What Are RFP Responses and How Do They Work?
Ganesh Shankar from RFPIO reports that only 5% of RFP responses are successful. With such a small win rate you may wonder why a response is even necessary.
The process of crafting a response may be grueling, but the payoff can be huge if the deal goes through.
In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about RFP responses. We’ll also give you some tips on how to make a response that will close more deals.
What Is an RFP Response?
RFP, which stands for ‘request for proposal’, is a document that company or agency will solicit which say they’re looking for a good, service or asset.
Essentially an RFP is an invitation for potential suppliers to submit a business proposal, or “hit them with their best shot”.
The response follows a structured evaluation of your business and how it stands out from the competition. An RFP is far from a sure thing. But if you craft your response the right way, then you can turn it into a big success.
What Should Your Request for Proposal Response Look Like?
Every response to an RFP will look different, but you should make sure that you have these elements in your proposal.
If you do understand the elements of an RFP response, but want to know how to make them successful, then check out this article here.
- Start with A Cover Letter
A cover allows you to layout expectations surrounding the proposal. It also provides a nice segway into what you can offer them. - Follow with a Concise Executive Summary
The executive summary is one of the most important parts of your response. This section should cover what the client wants, what you need to deliver it and where you see things going in the future.
You should also lay out all the research you did — interview, recommendations, questionnaires. - Deliverables and Strategy Are Your Meat and Potatoes
Now that you demonstrated the value your business can provide it’s time to layout your services, good and strategy.
Describe them in detail in this section, but make sure you don’t mention anything about price. Specifics will only bog them down from seeing the value in your proposal. - Provide a Summary of Your Services
Now that they know what you offer in terms of deliverable and strategy you can layout the prices. This section provides a summary of your rates. - Talk About Your Company
You should include information about your company at the end of the article. A client won’t care about you unless they’re sure you’re a good fit. As such, putting it, in the beginning, is presumptuous.
RFP responses are an important piece of the puzzle and we hope this article has helped you understand everything you need to know about RFP responses. In business, mistakes can be costly, so any insider information can mean the difference between success and failure.
