Get our email newsletterI was recently having a discussion on responding to Request for Proposals and the most common theme in the discussion was how people behaved before submitting a response. In the case we were discussing, was everything from having no contact at all with the company requesting the RFP to people doing research and contacting the invitee for more information and knowledge of what exactly the RFP entailed and details on timelines, etc.
Guess which responder won the bid? The company that spent the time researching the RFP! Now this may not be a big deal for many companies but how the responders conducted themselves not only reflects on how they responded to that particular RFP but also on their possible long term reputation with the invitee. Is this no different when applying for a job? How many of you have received job applications and some are brief with hardly any information while others are more detailed and/or more specific to the job being applied for. Which one did you pay more attention to and which one did you quickly discard?
As competition heats up for business in this day of global impacts on markets or business, it is most important that those responding to RFP’s spend the time and energy in preparing a response. First impressions are lasting and those receiving the RFP’s will not take a lot of time with responses that lack detail or a serious proposal. And please do not waste your time or theirs if you are not really serious about your proposal. That also stands out for those reading the proposals.
Take the time and effort and your rewards will be great.
