Distinction is the key to winning. Businesses that respond to state government requests for proposal by simply meeting the requirements and qualifications will not stand out and likely won’t win. It’s imperative that a business find a way to distinguish itself through its solution, its expertise and its industry credibility.
These eight top mistakes hold businesses back from winning more state government RFPs. Fixing these will produce more winning results.
8. Not having an overall business development strategy. “If you don’t get the foundation right, it will follow you all the way to the roof.” Having a solid foundation of overall business development strategy sets a business up for success in its bids. Every bid strategy should have a link back to the business’s overarching business development strategy.
Do This: Businesses must understand their target audience, how their solution will add value, and what they do better than their competitors.
7. Not adding extra value beyond price. It’s not always about price. As a matter of fact, buyers are getting more savvy and are more interested in value over price. The focus should be on adding value, which ultimately impacts price.
Do This: The overarching company value proposition must be customized to the goals and objectives of this specific buyer.
6. Not building ongoing relationships prior to the RFP. Only bidding once when the bid is on the streets leads to low win rates. Building relationships long before that RFP comes out is imperative. The RFP is simply a tool to the final decision. The buying process starts long before the RFP is issued.
Do This: Bidders must create an ongoing relationship strategy for their target clients.
5. Not having the right team members to respond. Putting the wrong people on the RFP response team just because they’re warm bodies and have time is the wrong tactic. Just as the bookkeeper shouldn’t be in charge of selling a business’s services, a non-skilled proposal professional should not be in charge of the RFP response.
Do This: Hire appropriate proposal expertise and/or train internal teams. Proposal writing and management is a specialized skill that can’t be punted to just anyone.
4. Unfocused writing. An RFP response is a sales opportunity. Writing should be focused, simple and personable. Being overly technical, confusing or focused too much on oneself will likely alienate the evaluator. Also, show some personality to connect to the human reading the response.
Do This: Companies should be client focused, keep it simple, not make it about themselves, and share how their solution is the best fit for the client to achieve their goals.
3. Not having the right internal process(es) for responding. Lack of effective and efficient systems and processes leaves room for mistakes that can get a bidder disqualified or scored poorly. The goal isn’t to over-process, but to have some containment so the team understands their roles and can keep things moving forward to hit key milestones.
Do This: Create a system for kicking off the response to include a response calendar and shell. This should be done early on so the team is all working toward the same goal. Assign a proposal manager to help guide that process.
2. Not answering the questions (or not answering all parts of a question). We tend to read a question based on what we know we have available as an answer. It’s like the old adage, “Listen to hear, not to respond.” Pay attention to the actual question that is being asked and focus on what the reader is trying to ascertain. Also be sure to answer all parts of the question when the RFP lumps several questions into one.
Do This: Always tie the answer back to the solution that will meet the overall goal and objective of the client.
And the No. 1 mistake to avoid …
1. Not having strong enough differentiators. A business should focus on how its solution is the best fit over the competition. It’s not enough to simply meet the baseline requirements and qualifications; all competitors will do the same. What will it take to write a stand-out response?
Do This: Understand the competition to show distinction in the proposed solution.
Lisa Rehurek is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The RFP Success® Company. Her company focuses on helping businesses win more state and local contracts through RFP responses.
Did You Know: The government is the No. 1 purchaser of goods and services in the United States. State and local governments alone spent $3.5 trillion on direct general government expenditures in FY 2020. According to Deltek, there will be an estimated 400,000 SLED (State, Local, Education) bids released in both 2023 and 2024, which is an increase over the past few years.
