When a request for information or request for proposal (RFI/RFP) reaches your company, it must be answered as quickly as possible. However, a well-answered RFI or RFP alone is not enough to win a tender. So how do you ensure better opportunities when submitting a proposal? There are a few components you should consider to get your company closer to winning tenders:
1. The process
Who is on the lookout for suitable RFPs and how? What criteria are used to decide which RFIs/RFPs are worth responding to? Every company needs clear processes to ensure transparency and be able to do accurate forecasting. A clear process increases efficiency from start to finish: in assigning tasks, reviewing potential responses, tracking improvements and changes, and submitting the final document.
2. Clear responsibilities
It is not worthwhile for every company to maintain its own proposal team. Depending on the size of the company, such a team can be a “one-man show”. However, it is always advantageous to appoint someone who is clearly responsible. It is also useful to define the contact persons for questions in other departments involved in the process from the outset.
3. The content
This component is straightforward: the content you present to your potential customers is what differentiates you from the competition. It is here that you can show why your product or service offers the solution they are looking for. The focus is on the quality of the information provided by you, its accessibility, and personalization for the relevant customer.
4. The technology
All three of the above components are held together by the fourth component: technology. This covers all of the virtual tools that you use for your responses. Among these are your CRM (customer relationship management), collaboration tools and of course software solutions specifically for handling the RFI/RFP.
Boosting efficiency through software solutions
With our cloud-based automation software for the RFP process, Beyond.RFP, we’ve made it our mission to simplify your RFI and RFP response process. You can respond to RFIs and RFPs in a significantly more efficient way with the help of our software, thanks to AI algorithms and machine learning.
Want to learn more about the benefits of RFP automation with software? Read on here.
