MANAGEMENT
Buried under an RFP pile?
Four Tips for RFP Success ZAK HEMRAJ
A request for proposal (RFP) is like a relay race. Reaching the finish line requires a team effort with quick, well-coordinated handoffs at each leg of the journey.
However, balancing speed and quality in the RFP process does have its hurdles – particularly for sales teams that also qualify leads, nurture relationships, and prepare for client meetings every week. In a survey of 500 companies, Loopio found that, second to proposal manag- ers, sales teams are the group most likely to handle RFP submissions at their organization. While RFPs are not the most beloved part of the sales process, they do have a big impact on top-line revenue. On average, RFPs generate a sizable 41 percent of sales revenue an- nually, according to Loopio’s study. Looking ahead, 63 percent of busi- nesses say they plan to increase the number of RFPs they’ll respond to in 2020. This influx means there’s no bet- ter time to evaluate and improve how your team handles the RFP process. These four data-backed insights will make your response process more ef- ficient and earn more RFP wins.
1. BUILD YOUR DREAM TEAM: INVOLVE MORE EXPERTS Completing an RFP is one of the few office projects that is more success-
ful when more people are involved. Research shows that organizations involving more people have higher win rates. This is because diverse expertise from different areas of the business is likely to improve your RFP quality by making responses more well rounded. Here are some simple steps you can take to involve more team members in a streamlined way: • Select a clear owner. Organi- zations with a dedicated proposal individual or team are more likely to feel that the process is efficient and be satisfied with their response rate. If you don’t have a proposal manager in your company, identify one person in sales or marketing to take on this role. • Institute a straightforward
process. Those with a defined process have an average win rate of 55 per- cent, while those without average 38 percent. Assigning owners to various questions, establishing clear timelines, and having a streamlined process for proofing the final RFP is essential. • Schedule regular content main- tenance. Set a quarterly deadline for
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your company subject matter experts to proactively update content being used in RFP submissions. This way, your answers are always accurate and your responses won’t require as many time-intensive rounds of review.
2. MORE WRITING TIME = MORE BUSINESS WINS The more people involved in writing RFPs, the longer the response process takes. But that doesn’t mean involving fewer people – or finishing faster – is necessarily better. Interestingly, research shows organi- zations that spend more time writing responses tend to achieve higher win rates. Companies with 80-99 percent win rates are 6 percent more likely to spend 61 hours or more writing an RFP. On average, companies across all industries only spend 23.8 hours writing an RFP. You can find more time to write RFPs by simplifying other areas of the process. For instance, building a bank of on-brand, pre-written content will save time because your team won’t be starting from scratch with each response. Also, consider storing your RFP content in short, simple, ques- tion-and-answer pairs. This will make finding the right response easier than searching through long paragraphs.
3. BOOST QUALITY AND SUBMISSION RATES WITH RFP AUTOMATION TOOLS Eighty percent of respondents report using a dedicated RFP response or
LIA KOLTYRINA4 /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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