Whether it’s your first or hundredth proposal, it all begins with reading and dissecting the request for proposal provided by the client. This can be a request for proposal, qualification, or something else, but it’s typically the starting point to create your response back to the client to win that project. Often these RFPs are similar, but I wanted to point a few items to be on the look for when reading RFPs. These items have can disqualify your proposal or you might just find a hidden advantage for your firm.
In this article, I’ll share why it’s important to fully dissect every RFP and five items to especially pay attention to. Then I provide a downloadable RFP Review Cheat Sheet to use as a reminder when reading RFPs.
For simplicity, I am referring to every solicitation from a client as an RFP. However, you can apply these ideas to any type of solicitation – RFP, RFQ, LOI, LOR, etc.
Watch or Read Below
For this topic, I recorded a Facebook live to explain in more detail. You can either watch the replay just or read further.
Dissecting Every RFP, Every Time is Critical
Even if you get an RFP from the same client or a small group of the same clients, you will want to thoroughly read and dissect every RFP. Without fully understanding the RFP requirements you are exposing yourself to the risk of not being compliant and your proposal being rejected. As the person responsible for the proposal, this is your number one job. It doesn’t matter if the graphics are beautiful or the design is innovative, if your proposal doesn’t meet the requirements of the RFP, it can and most likely will be rejected.
Most RFPs spell out the following items:
- Submittal due date, time and location
- Team and staff requirements
- Submittal document organization and requirements
- Scope of services
- Terms and conditions of the contract
- Where and how to ask questions
- Other key dates such as pre-bid/submittal conference, site tours, addenda issue dates, etc.
Most clients use the same type of format and structure for each of their RFP documents. The procurement officer will start with a previous RFP document and adjust accordingly with the new project’s scope, schedule, etc. This is good in a way because you can expect similar requirements for that client over and over again. However, this can cause concern, if you don’t fully read the RFP from that client and they change it OR they have copy and paste errors that result in conflicting requirements.
With all of this said, it’s a mandatory practice of proposal professionals to read and dissect every RFP every time, even from the same client. This means reading the full document from page one to the end, and then typically read it again while highlighting and taking notes.
So, let’s get into the items to watch for. Below are the five items to watch for when dissecting your RFPs. Then at the end, I summarize all of them into an RFP Review Cheat Sheet that you can download.
Contradictory Information
Like I mentioned above, many clients re-use the same type of format or even previous RFPs to start with the new RFP. Then they update the information that is relative to the new project being procured. Sometimes things get missed and new information is conflicting with the old information that was missed with the new RFP.
If you do find an instance where there is conflicting information throughout the RFP, you don’t want to make any assumptions. There’s no telling what information the client will take as the “right” information that your proposal should follow.
It’s better to ask the client during the allotted questions period. This way the client can clarify what they really intend on being the “right” requirement your proposal should follow.
Very Specific Requirements
Another item to be on the look for is very specific requirements. These requirements can be certain project experience, a project manager’s work history, a special license or skillset, or an office location within a certain number of miles.
The reason to be on the lookout for these specific requirements is that the RFP may be written to give an advantage to one of your competitors (who surprisingly meet all the absurd requirements). Clients sometimes do this because they already know what firm they want to select. But the client is mandated through laws or corporate procurement policies to solicit other firms. So, the client is forced to put out a solicitation but want to ensure that their preferred firm is selected. They do this by crafting the RFP requirements in a way that only their preferred firm meets all of them.
I know this because I have been that preferred firm. At my previous firms, we pre-positioned our team way ahead of the RFP and worked with the client to help shape the project, sometimes secure funding, and pre-sold the project for our team. However, the client had to put out RFPs, so we helped “craft” the requirements so only our team was qualified.
Ideally, you should be working to get in that preferred firm position. However, if you are not in such a position and you get an RFP with very specific requirements, you will want to bring this to your team’s attention, revisit whether it was written for a competitor, and possibly re-evaluate your go/no go decision.
Impossible Proposal Deadline Dates
This next item to watch for is for the same reason as the very specific requirements mentioned above. If you get an RFP with a very tight, nearly impossible deadline, you should pause and think about if the client really wants submittals.
Especially if this is a client you typically submit proposals and the new RFP deadlines are out of sync with their typically turnaround times. For example, if that client’s typical deadline is 30 days from advertisement and this new RFP is only two weeks. This should trigger you to stop and evaluate the reason for this new type of deadline period. The client might already have a firm in mind and hence that firm has known about this RFP for a few months.
There could be other reasons too for the abnormal deadline period. Maybe the client’s funding is going away, so they must get someone under contract before a deadline. Or, there is a change in procurement policies, new client leadership or others.
Whatever the reason, if the client suddenly changes the game, especially with their response times, as the proposal leader you should bring it to your team’s attention and figure out the reason for the change.
Vague Requirements
On the other hand, the RFP can be too vague. This should give you pause as well.
I have received an RFP from a client where the entire requirements were written in the body of the email. It was something like:
Send us your previous experience and key personnel proposed.
That was it. Talk about vague. Being vague can be good or bad.
The good side happens when you have done your pre-proposal positioning so well, that now the client just needs the proposal as a formality to get your through the appropriate systems to get a contract. If this is the case, just give them what they ask for. In my example above, I would provide three to five project cut sheets and the resumes of the project manager and discipline leads. I would be concise and not give anything more.
However, the flip side of this is when you haven’t done thorough pre-proposal positioning. With a vague RFP, you are basically guessing with the client wants. You won’t know if those few project sheets and resumes will be enough or if they are truly looking for a complete response document.
Also, your proposal team may not know either. When this happens, I have found most people will want you to put everything in the submittal. Without knowing what the client truly wants, they err on the side of caution and just put everything in. This results in a large proposal document that may or may not even address what the client is looking for.
As the proposal professional, it’s good to know when the requirements are vague and discuss with your team the ways to overcome the vagueness. This can be either asking the client to clarify or re-evaluating your go/no go decision.
Unrealistic Project Terms
I encourage all the marketers I have worked with to read the project scope and contract terms when reviewing and dissecting RFPs. We tend to first go to the proposal requirements, but it really helps you put together better proposals when you understand the projects and how your firm approaches the design or construction of the projects.
Another reason to get familiar with your firm’s type of projects and delivery approach is that you get familiar with the typical term’s your firm can successfully operate. Some of these terms include project delivery schedule, how you coordinate with other agencies or stakeholders when delivering the project, actual design approach, responsibilities during construction (if you are the designer) and during design (if you are the contractor), and billing and payment terms.
When you become familiar with these, you can review your RFPs for unrealistic project terms that may put your firm at a higher risk. An example could be the project schedule. If your firm typically takes a year for that type of project, but in this RFP the client is asking for it to be completed in six months, it is certainly a red flag. You can then bring this to your team’s attention and either clarify the schedule with the client or identify risk mitigation strategies.
These unrealistic terms might have able to be turned into an opportunity to highlight your firm’s approach to them by explaining risk mitigation strategies in your proposal and proofs of where you have successfully achieved this before. However, I caution you to use this approach when you haven’t been able to clarify with the client beforehand.
At the very least you will want to identify any unrealistic project terms with your proposal team so they can address them accordingly.
RFP Review Cheat Sheet
To help you remember these items to watch out for, I have created an RFP Review Cheat Sheet. This freebie is a PDF that you can print and have on your desk to use as you review RFPs. Just click on the image below to grab your cheat sheet!
