How to Improve RFP Processes

I’ve scored more than 40 RFP submissions in the last 90 days (media buying and/or marketing and comms.) Seriously, this is the stack and it’s about ½ of what I've read. From that- I've come up with a checklist that will stop you from writing an incomplete proposal and take you into finalist status. 1. Check. The. Boxes. Mirror the RFP structure the organization has put out and answer every prompt. If we ask for goals in your case studies, give them. Are creative examples required? Put them in. 2. Social media impressions aren’t outcomes. Stop with the vanity metrics. We need to understand if you make things HAPPEN. Show business impact: leads, lift, conversion, cost per result, CTR. 3. Prove you understand the problem. Understand the brand and the challenge before you start to write your response. Then summarize the brand challenge in their language. Bonus points for adding 1–2 data points that will direct the organization towards success. 4. Use relevant proof. Parallel case studies beat “your greatest hits” every time. I've seen the EXACT SAME examples in three of the RFP's I've scored lately- you don't know who is reading your work and may have seen your other responses. 5. Name the actual doers. Who is leading strategy, buying, creative, reporting? Don't just send a stack of resumes. And be realistic. Don't name your president when you know that appearance will be rare. 6. Methodology > vibes. If you’re “now doing buys” and not just a PR or content work company anymore OR if you're a traditional broadcast company at heart- show your process, not just results. 7. Don’t just say what you do, show how you do it. “Statewide reach” is a claim. What’s the plan that gets you there? 8. Create a Table of Contents that matches the RFP sections. And then add anything else to the TOC that you feel is important. This way you address everything we're asking for + share your bonus information on why you’re the one to do the job. 9. Put Quality Assurance into this team process like your life depends on it. Double-check. And then check again. No leftover text from another proposal. Ever. I unfortunately have seen it. If you’re writing an RFP response anytime soon: save this. Want a 1-page RFP response template? Comment “RFP” and I’ll share it. I hope this was helpful!

I’ve been seeing the same issues surface again and again when teams run their own RFPs. A few simple but important details tend to get overlooked. BUDGET How much have you allocated for this work? Be upfront about budget parameters. Agencies can’t scope or prioritize thoughtfully without knowing the constraints. TIMELINE When does the work need to begin? When will decisions be made? Imagine playing a game where the goalposts keep moving, or worse, don’t exist at all. Set a realistic timeline and do your best to stick to it. STAKEHOLDERS Who will have input, who will ultimately make the decision, and who is just along for the ride? Lack of clarity here early on can derail the process later. CRITERIA What are you actually looking for in a partner? What will matter most when you make the decision? Be explicit when briefing agencies and hold yourself to it every step of the process. INFO REQUESTED Avoid recycled RFPs. If an answer won’t meaningfully influence your decision, don’t ask for it. Respect both your team’s time and the agency’s. PROCESS DESIGN No written response can replace time spent actually getting to know the people behind the work. Design the process to include real conversations, not just submissions. TLDR: I see a lot of processes that are well-intentioned, but harder than they need to be for everyone involved. The best agency reviews aren’t about how much you ask for. They’re about setting the right expectations and creating the conditions for agencies to show you what it would actually be like to work together.

Your team just spent 120 hours on an RFP response. You submitted it 2 days late. The client went with someone else. And your best people are burned out from doing this three times a month. This is the reality for most companies responding to RFPs. According to the Wharton GKB AI Executive Report, RFP teams are still spending 100–150 labor hours per response, missing 24% of deadlines, and seeing low win rates on new business. And 62% of companies still aren’t using AI for RFP management at all. That's your competitive advantage right there. Manual RFP management drains time, introduces errors, and costs millions in missed opportunities. But most companies are still doing it the old way because they don't know where to start with AI. There's a progressive path to automating your RFP process, and you don't have to go all-in on day one. You can start small and scale as you see results. Level 1: Dip Your Toe (2-4 weeks to implement) Start with AI-generated timelines and task assignments. Use it to review for clarity, fix typos, and adjust tone. Simple automations that eliminate busywork. You'll see 10-15% time savings immediately with minimal investment. Level 2: Knee Deep (2-3 months to implement) Train a private LLM on your historic RFP responses. Use conversational AI for pricing and identifying client patterns, and auto-populate company information. Your team collaborates faster because AI is working behind the scenes. Time savings increase by 30-40%, and you'll begin to see higher win rates. Level 3: All In (4-6 months to implement) Agentic calendar and milestone management. Auto-generation of customer questions. Cascading supplier RFP creation. Profitability and capacity-driven pricing. AI becomes your RFP operations team. Time savings hit 60-70%, and you gain a strategic advantage in how you respond. For companies receiving 100 or more RFPs per year, the difference between Level 1 and Level 3 could result in 15-20 additional wins annually. Think about what that means for your revenue. If your average contract is worth $500K, that's $7.5M to $10M in additional revenue you're leaving on the table by managing RFPs manually. Most companies get stuck because they think they need to jump straight to Level 3. You don't. Start at Level 1, prove the ROI, then move to the next level when you're ready.

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. Taking shortcuts can lead to wasted money and a world of headaches downstream. (𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘙𝘍𝘗 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴?!) 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝: 💡 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩: Be specific about your needs in RFx docs. If you’re unclear, suppliers will be, too. Before going to RFP, always have quantifiable evaluation criteria finalized and approved by the Spend Owner. 💡 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚: The cheapest option often costs the most in the long run. Prioritize value over price. Suppliers who price things materially lower than benchmark norms usually cut corners somewhere to meet margins. 💡 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮: Source independent references via your network. Past performance tells the real story. Ask the right questions and listen closely to the answers.  💡 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙: Can the supplier grow and evolve with your business? Are they innovative and flexible? Does their company culture and ways of working align with yours?  💡 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙨: Most suppliers come with some level of risk, the key is understanding and managing it. Conduct due diligence on short-listed suppliers. Outputs should inform the down-selection process, with material deficiency action items included in the contract. 💡 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙨: The best suppliers care about your long-term success and aligning with your goals.  Look at proposals holistically, thinking beyond the transaction and into value creation. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠: Looking back, I’ve been at firms in seasons where costs were prioritized over total value, often leading to short-term gains but long-term challenges. There were times I should’ve taken a firmer stance about material supplier risks identified and bias in the selection process.  As procurement peeps, we provide recommendations based on long-term value, risk management, and partnership potential. This includes having the courage to speak up with informed and actionable guidance when things don't pass muster. The goal is to ensure sourcing outcomes build a foundation for success, not just a quick win. 📢 𝙋.𝙎. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 “𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨” 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛?

Most sellers treat RFPs like a necessary evil: • answer their questions • submit your response • hope for the best That's exactly why most sellers lose. In my last 4 years as a strategic seller, I captured $12.9M TCV from RFPs. The key was delivering a magical buying experience and doing the opposite of what everyone else does. THE AIRLINE STORY: We were in the final 3 for a major airline digital experience upgrade opportunity. 30+ executives in the room. 4-hour pitch. Everything on the line. Instead of jumping straight into our product demo, I opened with something completely unexpected... A "we love you" video showing our executives flying on their airline, our CEO talking about being their loyal customer, and connecting our core values to theirs. The room lit up. We won the 3-year, multi-million dollar deal. Two years later, their executive said at our Sales Kickoff: "We chose you because of how much love we felt during the process." Here's what I learned: Your product isn't that much better than the competition. But the buying experience you design can be completely different. The mistake most sellers make? They lead with features when they should lead with emotion. They answer questions when they should be creating narratives. They try to be "better" when they should focus on being "different." THE WINNING FRAMEWORK: I developed a simple 3-step process that transforms RFPs from soul-crushing exercises into deal-winning experiences (especially helpful if you're a late entrant). It's built around understanding how executive brains actually make decisions (hint: it's not the way you think). Want the full breakdown? I published the complete framework in The Purposeful Performer, including: → Why most sellers fail at the "croc brain" test → The exact narrative structure that wins in final rounds → How to use the E.L.E. framework during presentations → Creative tactics that separate you from commodity vendors Read the free guide here: https://lnkd.in/eYiFSbNj RFPs aren't about answering questions. They're an opportunity to design experiences that make the decision obvious. 🐝

Stop writing RFPs like they’re Christmas wish lists. In our niche, we don’t see many RFPs. But when they do land, they usually come from companies struggling on outdated tools, yet their RFPs are crammed with edge case requirements. The irony is their basics aren’t even working but often they focus on the 1% of scenarios that barely move any needle. The danger with this approach is that when you demand every hypothetical feature up front, you paralyse the process. Vendors over-engineer. Costs explode. And you’re left with a system that caters to fringe use cases… while your core business problems remain unsolved. My advice? If you’re starting from a low base, don’t chase perfection. Chase progress. Solve the 80% that matters the workflows that actually run your business. Get your foundation right, then iterate, expand, and refine. That’s how modern platforms are built anyway: agile, adaptable, designed to grow with you. So the real RFP question isn’t “Can you handle every edge case we’ve ever imagined?” It should be “Can you get our fundamentals right, and help us scale from there?” I’ll always bet on the company that masters the boring basics over the one chasing edge cases. Every time. iasset.com

When you put out an RFP for a new PR agency, lots of subtle cues signal what kind of client you'll be. And yes, we all know the process needs an overhaul, but some companies can't get around it. So here's how to show that you're looking for a partner, and not just a vendor... and how to endear yourself to your new agency immediately: - Don’t create deadlines that require work or travel over a major holiday. - Include a budget. Your Actual Budget. - Stick to the timeline you set. - Since only one agency will win, the entire pitch process will be a financial loss for almost everyone participating. Agencies survive on billable work, and time spent on a pitch is entirely unbillable. Be sensitive to that. - If an agency is out of the running, release them right away vs keeping them hanging on until the end. - Keep the RFP/brief tight. Use clear, quantifiable metrics as a forcing function. - Don't ask for an entire new pr plan or any free work that could be turned over to the winning agency to implement. Instead, ask mostly for samples of past work and case studies. - Anything you can do to reduce rounds/ process/travel/design/finalists etc will be noticed and appreciated. - Put as few non-marketing/PR experts in the final decision making process as possible. Brief any non-experts on the criteria for a strong agency and the basics of PR. And if you aren't interested in re-hiring the incumbent, the most benevolent thing to do is let them know before they invest the money, hope and effort into a re-pitch. Chances are they see it coming anyway.

Answering an RFP cold is like showing up to a costume party in street clothes. You missed the theme. You’re not getting picked. And the host already crowned a winner. By the time an RFP lands, the decision is already made. Vendors scramble to “respond competitively” while the chosen provider casually watches the process play out, knowing the specs were written just for them. What should you try to do? Kill the RFP before it’s even issued. Here’s how: 1. Identify RFP triggers before they go public Most RFPs aren’t spontaneous...they’re the result of months of internal discussions. Track these: - New exec hires -> They’re likely re-evaluating vendors - Competitor displacement -> If they just fired your competitor, they need a replacement - M&A & cost-cutting -> Consolidation means vendor shifts - New funding & they're hiring (open roles) -> They likely have budget to invest for growth - Frequent website visits to high-value pages (Pricing, Product, Customer Stories) -> They're likely doing research 2. Engineer the evaluation criteria If you’re waiting for procurement to issue the RFP, you’ve already lost. Instead: - Run executive workshops -> Teach buyers how to evaluate vendors (favorably) - Seed sample RFP questions -> “Must-have” features that competitors can’t match - Introduce POC phases -> Make buyers test solutions before issuing RFPs The goal: Write the RFP for them...before they even know they need one. 3. Force conversations pre-RFP Most sales teams wait for invites. You should try to create urgency before procurement gets involved. - Use past champions -> They’re your fastest path to a warm seat at the table. Leverage UserGems 💎 to prompt outreach via their Gem-E platform - Leverage peer referrals -> Introductions from existing customers - Offer “vendor-agnostic” insights -> Get invited to shape strategy early The companies that win RFPs aren’t the ones that “respond best.” They’re the ones who built the evaluation criteria from day one. By the time you’ve zipped up your metaphorical costume, someone else is already on stage doing the robot and winning the crowd. Moral of the story? If you're not part of the planning committee, you're part of the entertainment.

I went back and re-read something I published last week after reviewing 3 RFPs from large enterprises this weekend. All 3 asked for: - SLAs on ticket resolution time - Commitments to reduce cost using AI None of them asked: 👉 How will this improve employee productivity? What’s interesting is this comes at the same time a new Gartner report highlights 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘾𝙄𝙊𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔—above cost reduction. That gap is worth pausing on. If productivity is the goal… are we asking for the right outcomes? Because most RFPs today are still structured around: - how fast tickets are closed - how efficiently support is delivered But the business doesn’t run on tickets. It runs on work getting done. If a meeting is missed, a decision is delayed, or a task is blocked… it doesn’t really matter how fast the ticket was closed. So maybe the question isn’t: “How quickly can you fix issues?” It’s: 👉 “How will you help our employees keep working when things go wrong?” That’s the idea I explored in this piece: 👉 IT support doesn’t have a technology problem. It has a productivity problem. If you’re designing or issuing RFPs in this space, it’s worth asking: 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆… 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀❓ https://lnkd.in/gv-nKsFC

RFPs Are Killing Innovation... "We need a better RFP process." Something procurement teams say all the time. But is it actually getting better? In many cases, it’s getting worse. So, what’s the answer? More structured requirements? More supplier submissions? A tighter scoring system? Probably not. There’s a fine line between efficiency and bureaucracy and procurement crosses it more often than we’d like to admit. RFPs were meant to create a level playing field. Instead, they often create barriers to the very innovation we claim to seek. Here’s why: ➡️ They filter out the disruptors. Startups and emerging suppliers often can’t afford the time or resources to compete in lengthy RFP processes. The result? You keep choosing from the same pool, missing out on fresh ideas. ➡️ They reward the best proposal writers, not the best partners. Winning an RFP doesn’t always mean a supplier is the most innovative. It just means they knew how to check the right boxes. But does that translate to true value? ➡️ They prioritize compliance over collaboration. Procurement should be about strategic partnerships, yet RFPs often reduce it to a transaction. The back and forth of an RFP doesn’t foster problem solving, it limits it. ➡️ They assume you know all the answers. RFPs define all requirements upfront. This leaves suppliers with little room to question assumptions or suggest creative solutions. You might be asking the wrong questions altogether. So, what’s the alternative? ✅ Move from “bidding” to “building.” Instead of just evaluating suppliers, co-develop solutions with them. Give them space to challenge and improve your vision. ✅ Pilot first, contract second. Instead of relying on a written proposal, conduct small pilots. This lets you test real world results before deciding. ✅ Shift from “vendor” to “partner.” Suppliers aren’t order takers, they’re value creators. Seeing them as strategic partners leads to better results than any strict selection process. ✅ Ask for possibilities, not pricing. Invite suppliers to share new ideas, technologies, or solutions. Don't just ask them to match a template. This approach can spark creativity and uncover options you might not have thought of. The goal isn’t to eliminate structure, it’s to eliminate unnecessary friction. If your RFP process is keeping innovation out instead of bringing it in, it’s time to rethink the process altogether. What do you think? Are RFPs helping or hurting your ability to drive innovation?