The better half of saying " NO" in an RFP

It’s the time of the year when your target market is slipping into a holiday or "let’s take this for the next year's budget" mood. Your pursuit team is on the road chasing sales and revenue targets. Yet we had to say "NO" to an RFP from a leading business house. This was one of the biggest that came along in the last 8 months and is from a known name in the industry and target market. The pursuit team is not fully convinced especially when it involves multiple stakeholders including outside partners and OEMs. But sometimes we must stand up and say "NO" because one is fairly sure what the outcome would be.

Sometimes we get too excited and carried away by either the brand name, deal size, partner interest or even the opportunity to try something new (technology/domain) if we win the bid. In a way these all are influencers for gate decisions, but at "what cost". Some of the key??things I usually validate on the BO:

1. Who and What

Did a little research about the client and their background. What their size is, what are they into, any news about them recently which is adding to the bid, who are their existing vendors and so on. This helps clarify the RFP's background and intent. Now I know how that will equate with my offerings. Will any of my current or previous engagements come in handy to match with the requirements mentioned in the RFP? If I bid, will they be able to appreciate my offerings and the expertise they are looking for?

2. Where do I stand

Winning a bid may be the first step with the BO. The critical question was "What if I win". Where does that put me? Do I have what is needed to meet the business requirements mentioned in the RFP? Can I meet the timelines and resource requirements? Can I meet the gaps with the partner capabilities or other external entities? If the answer to these shadows the interest to move forward, it's a good sign to reconsider your interest.

3. What is needed

As part of the RFP striping, we (the proposal team) jointly discuss the needs and wants to execute the BO. Am keen on this stage to access the confidence of the execution team who owns the project delivery responsibility. If we lack the skill set or cannot staff the right resource or land upon a situation of pulling up your key resource from existing high-value projects, it’s a red flag. Or we might have to bring in new tools/technology/domain capabilities which would end up hiring tools and resources at the last minute that might eat into the margins and profitability of the project. Better we allow the BO to pass while we do our best for the existing clients/known domain while also building new capabilities.

4. What do we get - now

Nothing comes cheap and to maintain the quality of your service and delivery, the resources, the tools, the execution, and the delivery all must work coordinated and pass through the rigorous time-tested process. This involves time and cost. Will my client accept this time and expense? Does that align with the ROI predictions and how will the customer perceive that? How well can I Package this cost while keeping in mind the offerings by my nearest competitor? What will be the impact/contribution of other entities/partners in the budget?

In this case- the RFP was for a 5-year long contract. For sure for such an extended period, the prospect must have had a good budget.??Unfortunately, we were not prepared to consume that budget or timeline in the short term which might impact the long term as well.

5. Where does this take us- Future

As discussed earlier, winning the Bid is only the first step. Building relations and understanding each other is yet another major step towards building a successful business. Will the BO pave way for future business, does that align with my core strength or will it help build new strengths we both can leverage upon? Does that align with my vision for growth?

As we all agree, the cost of acquisition for smaller and larger businesses is almost the same, and for this reason, it makes sense for me to pursue larger contracts that can give us recurring business at a very minimal acquisition cost. Sadly, even though this BO had all those that the pursuit team could ever dream from an ideal customer, am doubtful of my current readiness to support the prospect.

6. What is my chance of Winning

All the above points towards this final check. There is no definitive answer but all the above would give you clues to answer these important questions. Sometimes you didn`t win, not because you didn`t have best response or you failed to fit all the qualifications asked in the RFP, but for factors that you might have no control over like changes in government regulations/ other economic factors or changes in prospect business priorities.

I prefer to keep a note of all the bid opportunities (won/lost) and compare that with every new BO. Pre-bid meetings are also a key venue to access the competition and understand who you would be the other incumbents and what their strengths would be while asking relevant questions to validate the client's expectations.

Finally, you sum up all your findings from the topics discussed above and put forward your thoughts to substantiate your view for a "Go-No Go". It is not easy to say NO to a BO, irrespective of what size or color it holds if it doesn’t add up there is no shame in saying a polite "No" while keeping the relations warm.

(* the topics and views mentioned are purely my personal view of approaching a Bid decision and don`t in any form relate to my employer’s business and process)