Here’s the deal with RFPs. You need to delete every RFP that hits your inbox, unless you helped to write it. Why? Because the RFP process typically does not allow you to connect with a decision-maker. Some RFPs will. There is query period, and if you can get a meeting in that query period, and find out a little bit of some of the ends needs, it might be worth your time and effort to respond. Otherwise, you’re going to get judged on one of two things: who you know, or what your price is. Either one of those is not good, unless of course you know everybody, or you are the cheapest out there, which we would never recommend being.
I was guest lecturing at Loyola’s MBA program, and someone asked a question about B-to-G (business-to-government) sales. I said we don’t spend a ton of time develop sales plans and sales structures in that space because it’s a different sale. It’s all based on relationships. In government sales, government contractors are very relationship-driven. much more than B-to-B or B-to-C sales.
“That’s ludicrous. That’s absurd,” said a woman in the audience, who told us she worked in procurement. “There’s no relationships in government contracting. It’s all in the RFP.”
I said, “How long have you been there?”
“A couple of months.”
I said, “I’m not trying to tell you that the world’s not exactly the idealistic world that you think it is, but I am going to tell you that government sales is the most relationship-driven, and if you have not known about or secured the deal before the RFP goes out, you ain’t got a shot.”
