No RFPs – The Pinnacle of Brand and Sales Success
By: Chuck Sink
Formal Requests for Proposal (RFPs) consume, and I would argue, waste tremendous amounts of time and human energy for both the issuing and responding organizations. The amount of superfluous data and irrelevant information that make up the ‘criteria’ for submission, let alone selection, can be disheartening and drain productivity.
Clearly this isn’t always the case. In fact, I recently responded to a wonderfully clear and concise RFP that was fewer than 3 full pages. In some cases, however, RFPs are nothing but required “due diligence” on the part of the client organization with a clear frontrunner already identified. It isn’t supposed to be that way, but bureaucracy and human nature often dictate that it is.
All of the lost opportunity risk is borne by the responding organizations that, in some cases, have little chance of winning the contract. Several days of internal and external research and professional copy writing go into major proposals and there is no compensation for those copious hours of hard work. The more proposals submitted, the lower the odds are of winning the job (unless you’re that clear frontrunner). When you don’t win, you better learn something valuable because those hours and opportunity costs are lost forever to the competition.
I need to temper this notion by stating that there is nothing inherently wrong with RFPs. They are usually necessary when there is no clear choice in a given marketplace. Competing for and winning contracts from formal RFPs have fueled the growth of many companies and we always respond to those RFPs that we consider a good fit for us.
It’s the cost of doing business… unless… unless your brand and relationships are so strong that a CEO simply calls you in to do business, forfeiting the whole RFP process. Think about that! It happens all the time.
If, for example, you or your CEO decides your entire sales force would be more productive using iPhones than Blackberries, cell phones, or other devices, will RFPs go out to multiple wireless providers to compare solutions? No, because it would be a waste of time and money. The only consideration would be the budget and that would entail a soft negotiation instead of a proposal process. In this scenario, Apple (iPhone) has reached the pinnacle of product branding success.
Another example would be hiring an architect firm that an owner or developer wants to design his next project. Based on the architect’s brand, style, reputation, and perhaps relationship, no RFP is needed – a negotiation session perhaps, but no RFP. You may be thinking about customer loyalty here and you’d be right to link branding, sales, service, and relationships with customer loyalty. These elements are integral to enduring business success.
I’ve experienced such rosy situations in my own business. By remaining in contact with my desired prospects in a valuable way consistently, some clients have identified us as the chosen partner to provide the best communication services for them. We hold focused productive discussions and start doing business. A contract is usually executed, but price is no barrier because of earned trust. This kind of relationship is mutually more profitable and enjoyable. When less time, effort and money are wasted chasing low probability sales opportunities, more focus, energy, and value will go into helping your clients succeed. That in turn will earn loyalty and enthusiastic referrals. Everyone knows that strong referrals are the least expensive paths to new clients.
Here’s the good stuff: How do you reach the pinnacle of brand and sales success in your industry? I’ll offer a top 10 list of requirements, each of which could be an article topic. However, the list and accompanying questions will steer you in the right direction. Also note that I am happy to offer recommendations in any of the following areas:
- Positioning – What does your brand stand for? Does it have differentiation with relevance?
- Quality – Are you truly better than most of your competition, or just trying to sell that idea.
- Value – Do you communicate successful outcomes, or features & benefits duplicated by your competitors? What’s your unique selling proposition?
- Leadership – Are you known for innovation; as an industry thought leader, or just another vendor?
- Salesmanship – Do you keep in touch regularly with customers and prospects offering them value with every contact, or just “keep the lines open” and try to compare prices?
- Networking – How well do you know the key players in your market? More importantly, how well do they know you?
- Service – Do you have a service ethic and culture that permeates every aspect of your business, earning you consistent referrals?
- People – Are you a great person to work with? Can you attract and keep the best people for every role in your organization?
- Training – Are you dedicated to providing the training and tools your people need to win? Are you always learning and applying new knowledge in your work?
- Marketing – Does your business execute a strategic marketing plan with an annual budget, or do you just promote when you need to drum up business? Now let me ask you this: Do your favorite brands and suppliers do a good job on most, or all, of the above? Of course they do or you’d still be shopping!
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