Master the Art of Winning RFPs

Master the Art of Winning RFPs

By Robert A. Potter

Service provider competition has never been more brutal. But the more you know about why and how professional firms or businesses are chosen over others, the easier it will be to arrange your tactics to win a request for proposal (RFP).

If you decide to respond to an RFP, the best way to beat your competition is to first understand the motivation and process driving the client’s selection decision.

The formal RFP selection process is like a funnel with three phases—search, screening and selection—in which criteria are used first to increase choice and then to eliminate alternatives until the final selection is made. Each phase is based on decision criteria that become increasingly selective and subjective as the number of candidates eventually narrows down to a single winning service provider.

Decision criteria during the initial search phase are inclusive and designed to gather as many options as necessary to assure (and demonstrate) a good selection. The more inclusive the initial decision criteria, the broader the client’s awareness of, and access to, firms with relevant capabilities.

Because the search phase frequently uncovers too many choices to be individually evaluated, the client’s objective in the screening phase is to reduce the group to a manageable “short list” for closer evaluation. Standards for comparing similar characteristics are set, and these criteria are used to eliminate all but the few “short list” competitors that most closely align to the decision criteria.

To avoid being “voted off the island” during the screening phase, you must determine the client’s decision criteria, build preferences that fit your strengths and position your capabilities to those criteria. For each criterion you must be able to clearly articulate how you are different and why such differences are important to the client, thus making it difficult for competitors to match up. Then be prepared to prove your distinction with success metrics and referrals.

The short-listed candidates usually are invited to meet the decision makers and present their cases. Anyone who has made it this far is well qualified, thus you must be able to expand beyond your capabilities to the unique rational and emotional fit that you can offer over the rest of the providers.

The winner in the selection phase typically is chosen based on emotional preference value: subjective and nonverbal decision criteria that include comfort (charisma and familiarity), confidence in the service provider’s understanding of the client’s needs and situation, and commitment (the service provider’s demonstrated loyalty to, and enthusiasm for, the client and the project). In a word, the selection boils down to the level of trust that the client has for the provider.

As the service provider, you must build emotional preference by focusing on what is different about the prospective client. To build trust, engage the client personally. Instead of telling the client what you are going to do, give a preview of what a working relationship with you feels like by actually starting the engagement. This gives both you and the client a head start.

In the end, it is market awareness and capabilities that get you invited, rational differentiation that keeps you in the game, and emotional differentiation that actually gets you selected. Throughout the search phase, you can use your capabilities and expertise to build credibility and get invited. To survive the screening phase, you will need to determine and rationally align your proposal to the service buyer’s decision criteria.

To win the selection phase, personal contact will demonstrate your understanding of the potential client and commitment to the project. Most importantly, it demonstrates that you will make a good partner to the client.

Robert A. Potter is the author of Winning in the Invisible Market: A Guide to Selling Professional Services in Turbulent Times. He also is the managing principal of R.A. Potter Advisors, a marketing and sales strategy consulting practice for professional service providers, which can be found at www.rapotter.com. Potter can be reached at bpotter@rapotter.com or 415-459-4888.