RFPs and the mistakes vendors make

I’ve written before about the problems caused by buyers – poor wording of questions, lack of decisiveness, failure to provide feedback, failure to make ANY decision, arrogance and churlish behavior.
But vendors aren’t without blame. I’ve reviewed a lot of proposals from service vendors in my fourteen years as an independent managed care consultant. In that time, I’ve put together a list of the most common, and most frustrating mistakes made by the folks who submit proposals. Here they are.
1. Read the damn thing.
Vendors often write an answer to the question they have in their response library, not the question asked by the buyer. Sure, it may be close, but close isn’t anywhere near close enough. If you’re going to take the time – and it takes a lot of time – to respond, then take the time to do it right. Read the question before you respond, and have someone else, someone knowledgeable with strong analytical and writing skills, review each and every answer before you send it in.
2. Don’t bloviate.
Answer the question quickly, concisely, and accurately. Remember the poor folks who have to read your response have to read several others, and if you get to the point with a minimum of chest thumping and preening, they’ll appreciate it.
3. If the question seems repetitive, or you think you’ve already answered it, answer it again.
Reviewers can be assigned a specific part fo the proposal response, and if they have to go hunting around for your response, it won’t help your cause. And, if you’ve already responded in another section, make darn sure that response was specific to that question and wasn’t salesspeak and puffery.
4. Requirements
If you don’t meet one of the requirements, either a) don’t respond to the RFP; or b) discuss ahead of time with the buyer to make sure you won’t get shot down and then note specifically why you don’t meet that requirement, why it’s not an issue, and what you’ll do to meet that demand (if you can or are willing to) post-award.
5. Write well
Run-on, poorly written sentences with bad grammar, changing tenses, and poor word selection make reading some responses a nightmare. If you don’t KNOW that it is well written, it probably isn’t. Good RFP responses are tight, light on the adjectives, focused and responsive to the question.
If you can’t write a good response, you may kill your chance to win the business.
6. Differentiate
There’s almost always a place where you can clearly and concisely tell the buyer why you’re better and different. This isn’t – ever – a slam on the competition. Instead it is a ‘this is why we do things the way we do, and how it’s the best answer’ statement. If there isn’t a question that offers that opportunity, do it in the cover letter.
7. Confidential information
Many vendors are cautious about providing financials and other information, well aware that it may eventually get out. If there’s information that is quite proprietary and vital, feel free to offer it only when you get to best and finals stage, or make some other offer that keeps it confidential while enabling the buyer to verify you are stable, or have some license or financial stability.
Oh, and write well. Or I’ll ding your response!