Are you ready for an RFP landslide post lockdown?

Even for those firms and businesses who are not taking the wage subsidy, unless you make hand sanitizer or provide virtual meeting software, it is highly likely that you have suffered a significant dip in revenue. This means that it is highly likely that every RFP you receive or see advertised, you will submit a response to. While this certainly wouldn’t be advised as best practice, knowing this won’t change the situation. Most organisations will most likely chase every opportunity they can find, however unlikely it is that they will be able to win the work. After all, with people less busy, it becomes harder to justify not responding. This is just what providers of B2B services will be doing, chasing and responding to RFPs. However, looking at your clients and target markets there is a second factor that will contribute to a likely increase in RFPs being released to the market.

Why the RFPs landslide is coming.

Firstly, in many economies, the government will be looking to stimulate growth through a plan of investment. This is being delivered by fast-tracking shovel-ready projects, investing in new infrastructure projects, and other major projects that require large capital input. This is good news for the economy and for those who work in these sectors. However, this money won’t just be handed out, you’ll need to win it. Which means, yes, you’ve guessed it, government departments will be issuing some pretty significant RFPS in the coming months.

Secondly, most businesses are looking to reduce their operating costs. We’re already seeing global stories of employees being furloughed, redundancies occurring, and restructuring, and this will only start picking up pace. Owners, CEOs, CFOS, and all senior executive teams will be looking through their expenditure with a fine-tooth comb. This means that any incumbent suppliers may well be called in and asked how they can reduce their service and their costs. Alternatively, businesses may just view this as the perfect time to test the market properly. Which means, yes, you’ve guessed it again, they will start issuing RFPS.

So, what do you need to do now to get yourself prepared for the RFP landslide that is coming? Below are 6 things you can do right now, to ensure you have the best chance of winning, and don’t get caught cold.

1.      Don’t wait for the RFP - Start tracking any potential opportunities now.

The key to success in winning work is through building strong business relationships. That is very difficult to do during a competitive process. Some RFPS forbid this from happening. Not all of them by any means, so you should read the RFP carefully to check if this is the case, not assume that it is. This means you need to start engaging meaningfully with the potential decision-makers for any upcoming projects, now.

Remember the aim is to build rapport and earn their confidence and trust in you. This means you will need to ask them open-ended questions and discover what’s important to them. If you can help them out with other projects that they are working on, either through sharing connections or providing them with 3rd party research, then do so. You will also need to try and find out what the important success factors are, and the key risks or hurdles they see in the upcoming project you intend to bid for.

2.      Don’t wait for the RFP – Don’t neglect your current clients.

You may have served a client for the last few years, decade or even longer. Now is not the time to take that for granted. I remember during the last GFC, hearing that a particularly large company brought all their suppliers in one by one and told them, no exceptions, they had to find a way to reduce their fees otherwise they would look at alternatives. Although this is not the best way of conducting business, at least they gave their suppliers the chance to keep the business.

In the new normal you may not get that chance. You may just be faced with an email out of the blue, saying that they are reviewing their current suppliers and you’ve been invited to bid for the work you currently have. Nobody wants to receive that email out of the blue.

Therefore, talk to your existing clients now more than ever. Find out what impacts COVID-19 has had on them, and listen, don’t sell solutions when they confide in you. Take time to understand what lies ahead for them, and once again see if your connections or even your colleagues can help them with the new challenges they face. 

3.      Review your bid response process

If the volume of RFPs increases and the time to respond to them shortens, then it will be prudent to be ready for this. It is important to have a robust bid process. However, it needs to be adaptable. If you have 2 days or less to respond then you won’t have time for that ? day workshop, exploring your key messages, analyzing your competitors, and doing a full SWOT Analysis. For big responses these are essential, and quickly gathering this information will help you provide a better response. You’ll just need to agree to do it in say, 30minutes, and on most likely on a video call.

4.      Don’t neglect the go/no go process

Linked to the above, it helps give you insights as to where the potential weaknesses in your response are. Most businesses have these in place. If you don’t, you can grab one for free here.  Even though you’ve decided to pursue all RFPs, I’d urge you still to complete this stage. As well as helping you with each response, it will also help you see a trend in your unsuccessful bids. If you are continually losing and can see that you are always lacking in the same areas going into the bid, it gives you a clear direction on what you need to work on.

5.      Don’t fall into the template trap

Having a bank of material you can drop into your RFP responses and then adapt is super handy. The important word in the previous sentence was 'adapt.' Templated material is efficient, but very often to the reader, it reads like templated material. The potential client is unlikely to be impressed by a generic response, focused on your own business/firm, and not tailored to them. In fact, your chances of success are slim. So do have material, charts, facts, and figures ready to use. Just make sure they are all adapted for each stage.

6.      Break it into sections and get it proofed by someone independent.

It takes time to proof-read things properly. If you have 2 days to respond and say 10 pages of content in your response, that can’t be proofed in 30 minutes. Try and have a realistic deadline for each section. Once content is signed off by the person ultimately responsible for submitting the bid, see if someone else in your organization can proof-read it. If you don’t have an available resource, try Grammarly or the Hemmingway App. This should ensure that you pick up the majority, if not all errors. Try not to make last-minute changes, these usually ensure that typos are included in the final response.

Summary

With a landslide of RFPs ahead, it pays to prepare for it now. Start tracking what opportunities may be coming up. Review your client base and understand any clients that might put your services out to tender. Finally, review some of your basic bid processes so that you are ready to respond in a hurry.

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