I’ve faced this negotiation dilemma many times over the years. I get an email with a formal request for proposal (RFP) from a government entity or large company looking for one or more negotiation training programs.
The dilemma? Should I spend the time and effort to customize a proposal or will it just be a waste of my time? And if I do respond, how should I characterize my services to increase the likelihood I will get the business?
Here are my recommendations, which help those responding to AND those sending out RFPs.
1. Request some personal interaction upfront
Most RFPs try to strike a balance between:
a) providing sufficient information about the products or services sought to expand the number of qualified bidders willing respond (thus increasing their leverage by providing them with more alternatives/Plan Bs);
b) avoiding sharing sensitive information with the bidders; and
c) ensuring an even playing field so no bidder gets an unfair inside track.
Keep in mind – this is an opening negotiation move meant to control the agenda and get you to make the initial offer!
My advice? Do not let this format deter you from reaching out and pushing hard for some direct interaction with the requester in an effort to get additional and often crucial information (remember my First Golden Rule of Negotiation: Information is Power-So Get It!).
It will almost certainly be in your AND the requester’s interests to have a dialogue in which you can build rapport and decide if you want to formally bid.
I recently responded to a government entity’s RFP by requesting an online meeting, which lasted almost an hour and included some bonding when we discovered we went to the same law school.
I probably would not have gotten the deal had I simply responded “blind” with a written proposal that did not incorporate the crucial information I learned in that meeting.
Importantly, my now client also benefited from meeting, as it empowered me to illustrate in my proposal how I met its interests to a greater degree than others.
2. Evaluate your counterpart’s goals, interests and alternatives
I rarely respond to RFPs these days, especially generic government RFPs. Why? Because in my field the government often has a statutorily-required primary goal in its RFP-driven procurement efforts – the lowest price.
This often means the government in this area is unwilling to pay much extra for difficult-to-quantify considerations like quality, reliability, service, etc. This often makes sense for the government.
But my business model has never been to be the low-price leader of negotiation experts/trainers.
As a result, there’s rarely a sweet spot between the government’s price-driven interests and my quality-driven services. You need to know this or find this out in your initial interaction with the RFP drafter.
So explore in that interaction:
– Their interests and possible mutual interests, including priority of price and quality interests;
– Options that may satisfy the parties’ interests (like the size of the opportunity);
– How they found you (I would be more likely to respond if referred by a current client than just found on the web);
– Other bidders, including if there’s an incumbent, and any evaluation and possible differentiation.
I get an annual RFP from a school district requesting negotiation training and consulting for their collective bargaining team. I responded the first year but then quickly determined it was seeking a much less expensive option (even though I think this is short-sighted).
Since then, I haven’t responded.
Recommendations 3 and 4 in my next column.
Latz’s Lesson: RFPs constitute the start of the negotiation, so request a call or meeting and then actively explore their interests, options and alternatives/Plan Bs.
* Marty Latz is the founder of Latz Negotiation, a national negotiation training and consulting company that helps individuals and organizations achieve better results with best practices based on the experts’ research. He can be reached at 480.951.3222 or Marty@LatzNegotiation.com.