The tender process costs companies a lot of time, effort and resources. So how do you ensure that your bid wins in the end? There is no magic formula or one-size-fits-all solution for winning every tender. However, there are a few steps you can take internally to get closer to closing the deal. If you follow these steps, you have the best chance of delivering convincing responses to a Request for Proposal (RFP).
1. Only answer questions that have been asked
Answering an RFP is a lengthy process. But the evaluation also takes considerable time. Save yourself and your potential customer time by not unnecessarily stretching out your answer. Be concise and clear. Your response should contain only relevant information. Only include details that your client has asked for. Time is often short. Nevertheless, read the questions thoroughly and focus on balancing speed and thoroughness.
2. Often too good for the shelf: existing responses
You have already answered many RFPs in the past. However, many of the elaborate answers are now just sitting on a virtual shelf. Locating and reusing answers from previously edited RFPs often proves difficult. Using existing responses enables you to work faster when time is short.
For this, it is worth building a cloud-based, central knowledge base. Here you can keep high-quality bid responses. This saves you time later because you can search and reuse existing content from previous successful bids.
A central knowledge base should let you know:
– Who wrote the content and when
– What changes were made
– When the content was last updated
3. Use the knowledge of your subject matter experts
For some questions, cooperation with experts in your company is essential. It’s just a shame if the colleague in question is on annual leave or has a busy schedule just before the deadline. So plan ahead generously in terms of time.
But even if the colleague has time for you, it can be difficult to get quality answers from your subject matter experts. Often, experts don’t know exactly what information to include. It often happens that responses are too detailed and can be hard to understand when blanketed with technical details. A well-structured questioning style can help the experts quickly understand what is needed. Also, where possible, only ask for a check or update of existing answers.
The successful RFP process
The RFP process is not always easy, but if handled properly, it leads to a successful outcome. To do this:
– Go through the questions thoroughly and answer only what has been asked
– Give your experts a formula to answer questions effectively
– Store answers in a searchable knowledge database for re-use.
Beyond.RFP makes it easy to store, organise and maintain content so you can quickly create compelling proposals. Learn more about Beyond.RFP and all the ways it can be improved with a demo.
