Oct 16 2009
Last month I wrote about why RFPs (requests for proposals) suck. Not too long after that post was published, I received an email from a project manager at Channel V Media informing me that I was pretty much correct in my conclusions about RFPs. So Genna offered (and I accepted) a review copy of the book RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Win Big Business by Tom Searcy (thanks Genna!).
I'm not much of a book reader for a variety of reasons (mainly laziness), but I was eager to read this one. The book seems to be primarily aimed at mid-sized businesses and even a few small ones that have employees and serve larger corporations in industries that tend to have various vendor relationships and who for one reason or another enjoy putting out RFPs. Despite the seemingly uber-corporate intended audience, there's a lot of good information on the RFP process from both sides of the line that can be applied to virtually any business. Yes, even one-person shops and tiny teams, such as ours. In fact, as I started reading the first few chapters, I was wishing it had been around years ago when I first started writing proposals for our web design studio.
Take-aways
While I certainly took a lot away from this book, there are 4 main points I gathered that really reset the bar for me as far as proposal writing and RFPs in general go.
1. RFPs aren't written for you
As I wrote previously, I had discovered some time ago that RFPs are often created and sent out to fulfill some silly organizational requirement. Tom Searcy not only confirms this, he even lists other reasons why RFPs (and the entire RFP system) aren't created with vendors in mind - at least not new ones. Understanding why RFPs aren't written for you is absolutely key to understanding the process and the rest of the book. For me, it confirmed what I had learned, which while self-serving is always nice. This part of the book alone is well worth the read.
2. Be selective
After explaining how and why RFPs aren't written for you, Searcy's key point is very simple: Be selective about the RFPs you choose to respond to. It's a well-known fact that responding to RFPs take a lot of time, energy and resources to answer successfully. And even then, there's no guarantee that the key decision makers will even see your proposal, let alone guarantee that you'll get the gig. So instead, Searcy lists various red flags, if you will, meant to help you determine if the RFP is worth your time -- time that you and your team could be spending on billable work. For me, this portion was almost liberating, for lack of a better word, especially in an economy like we have presently or if you're a start up / new business. It's incredibly tempting to answer every RFP that comes across your inbox in either situation. But in reality, it's just not worth it and Searcy gives good reasons why beyond the idea that your time is better spent elsewhere.
3. Focus on a theme
I don't want to give away everything about the book, but this particular point is one that really slapped me upside the head. The proposal that you send in response to an RFP isn't going to be terribly different from the one your competitor does (unless you read Searcy's book), especially if the RFP outlines specifics for how your proposal should be written or organized. But, if you focus on a theme that emphasizes your strengths and differentiating factors, you'll be ahead of the game. Sounds incredibly simple right? It is, but clearly a lot of businesses are leaving this critical information out. Searcy not only explains why you should do focus on a theme, but how. Priceless.
4. Use the "Four Fear Fighters"
The last point that stood out in Searcy's book for me revolves around the "Four Fear Fighters" - a term that was coined by Searcy and Barbara Weaver Smith in another book, Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company (which I've not read). Again, I don't want to give everything away (you should just go get the book), but there are fears that every company looking for a new vendor will have. Searcy breaks it down to 4 critical ones that need to be addressed in every proposal you send off. If you don't, you're leaving too much guesswork in for the proposal reader(s) and not enough trust, which we all know is hard to come by so early in a business relationship process. Searcy not only tells you what the 4 fears are, but how to identify them in the RFP / corporate jargon and how to address them smartly.
Final thoughts
A bonus for me were samples of actual proposals that were sent in and rejected. Anyone can learn theory and guidelines, but to see real-life examples is even better. Searcy gives a total of 7 (abridged) real-world examples in various industries and essentially critiques them. In essence, the examples really drive home every point he writes about in his book. So, as you can guess, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I can't recommend it enough (it's an easy read!) to anyone that is in a position that requires answering or seeking out RFPs. Better go get your copy.