5 Tips for Responding to RFPs More Efficiently

A Request for Proposal (RFP) extends the vital opportunity to engage the industry best vendor for their project to an institution. It gives you a gist of the bidding process and the terms associated with the contract. The RFP, if accepted, is a critical document in case of any dispute at a later stage of the project. Thus, RFP must be written and responded to well for a sales proposal to be settled. It is best to engage experts in the field for RFP support as well as for responding to one. With best-in-class RFP platforms and equipped with seasoned writers, they are a force to reckon with.

5 Tips for Responding to RFPs More Efficiently

• Concentrate on Content: Maintain a content library that is updated periodically and may be reused. The content may be evolved in a manner that is a system that helps in retrieving data flexible, easy to customize, and may also be used in its original format. The content library may have whenever necessary. For this, you may use custom fields or tags. It helps to a large extent if searchable heads are assigned common sections like an overview of the company, case studies, security, technical sections, functional sections, and training. If this looks cumbersome, all you have to do is collaborate with companies who have a talent pool of experienced specialists to extend  RFP support.

• Well-defined roles and RFP protocol: An organization where the roles are clearly defined and responsibilities set distinctly is better equipped to respond to an RFP. Lack of clarity as to who may receive the proposal, who should draft the response proposal, and who should be entrusted with the delivery, may have adverse effects. A well-defined team is always ready to act on an RFP proposal and respond professionally.

• Updation of response process status:  It is always a good idea to communicate with your prospects constantly. Updating who is handling the process, how far have you finished drafting the proposal, and the steps remaining to complete the proposal, will help the prospect get a better idea. This, however, takes a lot of time and resources. Established companies have state-of-the-art technology at their disposal to help you in streamlining your communication process.

• Keep a tab on your review timelines: Create a timeline and review it to see if your review will take long and how complicated the process is. You may take this into account while creating the timeline. It’s always advisable to keep a tab and keep some grace time, just in case things take longer.

• Qualification step set-up: Being prudent in deciding as to whether the RFP is a qualified fit for you, helps save time, cost, and manpower. Answering questions like if your solution matches, does the price match the budget of the prospect, and if it is a strategic fit, will give a fair idea of whether you want to respond to an RFP.

Conclusion 

The response to an RFP needs dedicated time and effort. A technically sound team will always be much more enabled to frame an effective response to RFP. Collaboration with a global experienced leader providing domain=specific knowledge experience will equip you to respond much more effectively. They provide end-to-end RFP support including content and knowledge management. They also assist in the maintenance and periodic curation of data.

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