I’ve recently noticed the same question being asked by many of my clients in regards to Requests for Proposals (RFPs). They want to know how to respond when a proposal comes into the market from an organisation that they really, really want to work with, but currently no relationship exists. This is a great question with a complex answer – which I will attempt to answer here, and also on the video below.

I, of course, will say that 10 times out of 10, if you have no relationship with the economic buyers/decision makers at the client organisation at the moment when the RFP comes out, you should not bid. But I’m also a realist and know that there is always a BUT or WHAT IF.

So, if you’re not going to say no outright, then the first and most critical question to ask yourself in determining whether or not to bidis can you get access to key decision makers before the decision is made? If, after evaluating this question you don’t believe that there’s any potential for personal communication, I strongly recommend you don’t bid and let other vendors have at it.

Government bids sometimes attract the counter-argument that relationships are completely irrelevant. Don’t be fooled by these statements, no matter how persuasive. Relationships matter a lot, and people in Government are human! I have found that despite widely held personal and organisational beliefs disregarding the importance of relationships in Government, they are in fact vital.

If, however, you do have access to the key decision makers then ask yourself, do you have enough time to build a relationship equal to what other organisations already have? If the answer is no, don’t bid.

As an alternative, if your ultimate aim is to build a relationship with the organisation, you could decline the offer and use a different game plan. In a situation like this, I’d recommend that when you decline the offer to submit a RFP, you should offer to help the client organisation in some way – be this to look over the submitted bids to assist the buyer in making a better-informed decision, or to provide them with some other research or insights into the area in which they are doing work. This will show you have the buyer’s best interests at heart, whilst also potentially giving you access to the economic buyer.

As you can see, there’s no clear-cut solution or answer. Each decision to bid or not bid should be made on a case-by-case basis. If you’ve got any questions, or would like some help determining how you should react to RFPs, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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