing. Those losses take their toll on the business (read: bottom line dollars) and on the team (read: morale, fatigue, attitude, burnout).

You don’t want that. And I don’t’ want that for you.

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3. People: Many times, we see small- and mid-sized businesses utilizing non-proposal professionals to respond to RFPs. While I understand this need, it’s also doing you a disservice.

Proposal management and writing is a certified profession. You won’t find any other team members that are passionate about RFP responses, not even close. And trust me, you want a response team that is committed to excellence, not just merely going through the motions (or filling in between other parts of their job).

To build an all-star, winning RFP response team, follow these best practices: Have the right people in the right seats on the bus. Best case scenario, you should have a proposal manager, a proposal writer, and a formatter/editor.

Pair passion with skill. If you’re pulling salespeople off the streets to respond to your RFPs, you’re not getting passion or skill. Proposal professionals are passionate about RFP responses (find me one salesperson who is!), and they are specifically trained in the nuances of RFP responses.

Give opportunity for growth. Make sure your team is trained in the latest response strategies by giving them continued education opportunities.

When you have the right team members responding to your RFPs, they have the skill and passion to turn that strategy into persuasive content that will capture the evaluator’s attention.

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4. Process: An effective process will give you confidence in your ability to get the best possible proposal out the door on time.

What happens when you have no process or an inefficient process?

• • • • • • •

It will lead to bidding on the wrong opportunities Deadlines will be missed There won’t be enough time to incorporate key information or weave in the appropriate positioning There won’t be enough time for reviews to ensure professionalism, accuracy, and compliance Team members will be frustrated and discouraged Complete chaos will arise when the team hits a speed bump You end up getting disqualified

In contrast, better processes can lead to: • • • • •

Better management of a high volume of RFPs More consistency in the way proposals are produced, saving time and money Enhanced evaluator experience which leads to more wins Decreased costs Continuous improvement

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Here are some of the most important pieces of your process: •

Utilize a go/no go process to identify appropriate-fit opportunities

•

For those “go” opportunities: Create a response timeline/calendar Create a response template Schedule and conduct the kickoff meeting Keep the response on track Perform strategic and editorial reviews before submittal Debrief with your internal team after submittal Debrief with the buyer after contract award Document lessons learned Send a thank you note, win or lose (yes, either way!)

When you have an efficient and streamlined process, your team will have the time to put together a persuasive proposal, showcasing how your solution is the perfect fit for their needs.

Implementing The RFP Success® 4x4 Framework When responding to an RFP, you want to “Exceed” expectations, stay organized, submit on time, and ultimately, win the business. By using the detailed process outlined in our 4x4 Framework, your company positions itself to improve your RFP response win rate through effective strategy and a passionate, committed team adept at persuasive content.

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Best and Final Offer (BAFO) Congratulations!

You’ve made it to the BAFO (best and final offer) portion of the RFP process. This is both exciting and daunting. The fact that you made it this far in the RFP response process is a strong indication that the company is seriously considering you as their vendor of choice.

BAFO is a common practice where the company or government entity you submitted your RFP response to asks you to provide your final offer in price and services. Does this mean you have to change your original pricing that you provided in your RFP response?

Maybe. If you think you can seal the deal with slightly better pricing, then, by all means, go ahead! But don’t rush into this decision to get the deal. We’ll explore several options that vendors have below.

But first...

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What exactly is BAFO? BAFO – or what I like to call the “BAFO Dance” – are procedures that government evaluators use to negotiate the best pricing or value after your formal response has been submitted and the evaluators have scored your response. Offerors selected for BAFO will typically receive a formal email request with detailed BAFO response criteria which the Offeror will provide in written form or verbally through a scheduled meeting.

BAFO responses provide an additional opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the project further and continue communicating your firm’s worth primarily through price - to the government. While a successful BAFO response primarily focuses on price, it offers an additional opportunity to demonstrate your company’s value and experience to the client.

While a BAFO request does not occur with all offers, it is an often-used tool by government entities to try and secure the best pricing and/or additional services from you and your team. Should your firm receive a BAFO, it is a sign that the evaluators like what they saw in the RFP response. Kudos to you and your team!

It is critical to evaluate the request criteria carefully, immediately put your team together, and generate a solid BAFO response that fits the requirements. After all, whatever is agreed upon in these, and all negotiations, will become part of the final contract. The timelines for a BAFO response are often short, so you want to be on your A-Game.

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Potential BAFO options that you need to consider:

01

02

Price reduction: A reduction in the original pricing is the most often used response vendors leverage when responding to a BAFO. But be careful here.

Unless you are willing to sacrifice profit to win the deal so you can gain a foothold in a specific industry or region, you need to consider the work your teams will have to perform to fulfill the contract and what it will cost you to do so. Suppose you can afford the reduction in profit while still getting the project done on time and on budget, then a price reduction is an option you should consider to win the deal. Your Sales team should know what price the client is willing to pay. They should be involved in BAFO just like they were in the pricing of the original RFP. Increase in services: If the option of reducing the price isn’t in the financial cards for your firm, then you can always consider adding additional services at no additional cost not provided in the original response. These may include such things as increased support hours, additional software functionality, additional testing, or training. Whatever you decide, make sure that you carefully assess what additional services you are offering against the time and level of effort it will take your team to complete the project on time and on budget.

03

Price reduction AND increase in services: You know your business, profit margins, and your strategic approach for breaking into the market with this client. Working closely with your Sales team, you’ll also know what you think the government entity will accept as a BAFO. In some instances, if you think it will be a deciding factor in the government choosing your business, you may decide to include a price reduction AND an increase in services to secure the business. Again, make sure that whatever you offer in BAFO, your team can complete the project on time and on budget.

04

No change in BAFO response: You mean I can say “No?”. Yes. You can. If the price and services you provided in the original RFP response are the best you can offer, then do it! Just make sure you clearly explain the reasons why in your BAFO response. You can take this opportunity to remind the client that you already included special pricing in your original response. You might also describe the project’s complexity and that your company is the best option to reduce risk to the government. If you go this route in BAFO, explain in detail why you are not reducing your price or adding services while continuing to show your company’s value to the government.

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Will the government think I should have already provided a lower price in my original RFP response if I lower it in BAFO? Unlikely. Remember that the BAFO dance between vendor and client is an age-old practice.

Vendors submit an RFP fully expecting the government to ask for a BAFO. Government entities evaluate vendor responses, fully expecting to ask the same vendor for a BAFO. It’s an acceptable practice used in thousands of RFP contract negotiations around the world.

The key is to make sure you are explaining the value you will bring to the government while reducing its risk. So, don’t worry about what the government will think if you come back with a lower price for your BAFO. It just might win you the deal!

Should I reduce pricing, given my pricing/business model?

Continually evaluating the impact of the price reduction against the firm’s business model is a good practice in BAFO. This is where a detailed discussion between the Sales and Implementation Team is critical. If you can’t lower your pricing, state that you have submitted your best and final offer and demonstrate the value to the government. Emphasize your firm’s and team’s value over any potential competitor. Focus on your firm’s unique ability to relieve the government’s pain points and how your approach and experience will reduce the government’s exposure to risk.

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Sometimes, a profit loss is a manageable option for a firm. You may be ‘buying’ experience or you have decided that you are willing to work with the government client at any cost to gain access to their Agency or region. You may also decide that while you are reducing your price in BAFO, the opportunity may be scalable with future work where you can get back some or all of what you gave up in BAFO. Regardless, you should concentrate on documenting how you can reduce costs and relieve their pain whether you reduce price and increase services or hold firm to your original pricing. Remember, the government does not want you to low-bid while risking delivery and quality, so be realistic in your BAFO decisions.

Closing BAFO responses are all about the value your firm brings to the table. It’s an extension of your original proposal submission with the opportunity to emphasize why you are the best choice. Carefully considering your BAFO response is a critical part of your overall RFP strategy. Providing qualitative proof in your BAFO response and the benefits to the government in choosing your company will help you explain your BAFO response and put it in the best light to win the deal. www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 59

How to Create a Research & Bid Foundation When looking for opportunities to bid on, how do you decide where to devote your time and resources? It can be difficult to sift through hundreds or thousands of bid opportunities without having a solid foundation and background in which to base those decisions.

Putting together a bid takes a lot of company time and resources, and those resources should not be wasted. You cannot just jump in and decide to throw a bid together because you see an opportunity that piques your interest. It is important to make sure that you assess a potential opportunity to determine if it aligns with your company goals and consider the ROI of the bid opportunity. If not properly aligned, you may spend many frustrating hours working on a bid that you have exceptionally low chance of winning, leaving you and your team exhausted and discouraged. Selecting opportunities where you have a strong chance of winning and a narrowed focus will serve you better in the long run. You want to approach the bid process with the foundation of research, a knowledge of what is out there to increase your chance of a win.

The 4 steps to get started...

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Step 1 - Research Research. What is it? I can tell you what it’s not. It’s not Googling keywords and clicking on the first two links presented on your digital device. Strong research, quality research, is so much more.

Excellence in Research for Australia defines the word research as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings.

Why is research important when responding to an RFP? Think about the details and the types of information that you would want to know about a company, an offering, a market, etc. You can increase your chances of submitting a winning bid simply by taking the necessary steps in the beginning.

Solid and useful research takes time and patience to gather. You should be gathering information prior to any RFP hitting the streets, because once it does, you will have no time. In addition, contacting the contracting agency is strictly forbidden once the RFP is released.

• Here is a list of some things you may want to research ahead of an RFP coming out: • Is there an incumbent? If so, what is the relationship? Are they doing a decent job, are they well liked, are they meeting their goals?

• What are the entity’s terms and conditions, and are there any deal breakers?

• What are the buyers’ hot buttons? What do they really care about?

• What are the buyer’s goals and objectives?

• What is happening in the state/county/city that might affect this bid?

• What is the political environment, and will it be changing any time soon?

This stage of research is crucial for the success of any company seeking a government contract.

You would not want to spend hundreds of hours putting together a proposal and bidding on an opportunity that is a dead-end road.

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Step 2 – Vendor Registration There will always be a requirement to get registered as a vendor in the state or county in which you are hoping to do work. There are often e-vendor sites and vendor portals that require a government issued username and password – and that is just to be able to see the opportunities available.

1. Register the business name with the Secretary of State’s office.

2. Determine the appropriate business structure (LLC, Corporation, etc.)

3. Check federal requirements for any regulations in your industry.

4. Apply for a state vendor’s license (may also be called business license.

5. Check local requirements in counties or cities to see if additional licenses are required.

6. Collect sales tax consistent with state laws.

7. Maintain tax records and be able to supply them to authorities as needed.

8. Determine preferred vendor lists in your state or county and register your business.

9. Find procurement sites and register to be notified when bids are posted.

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Step 3 – Relationship Building Relationship building is key to winning RFPs. May businesses feel they can just bid on the RFP when it comes out, and voila, a multi-milliondollar contract. That likely won’t happen.

Bidding cold – meaning you are unfamiliar to the buyer – gives you less than a 5% chance of winning. FIVE PERCENT! Are you willing to gamble on that?

Building relationships prior to the RFP coming out is crucial. You will want to build relationships with the buyers at the agency level and the procurement officials.

Therefore, it is so important to know who your key target prospects are. You cannot build relationships with every single state. Pick your top 3, 5, or 10, depending on your bandwidth to spend on relationship-building activities.

What does relationship-building look like? It means picking up the phone and having a conversation. It means emailing valuable information that is not salesy but adds value to the prospect. It means in-person visits when possible. It means meeting them at live events, or other places they hang out.

Now, government officials usually have overflowing inboxes and voicemail boxes that have been full for months, so getting on the phone with someone in authority takes perseverance. Once you have them on the phone, it is crucial to build that relationship and open the doors of communication. Make sure that conversation is not all about you. Get to know that person and what their goals and objectives are. This is a long-term play but is of huge value in the long-term.

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Step 4 – Small Diverse Business (SDB) Opportunities Do you have a niche business offering?

Are you a registered small diverse business (SDB) -- WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise), MBE (Minority Business Enterprise), VBE (Veteran Business Enterprise) or DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise)?

There are many opportunities either dedicated to SDB’s or with a large requirement for an SDB. You simply need to know where to go and what to do to get started. The cities and states that focus on diversity tend to have a dedicated Supplier Diversity division. That is a great place to focus on your relationship building as their sole purpose is to help businesses like yours get more exposure.

Closing Building a solid foundation for your bidding requires: • Research process and strategy • Vendor registration process • Relationship building strategy It is imperative to narrow your focus if you want to build a winning RFP culture.

You simply will not have enough time or resources to dedicate otherwise.

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The Secret Strategy for Winning RFPs Let’s talk dating.

I know, I know, we’re supposed to be talking about RFPs! Trust me, we’ll get there.

Dating is a great analogy for sales. And let’s face it, responding to RFPs is a form of a sale.

When we are in the dating pool, first impression is everything. Whether you’re meeting someone in person, or you are swiping left and right, that first impression is what’s going to move things forward.

But we also know that first impressions don’t last. You can be the most beautiful person on the outside, but for a multitude of reasons it’s not a fit once we get to know the inside.

The same goes with a sales opportunity. And, of course, our sales focus is on the response to the RFP. Now, if you want to make a great first impression, your proposal has got to be visually appealing. Yes, that’s important.

But what is under that external view is where reviewers really connect and make their decisions.

In dating, in order to move the relationship forward there are things I want to learn about you. Do you have a job? Do we like the same things? Are there any deal breakers?

The buyers also want to learn some basics about you from your proposal -Can you do the job? Do you have experience? Are you financially stable? These are all the “on paper” things.

They’re important. They help us validate that you could be a good match.

But what really takes the relationship to the next level is what I FEEL about you. In a sale, the buyer is thinking things like -- Can I trust you?

Do you understand my challenges? Are you really listening to what we need?

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In an RFP, the people who wrote the RFP wrote it for a tactical response. That’s just the way we think about it; it’s logical. They’ll wax poetic about key goals and objectives of the department or agency; they’ll give you the “canned” version of what their priorities are. Important, yes; all-inclusive, no.

Responding to those tactical pieces is important, but it won’t evoke emotion, and people ultimately buy based on emotion.

You need emotion to really build the strong relationship that leads to the sale.

To get to that emotion, you need to show them that you can relate to them, that you really understand their challenges, which will lead to building trust.

But guess what?! The RFP itself isn’t going to give you enough information to do that.

In an RFP response, if you don’t know more about the buyer than what the RFP states, you’re just checking the boxes of the “on paper” qualifications. While that might get you to the next date, you’re probably one of a few dates they’re going on. We want to get to exclusive.

This is why it’s so imperative to have working knowledge of the prospect before you respond to the RFP. That means you must have conversations with the prospect prior to the RFP coming out.

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Let me say that again: You must have conversations with the prospect prior to the RFP coming out.

This requires a strong relationship-building strategy that includes phone calls, emails, and research. This is the part that isn’t sexy, that companies skim over as unnecessary. But it is just the opposite.

It’s the single most important puzzle piece in winning RFPs. If you want to build a culture of winning RFPs beyond the 10%-20% you’re at now, this is the secret strategy.

• Know their industry.

• Have real conversations.

• Build trust.

• Find out what their real challenges are.

• All before the RFP comes out.

• Then and only then will you be able to write a winning response that really speaks to them.

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Establishing Elite Customer Service It’s not just about your service/solution when bidding on that RFP; you also want to showcase what it’s like to work with your team and the company. This includes the client getting a feel for the level of customer service they’ll receive during the whole cycle of the project/ contract.

As part of your RFP response, you will be demonstrating project understanding through your company’s strategic approach and methodology. That methodology should demonstrate the company’s and project management team’s capabilities to provide elite customer service throughout the project. The ability to demonstrate customer service capabilities as part of the proposal should focus on: • WHO is going to monitor service success on your Team? Is it a firmwide Program or Quality Manager, or a Project or Contract Manager? How will they integrate with the client?

• HOW is your Team going to measure service success? WHAT parameters are established by the client to measure service success and WHEN will these occur?

• WHERE will your Team perform service evaluations? For example, will the Team evaluate success against metrics independently against data, onsite through observation or both?

• PROVE how your company and team will deliver that elite level of service that is customized to this specific client and project.

The key outcome is demonstrating in your response that you will deliver that elite customer service in a manner that will exceed government expectations.

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1 – WHO Your company should present in your RFP response WHO the lead person is in your company that is ensuring and validating quality deliverables. Present that person’s credentials and brief bio (unless full resume is required) and provide bulleted relevant experience in monitoring quality, adjusting systems or people behavior, and the resulting qualitative benefits of the monitoring that exceeded expectations.

2 – WHAT, HOW, & WHEN In your RFP response, presenting to the client your tactical methodology—WHAT your team will do, HOW they will do it, WHEN they will do it—is critical to demonstrating value to the client. It is very likely that the Solicitation has identified Performance Criteria. Your proposal should address every criteria, bulleting out WHAT your Firm will do to exceed performance, HOW they will monitor, and WHEN they are monitoring in order to demonstrate confidence and project understanding in reporting. In state government, the profit is in accountability, and the client desires assurance that all reporting is generating results that can be measured against the Government’s return on investment.

In presenting the performance monitoring methodology, it is important to develop the connection between the services methodology and the monitoring methodology. This step engages the evaluator and demonstrates that how your Team will provide the service has integrated steps to monitor the service. We also recommend that every proposal emphasizes that, at project Kickoff your team reviews performance expectations in a targeted training session, and thereafter on a monthly or quarterly basis to demonstrate to the Government ongoing, proactive, and predictive monitoring, compared to conducting no ongoing discussions to identify patterns to avoid system or people failure.

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Your monitoring methodology should be presented clearly and to the point, typically in table form, and which identifies:

Activity # and Activity

Measures (for example, a Service Level Agreement related to time to respond and resolve by tier or service)

Trends By Time (monthly, quarterly) and Actual and Forecasted

Your proposal likely will include Solicitation response requirements related to warranty; make sure to include them and be very careful in the wording, specifically to end of life components, as applicable.

If software related firms should emphasize patch and upgrade updates.

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3 – WHERE While closely related to HOW your Firm monitors success, the Government will want to know WHERE your Team will accomplish monitoring. The distinction here is independent monitoring of outcomes through:

Reporting data and system outcomes

Onsight activity monitoring

There is a cost associated with creating reporting processes as well as with onsite monitoring to determine results. Depending on how pricing is presented, it is important to ensure the evaluators understand the monitoring method.

The Government has established performance measures to ensure project success. A Firm, in their submitted proposal, needs to demonstrate capabilities but also to demonstrate results that exceed performance and government expectations by providing elite customer service.

In the proposal, we recommend strongly inserting a report that displays the measures and sample outputs—perhaps trend data—to demonstrate to the Government that the Firm has done this and is constantly evaluating performance. www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 71

4 – PROVE You’ve shown who is going to monitor the service quality and how you are going to measure that quality, now it is time to PROVE how you will deliver that elite customer service. Start by thinking through what makes your service exceptional, how is it better than your competitors, and how will your team provide that level of consistent customer service at every phase of the project with the client.

Here are some topics to discuss in your RFP response that will help prove to the client that you will provide elite customer service: •

Dedicated contact person - Make it easy for the client so they have one source to contact for the project management.

•

Response time – When is that contact person available and how quickly will they respond?

•

Resolution time – If there is an issue, how quickly can your client expect a resolution?

•

Resolution process – How will you keep your client updated on the progress of the resolution?

•

Support team (if applicable): 1. How will you make it easy for your clients to get in touch with the support team (email, phone, text)?

2. Have a real human being answer who understands the products/solutions you offer.

3. If you don’t provide 24X7 support, have an Emergency Contact number in the event of an emergency outside normal business hours (system down).

4. How do you train your team about this specific solution/product so they know the nuances and differences specific to this client.

5. Consider subbing with local consultants that could respond in a few hours if on-site is needed. We had a client do this and they had consultants at all four corners of the state that could respond onsite quickly if needed!

6. If hardware and software support is involved, help the client document all warranties and expiration dates to avert surprises in obsolete/unsupported hardware and software that is no longer supported.

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•

Client training - provide recorded webinars that clients can use for refresher trainings after implementation.

Good instructional collateral is good too (cheat sheet guides).

•

Added “freebies” – what will you provide to add value they wouldn’t expect (i.e. you provide 6 months of free refresher trainings on your product or you send someone from your team to support them onsite during launch week).

•

Show you’re invested - how can you engage with the client and connect your solution to truly invest in how it helps their company be successful and meet their goals (not just drop your product/solution and leave).

•

Keep clients informed – describe how you will inform the client about upcoming software updates/changes especially if it impacts system availability.

1. In addition, make sure the company has a regularly updated contact list of the key people who need to know about these updates. (if applicable)

•

Past performance - present your elite customer service/performance approaches in past client projects and include client testimonials that back this up

These are just a few topics to include in your RFP response that demonstrate to the client how you will deliver elite customer service. For each client and project, you will determine specific ways you can provide this level of customer service throughout the project. In your RFP response, describe how you will accomplish that and the benefits the client will experience.

The goal here has been to layout a tried-and-true pattern and methodology to demonstrate to the Government your company’s capabilities in achieving elite customer service through your RFP response. Following a clear pattern that memorializes your business operations provides confidence to the Government that they are in ‘good hands’ and that the Government’s investment will likely...

... exceed all expectations. www.therfpsuccesscompany.com | Page 73

Oral Presentations Is it time for an RFP Orals process reboot? Are you ready to take an honest and thorough look at your team’s RFP Orals process to ultimately increase win rates and revenues in State Contracts? In this article, the RFP Success Company provides key lessons learned to improve your team’s Oral presentation opportunities to better position you and your company for the “win”.

Celebrate getting to Orals, then get down to business on preparing to bring the win home. After submitting a rock star response to a Request for Proposal, if your company is downselected and 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?

After your (well-deserved!) mini celebration, it’s time to get down to business. We tell our SLED clients all the time that Orals is a job interview. You, your team, and your company got the job interview and are now one of the few fortunate teams to interview for a job (project) by the hiring managers, who, in this case, are the evaluators. Like any other job interview, you want to put on your best face and highlight your key skills to get the job. But how do you start? Here are a few key tips to help you get your team ready for the “one-day sale”.

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SLED clients that win have one key thing in common: They make a plan to prepare for oral presentations. It’s important that everyone selected to attend the oral presentation also attends the Orals Training and does so together. We sometimes get pushback from clients that “So and so is an expert and doesn’t need to waste time at Orals Training” or “So and so is just too busy to attend Training. She’s done this before. I’m sure she’ll do just fine.”

Maybe. But what if their expertise is great but their presentation skills are less than you hoped?

What if the veteran Orals presenter has never presented with other team members scheduled to present?

Sometimes you find out that the team just doesn’t gel well until you are in front of the decision-makers. That’s too late! While your response to their requirements and your approach is the main focus of Orals, most evaluators are looking at HOW you interact with them and each other. Do you really want to take a chance that the “collaboration” you were hoping to convey as a team is really there at the most important presentation of the project? I think not.

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The other reason it’s important to practice is that each member of that team has likely had limited exposure to the RFP response.

Everyone needs to come together to understand the wholeness of the response and how their pieces fit into it.

•Orals is a job interview. The Evaluators are assessing you and your team to see if you really understand their needs, goals, and objectives. They’re also looking for you to explain in more detail how you’ll reduce their risk. Governments, like most of us, are very risk averse. Help your teams to develop and show the confidence they need to knock orals out of the park. How? Practice. Practice. Practice.

•Remember, you and your team will ALL be under the white-hot spotlight TOGETHER at Orals. Training is a great way to make sure that everyone on the presentation is in sync. We coach SLED teams preparing for Orals to really focus on identifying the key skillset they bring to the table and the experience that sets them apart from the rest of the competition. Doing this in a training environment also gives us an opportunity to help craft the answers they will give, assess everyone’s presentation skills, and determine how they interact with each other and how confidently they answer questions.

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The RFP Orals process is a chance to show that you understand the client’s needs while telling them your company’s story.

Like any job interview, you want to show your potential employer that you understand their business and that you have the experience to do the job. You help your future employer understand this by sharing your experience and highlighting some key moments in your career.

It’s the same with Orals. So how do you stand out? Remember these key things: • An RFP response is really the story of your company. Orals are just another opportunity for you to continue to tell that story - but in person. As a company, at orals, you’re highlighting and focusing on some key areas and answering questions that you’ve already likely provided in the RFP response. Orals is just doing that in front of your (hopefully) future teammates. But it takes a different kind of preparation to continue to tell that story in person.

• Orals are an opportunity for your company to speak about your understanding of the requirements and showcase your differentiators. You likely know who the other two or three companies are coming in to present, so you have a real chance to highlight and home in on your company’s differentiators. But make sure you and your team stay focused on the requirements. Don’t veer too far off that path from these important items that the Agency put in their solicitation.

• We tell our SLED clients all the time that an RFP response is not just a set of boring answers to a set of even more boring questions. We also tell them that there is a real human on the other side of the response who is probably reading 10 or more proposals that all sound the same.

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It’s the same thing with Orals Evaluators. While there may be only three or four companies participating, these sessions often last for hours. That can be boring for anyone, regardless of how passionate you are about a topic. The key here is to answer the questions, speak to the Requirements, and show them that you understand their goals and objectives and how you’ll eliminate or reduce their risk.

But don’t forget to bring the “human” element too! Have a little fun – but not too much. Keep it professional. Remember that during the Orals “interview” the evaluators are really assessing how well they think you and your team can work with them. If it’s a public-facing or highly visible project, the evaluators also get to see how you handle being in front of a crowd in what is really a stressful situation. They are watching your interactions with them and each other. So, make sure you are thinking about the human side of the Oral presentation even more so than you did in the written response.

Who should be in Orals?

This is one question that we watch companies agonize over.

Often, the company or agency will specify who can come to the presentation or how many and who can present.

Unless the RFP is explicit about that, you can pretty much bring who you want but you should make sure that they are looking at who they want to see and hear from.

While you’ll be evaluated and scored on all areas of the presentation, the intro and the close are really important.

They may not be “graded” but they set the tone (intro) and leave the last impression (close) on the evaluators and the person who handles these should be very carefully considered. Is it the Salesperson who has a great relationship with the client? If so, then that’s a great choice.

If not, then the highest official attending from the company is a great choice. Some clients think the Project Manager should handle these important tasks, but the PM’s job is to handle just about everything else in between these two points since they will be handling all of the project tasks as well.

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It might sound trivial but it’s important to remember that this is one of the first tests of how the evaluators are going to see how you follow directions. Did they ask vendors to “keep the presentation team reasonably small” and you brought the Second Armored Division?

Did they ask you to bring the Project Team and SMEs for all key areas and you brought a skeleton crew with SMEs covering multiple areas? All of these decisions get noticed.

Can just about anybody handle presenting?

No, “just anybody” cannot. We’ve had companies that have said, “Well, we’re going to have Bob come in because he’s the best presenter”.

That may be true (and kudos to Bob!) but if Bob can’t answer networking or implementation questions with enough detail and in a way that gives the client the confidence that you can do the job while eliminating or reducing risk, it won’t work.

Bring people who can answer the questions cold and speak to the requirements in such a way that ALL of the evaluators can understand! That’s why training and practicing as a team well before the Orals presentation is so critical. That way, you can help the not-so experienced presenters be ready for the “one-day sale”.

Whomever you decide to bring to Orals, one thing is absolutely critical to success: your team needs to know the requirements cold so that whoever gets asked the question, you’re able to handle it.

How is this done before the Orals presentation?

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Brainstorming with the orals team is the key to this success. We bring everybody together and just start throwing questions up on the wall (or whiteboard if your company frowns on writing on perfectly painted walls). We’re looking for the things that we think the evaluators might ask that maybe aren’t necessarily associated with the RFP. Let the team get really creative here and don’t let anyone interrupt them in the middle of their thoughts, even if they are throwing out some wild and crazy stuff. They just might identify the one question that helps you seal the deal at Orals!

Oral’s collateral, presentation decks, and videos oh my!

Orals are not just about putting on your Sunday best and droning on and on in front of the evaluators. What fun is there in that?! Come prepared with the right tools to continually make your case as to why you are the best choice, including:

PowerPoint slides: PowerPoint slides are a critical component of an Orals presentation and should be the main piece of collateral used in your Orals presentation. Make sure every slide speaks to the key requirements outlined in the proposal and continually reinforces why you are the best choice.

An effective Orals slide is something that’s going to have a good number of graphics and not a lot of words. Visually, you want to ensure that everybody can see your presentation, read it, and understand it. Practice in a conference room while having your “evaluators” stationed throughout.

Check to see if they are able to read the slide and if it makes sense. Use simple graphics and simple charts. Evaluators aren’t looking for the next PowerPoint genius for their projects. They want to know that you have the experience to do the job. Make sure your PowerPoint tells that story.

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Should you use videos and other creative mediums?

Clients often ask us for additional ways they can stand out from their competitors. One way they might do this is through the use of pre-recorded videos to play at the Orals presentation. If you choose this route, here are a few things to keep in mind: Make sure the video is well done. We’ve seen videos that are so well-designed that they fully complement the team’s approach and style. It becomes another tool in your Orals Arsenal to show the evaluators why you are the vendor of choice. We’ve also seen videos that would make the Rocky Horror Picture Show look like a Broadway Play! If you’re not willing (or don’t have the time) to invest in a quality and topic-related video, don’t waste your (or your evaluator’s) time.

Handouts, flyers, and pamphlets: Most evaluators aren’t swayed by slick collateral. So, should you bring them? Again, if they do a good job telling your story and compliment your RFP and PowerPoint, then by all means, yes! We usually recommend that these are used as “leave behinds” and handed out at the end of your presentation. Having your company’s strengths sitting in plain view for the evaluator when they get back to the office is another opportunity to go for the win.

Preparing for this important next step in the RFP Proposal Process is critical to winning the bid opportunity. It’s you and your team’s job interview and what we like to call “the one-day sale”. That’s usually all you have – one day to make an impression.

Like you would in a regular job interview, bring your best teams to the event who can answer the evaluator’s questions. But remember, there’s really only one way to be sure you can put your best foot forward in Orals – practice, practice, practice. It might not be easy getting the orals team together to prepare, but neither is getting the notice after the fact that you lost the bid at Orals. Preparing to put forward you and your team’s best foot forward at Orals is the best chance you have to bring home the win.

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3 Tips for Harnessing the Power of AI when responding to State Government RFP’s In this article we will explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be effectively utilized to enhance the process of writing responses to state government Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Our RFP response experts have been testing how AI fits into the proposal world and have learned that by leveraging the capabilities of AI, you can streamline your proposal writing, improve efficiency, and increase your chances of success.

Let’s dive into three key tips on how to make the most of AI in RFP responses.

Tip 1: Utilize AI-powered research tools One of the primary challenges in writing state government RFP Responses is conducting thorough research to gather relevant industry and market data and insights. AI-powered research tools can significantly simplify this process. These tools can swiftly analyze vast amounts of data, extract key information, and provide you with valuable insights that will help build your credibility in your response. AI-powered research tools can save time, enhance the quality of your proposal, and ensure that your arguments are well-informed and supported by reliable data.

Tip 2: Leverage AI for content generation and organization Crafting a compelling state government proposal requires clear and concise writing, along with a well-structured presentation of ideas. While we never recommend using AI to develop all content – the human component is vital to ensure your proposal is accurate and tells your story - it can assist you in generating and organizing your content effectively.

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Here are three ways you can leverage AI for content generation and organization: •

AI tools can aid in organizing your proposal by providing templates, outlining features, and suggesting logical structures.

•

AI-powered writing assistants can help refine your language, suggest improvements, and help your proposal be more coherent and persuasive.

•

You can drop the actual requirements into AI, and it can provide content for high-level, noncritical requirements such as the cover letter and company background.

By leveraging AI for content generation and organization, you can enhance the overall quality and readability of your proposal.

NOTE: Any information you use in AI is available to the public. We strongly urge our clients to ensure no personal or confidential information is run through any AI application.

Tip 3: Employ AI for proofreading and error detection Accuracy and attention to detail are crucial when writing state government proposals. AI can play a key role in proofreading and detecting by identifying and correcting grammatical mistakes, spelling errors, and punctuation issues. Moreover, AI can assist in detecting inconsistencies, improving sentence structure, and enhancing overall readability. By employing AI for proofreading and error detection, you can present a polished and professional proposal to state government entities.

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RFP Facts You Should Know • High-performing proposal teams bid on an average of 65% of RFPs received.

• It takes an average of 26 hours to write an award-winning RFP. • Stressed teams respond to more RFPs, but have a lower win rate.

• There were 6,528 Education industry SLED RFPs to bid on in 2022.

• There were 33,034 Professional Services industry SLED RFPs to bid on in 2022.

• There were 32,822 technology & telecom industry SLED RFPs to bid on in 2022.

• There will be an average of approximately 450,000 – 500,000 SLED RFPs up for grabs in the top 12 industries in 2024.

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References • 2022 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio • 2023 Report: RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks, Loopio • 2023 SLED Government Contracting Forecast, GovWin

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Contact Us The RFP Success® Company Headquarters — Tempe, Arizona 222 S Mill Avenue, Suite 800 Tempe, AZ 85281 wecanhelp@rfpsuccess.com +1-866-473-7411 www.therfpsuccesscompany.com

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