Today I sat in a meeting for an RFP that my company is considering bidding on. There were about 50 other companies there for the Q&A session about the project. Until now, the only RFPs we’ve entered have been for advertising, and since this project is a much different project than anything we’ve done in the past, I don't know much about the RFP process. Considering the RFP is well over 100 pages, it is really easy to get overwhelmed and just say "I'm not doing this." On top of this, I’ve got two qualities (which most entrepreneurs share) that can affect how well I do in an RFP process – I love control and I hate to lose.

One of the reasons I became a business owner was to be in control. Of course, when you try to sell something you lose a fair degree of control, but at least you can have control over the selling process. With an RFP you have virtually no control over the process and, in many cases, the organization issuing the RFP knows exactly who they will hire before the process even starts. Ideally, you want to be speaking with the organization before they start the RFP process. If you’re not, that makes it all the more tempting to give up before you start.

Then there’s the competitive element to the RFP process. If you hate losing, like I do, and you see 50 other people who are interested in the RFP, you just might pass on the "opportunity" because the odds are that you will lose. But the old saying "no risk, no reward" applies here.

So at the end of the day, an RFP is another sales opportunity, but one where the odds are really against you. So if you can't stand the thought of losing, filling out RFPs are not for you.  However, if you play to win, but acknowledge that it is ok to lose, you can go for it. Said another way, you need to say it is ok to lose so that you feel comfortable putting yourself in a position to win.

As we walked out of the meeting someone said something I thought expresses the perfect attitude: "This time I will learn how to complete an RFP, and next time I just might get it."

For more tips on the RFP process, read NY Report's Ask the Expert and Making Certification Work, by managing editor Daria Meoli. 


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