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RFP training is the best way to get a brilliant marketing strategy AT https://www.therfpsuccesscompany.com
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Bringing you information, strategies, or resources to help you Win more business through Requests for Proposal (RFPs).
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Responding To Rfps for neighborhood companies that targets potential clients AT https://www.therfpsuccesscompany.com/book Responding To Rfps helps you to communicate with your target market which is initially the ones in your local area. Those customers whom you cannot reach right away may be informed about your business through your website. You may offer discounts or promos if your company may allow it so customers may be drawn to buy from you. You also need to create an effective advertis ...
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What is the #1 question we’re getting about RFPs from clients and prospects lately? Is it a tactical question about time management, contradictory requirements, or formatting? Or a high-level question about managing stress and continuous improvement? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, Lisa Rehurek tackles some of the most frequently asked que…
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What’s the secret to getting the most out of AI when crafting RFP proposals? Is it about using AI to generate quick responses, or are there specific strategies to fine-tune the AI’s output for high-quality, customized proposals? In this episode of The RFP Success Show, Lisa Rehurik dives into how to create effective AI prompts that will elevate you…
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What’s the biggest challenge proposal professionals are facing with AI in RFPs? Is it about how to effectively integrate AI into their workflows, or concerns about losing the human touch in their responses? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, Lisa Rehurik discusses the rapidly growing role of AI in proposal writing. She answers some of the mos…
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Welcome back to The RFP Success Show! After a brief hiatus, host Lisa Rehurik, founder and CEO of the RFP Success Company, returns with key insights from her 30+ years in the RFP arena. In this episode, Lisa takes us behind the scenes to share the most impactful lessons learned from her journey—stories of pitfalls, setbacks, triumphs, and unexpecte…
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What is the #1 question we’re getting about RFPs from clients and prospects lately? Is it a tactical question about insurance requirements, due dates or FOIA requests? Or a high-level question about standing out from your competitors? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I answer five more FAQs we get about RFPs, including our most frequently a…
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If you had the opportunity to ask an expert questions about winning business with RFPs, what would you want to know? Do you have questions about pricing? Competing with big companies? Or recognizing when an RFP is wired? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I answer five of the most frequently asked questions we get about RFPs, discussing when …
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To win business with RFPs, you’ve got to distinguish yourself from the competition in your response. But what if you don’t know what your differentiators are? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I share my M&M analogy for discovering what makes your company different and better than the rest. I discuss why it’s challenging to identify the ‘can…
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Are you losing bids because you aren’t certified as a small or diverse business? Heather Cox is Cofounder and President of Certify My Company, a firm that connects corporations with diverse businesses to create economic value and opportunity. On this episode of The RFP Success Show, Heather walks us through the five primary demographics for certifi…
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Can you leverage AI to write RFP proposals for your business? Since ChatGPT came on the scene last November, people have divided into two camps: Some folks are afraid of the technology, and others think it’s a magic bullet that will write all their copy with minimal effort on their part. But Stephanie Nivinskus contends that when it comes to AI, we…
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If an RFP isn’t asking a question that you think it needs to ask, is it okay to provide additional information? While it’s tempting to tell a client what you think they need in your proposal response, it’s not always well received. Just like ordering a baked potato with butter and getting a loaded one. So, what is the best approach to elaborating o…
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How do you set yourself apart in an RFP response? We recently helped a small business client get their first RFP win. And they were up against some big players in their industry. So, what did they do to stand out among the competition? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I’m discussing three categories of content that will take you from MEETS …
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Here at the RFP Success Company, we get some of the same questions over and over. And in episode 129, we covered eight of the most common questions we get from our clients and community. On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I’m answering seven more FAQs, explaining why you can’t wait until orals to go into detail on your requirements and what t…
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Steve Schramm’s team has achieved 80% win rates on state government contracts by making RFPs part of a larger business development process. So, how does Steve identify target clients and build relationships with them before an RFP hits the streets? How does he track prospects and recognize when opportunities are coming down the pike? Steve serves a…
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Steve Schramm’s proposal team was bidding on 12 state government contracts per year and only winning two or three. He was frustrated by the amount of time and effort they were putting into RFPs with such a low ROI. So, Steve invested in support, and one year later, his team’s win rate increased from 25% to more than 80%! What are they doing differe…
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What questions come up when you write an RFP response? It’s likely that you share concerns with our clients and community here at the RFP Success Company. So, on this episode of the podcast, I’m answering eight of our most common FAQs, discussing why you need to repeat key information multiple times in an RFP response. I explain how to compare your…
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Shredding an RFP is a phrase that those of us in the proposal industry use to describe how we will get an RFP ready for the proposal process, right after we receive the solicitation but before we begin writing. What does it mean to shred an RFP? And why would you add this extra step to the process when you could just jump right in to writing the re…
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Mistakes We Seen Vendors Make When Responding to RFPs—with Cheri Fisher & Kevin Cleary - EP127
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Here at the RFP Success Company, we not only help our clients design, develop and write a top-notch RFP for submission, but they also look to us for guidance on proposal best practices. And over the years, we’ve noticed some common mistakes our vendors make when it comes to RFP processes. On this episode of the podcast, guest host Ted Koval, Senior…
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What could possibly go wrong when you're responding to an RFP? My 30 years of experience has taught me that A LOT can happen and the more prepared you are, the better. So, what are the most common speedbumps I’ve seen proposal teams run into over the years? And what can you do to prevent or plan for these delays? On this episode of The RFP Success …
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Are you submitting proposal responses but rarely getting the YES? Even when the RFP is right up your alley? Then, you may be missing one of my five non-negotiables for winning a bid. On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I discuss the five things you need to do to get the YES, describing why it’s crucial to meet 100% of the baseline requirements…
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When Melissa Emler started bidding on RFPs to grow her event management business, she looked through a variety of opportunities and thought, ‘We could definitely do that.’ But after a year of trying to figure it out on her own, Melissa wasn’t winning contracts. And the frustration of losing left her playing small. Today, Melissa has changed her app…
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The good news is there's a ton of resources out there for finding RFPs in the state government space. The bad news is you have to work at finding the RIGHT opportunities. So, how do you build a consistent process for identifying RFPs that are a good fit for your business? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I share five strategies for finding …
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Sometimes the RFP capability requirements are a perfect fit. But more often than not, we're just shy of what we need to really make a great showing. So, what can we do to overcome these weaknesses—now and in the future? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I discuss how to deal with a deficit for an opportunity in front of you now, describing h…
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What do you wish you knew about government contracting? What if you had access to a seasoned contracting officer, so you could understand the process from their point of view? Kevin Jans is President of Skyway Acquisition, a team of former COs on a mission to bridge government and industry, helping clients target better and win more contracts. He a…
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Are you struggling to win business with RFPs but can’t figure out why? If so, you can hire a company like ours to look through past proposal responses and identify what’s tripping you up. Or you can conduct your own RFP mini-audit. On this episode of the RFP Success Show, guest host Ted Koval, Proposal Manager at the RFP Success Company, interviews…
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Most proposal professionals understand the importance of putting the client at the center of the bid process. But what if a client centric proposal is not enough? According to Kevin Switaj, a winning proposal takes things one step further, leveraging empathy and creativity to build an emotional connection with the evaluator. Kevin is President and …
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Evaluation criteria seems to be a bit of an afterthought for most companies bidding on RFPs. Sure, it’s one of the first things you look at. But are you making the evaluation criteria an explicit part of your bid strategy? And are you using it to your advantage in the content of your RFP response? On this episode of the podcast, I share 3 ways to l…
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Most people think there is little room for negotiation in a proposal response. But if you’ve done your homework to understand a buyer’s needs, you can negotiate in your answers to the questions on an RFP and offer solutions they may not even be aware of. Don Carmichael is Chief PreSales Evangelist at Winning Skills Ltd., a boutique technology sales…
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Yes, your team is qualified and capable of doing the job required by an RFP. But so is every other business that submits a response. So, how do you take your technical content and make it persuasive? What does it look like to write from a sales perspective? Dave Rynne is the copywriter and RFP response specialist behind The Sales Enablement Writer.…
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Are you so busy bidding on RFPs that you don’t have time to build systems and processes? Creating systems may not be sexy, and it won’t result in an immediate win. But if your proposal team reinvents the wheel with every new RFP, you’re hurting yourselves in more ways than you realize. So, what is the benefit of setting up systems and processes for…
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A lot of my clients think they’ve got editorial peer review covered. But there’s a lot more to it than simply having someone read through your response and check for spelling errors. And a proposal that hasn’t been through a thorough peer review lacks the professionalism you need to win business with RFPs. So, what does an in-depth editorial peer r…
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Companies that are new to government contracting see it as a magic bullet. You respond to an RFP, and you win a lucrative five-year contract! And yes, it’s easy to get excited about an opportunity that seems like a great fit for your business. But if you don’t already have a relationship with the buyer, you’re chances of winning are quite low. So, …
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Should you build your own internal RFP team? Or outsource the proposal process? If your company is just breaking into the RFP space, you may be looking at larger companies that have as many as 10 dedicated proposal professionals and wondering, is that where we're going? Is that what we should be doing? So, what factors should you consider in decidi…
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The state, local and education or SLED market took a hit in 2020 as COVID shutdowns forced governments to shift into remote or hybrid operations. But federal funding is helping the market rebound. And money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) means opportunities for businesses to break into or expand their reach in SLED government contracting.…
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Are you struggling with state government RFPs? Though it seems counterintuitive, you will win MORE contracts by bidding LESS. Just ask the team at Highstreet IT Solutions. They reduced their response rate from six to three formal RFPs per month. And doubled their win rate in the process. Josh Ezring is Vice President of Business Development at High…
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Bidding on RFPs that aren’t a good fit is a waste of time and resources, and it takes a real toll on your win rate—and the morale of your team. But to make better go/no-go decisions, you need a system. So, what does it look like to develop a successful go/no-go decision-making process? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I share five steps to …
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The Federal Bid Protest Process, from Debrief to Decision—with Carissa Siebeneck Anderson - EP108
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Let's say you have grounds to file a federal bid protest. What does the process look like? Are there steps your company can take to prepare now, before a bid protest comes up? Carissa Siebeneck Anderson serves as Of Counsel at Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot, and her practice focuses on federal bid protests, government contracts, regulatory complianc…
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So, your small business lost out on a federal bid. But you feel like you were unfairly scored or that the contract requirements were biased. Do you file a protest? Carissa Siebeneck Anderson is Of Counsel at the Washington DC Office of Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot. She has expertise in the realm of small business government contracting, SBA 8(a), …
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The $1 trillion infrastructure bill provides an opportunity for small businesses to develop a new revenue stream by way of state government contracting. But if you jump in and start bidding without a game plan, you’ll lose 95% of the time. And while it might feel risky to put significant time and effort into the necessary prep work, you’ll be much …
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To grow a small business, you need more customers. But did you know that too many of the wrong customers is what keeps a lot of companies stuck? According to Charles Fred, low-value clients are high maintenance, hard on your people, and they take up 75% of your time. That’s why it’s so important to define your high-value customers and bid only on t…
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We’d like to believe that we make purchasing decisions based on logic. But consumer psychology research affirms that, in truth, we buy based on emotion. And we’re unconsciously influenced by visual cues and sensory language. So, how might we apply the principles of consumer psychology and behavioral economics to the proposal development process? Ma…
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How do you decide whether to bid on an RFP? Too many companies make a go/no-go decision solely on their ability to do the work. But when you bid on everything you can do, you water down your resources. And you don’t have enough time and energy to put into the opportunities you really do have a chance of winning. So, what criteria should you use to …
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Using Visuals to Tell Your Story in an RFP Response – with Ama Cobbina & Megan Skuller - EP102
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We process visuals 60,000 times faster than we do text. And yet, most proposal teams see graphics as a nice-to-have. Something you add in at the last minute to make a response more visually appealing. But what if you leveraged the visuals to support the story you’re telling in an RFP? What if you were just as strategic in planning the graphics as y…
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When you write an RFP, you’re not just competing on qualifications and capabilities. In fact, everyone who’s bidding can answer the questions from a technical perspective. But you can differentiate yourself with a strong brand and tell the story of what sets your business apart throughout a proposal document. Michael Zipursky is the Cofounder and C…
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If your company makes it to orals, take a moment to celebrate. But remember, you haven’t won the bid yet! So, how do you prepare for the RFP oral presentation? How can your team leverage orals to build rapport with the evaluators and make them want to work with you? Andy McGowan is Senior Vice President and Director of Strategic Initiatives at Comm…
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So, you have nearly all the qualifications necessary to bid on an RFP, but you need to partner with another business to fill in the gaps. How do you choose the right company as a partner? What makes for a successful partnership in the proposal development process—and beyond? Anne Tarantino is the VP of Corporate Sales at Velocity Tech Solutions, an…
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Everybody assumes that the majority of an RFP response timeline should be devoted to the writing. And yes, of course, the writing is very important. But there are many other pieces of the puzzle that contribute to a win. Pieces that take more time than we realize. So, what does an effective response timeline look like? How much time does the propos…
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As proposal professionals, we know that the work of winning an RFP begins long before the request for proposal is released. And if your team has developed a strong capture planning process, you will already know what issues the potential client is up against and have a solution that addresses their specific needs. Lisa Ehrlich and Tom Gillin are th…
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Is there a place for storytelling in business? According to Paul Furiga, story plays a crucial role in differentiating a company from its competitors and attracting customers, employees, partners and investors to the brand. But how do you figure out what your business’ story is and then tell it effectively in an RFP response? Paul is the President …
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You know it’s important to distinguish yourself from the competition in an RFP response. And one surefire way to set yourself apart is by demonstrating industry authority. But few companies do this well. It’s not enough to say you have multiple years of experience or advertise how many hundreds of clients you’ve helped. So, what is the best way to …
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Are you making the time to do a strategic review before you submit a proposal response? If not, you’re missing an opportunity to elevate the level of your RFP and stand out from the crowd. So, what does a strategic review look like? And how can you make it a regular part of your RFP process? On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I share the thre…
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