Now that some of the Broadband Stimulus funds have been awarded, many companies expect to grab a piece of the stimulus pie. In fact, it’s likely that the great sense of broadband goodwill created from these funds being released will create an unprecedented number of Request for Proposals (RFP) from companies that want to be part of the broadband project.

These RFPs could come from many different sources, especially since 2,200 entities applied for the stimulus grant ranging from colleges, hospitals, counties, cities, service providers, and towns. But, despite their enthusiasm to be a part of the work to advance broadband to un-served and under-served areas in our country, many organizations do not have the resources nor the knowledge to appropriately respond to formal requests from organizations looking for equipment or services.

Your organization may face all kinds of requests: requests for information, requests for quotes, and requests for proposals. And while the requests are all different, they have one thing in common: they take time to respond.

To help with that process, there are some basic rules and guidelines that you should follow when responding to RFPs to create clear concise and compelling proposal responses.

Rule #1: Deciding to Respond
Become selective and strategic about the competition you enter. Focus on the right RFPs and you’ll increase your chances of picking the right clients. And very important: if you are NOT going to respond, make the decision early in the process.

If possible, interview the customer in advance. Gain an even greater competitive edge over others by interviewing a prospective client to gather more information and confirm the information. Make sure the RFP rules permit customer contact.

Learn as much as you can about the prospective customer; both yours and your customer’s time is valuable. Therefore, you should gather as much pertinent information as you can about the customer before your meeting. This could include information about the customer’s goals, performance, competitive landscape, and industry trends. The information will help you uncover areas where your products and services might be of value and frame the content of your meeting.

It might also help you discover critical opportunities to differentiate your company from the other RFP participants. While many of these may seem simple, it is amazing how many times organizations ignore these simple tools.

Understand what the RFP is all about. The Introduction or Objectives sections should give you a basic indication and description of what the project is all about. Toward the back of the RFP, you’ll typically find a section called Response Requirements, or something to that effect, which specifies what is expected in the response. These two sections are the starting points to understanding what the RFP is all about.

Rule #2: Preparing the Response
This is the time to use your project management skills. An important part of project management that will help with the preparation of your response is assigning a proposal response team. Generally try to establish your team as soon as possible; schedule a kick-off call to get your initial team together. Appointing the team early increases their sense of ownership and buy-in to the project, and maximizes their contributions.

Keep in mind that many times the composition of your team is not only company employees; sometimes it will also include contractors, suppliers, freelance, consultants, or other partners. It is a good idea to create a response matrix form early in the process for each team section. As each section is completed fill in each missing part. This can often ensure your organizations respond to all of the requirements.

Recognize procrastination as a worst practice. Procrastination only results in incomplete responses and last-minute scrambles. The sooner you send out the RFP to the proposal team, the sooner they can start working on it. In addition, give your team adequate time to respond by establishing deadlines to team members who are required to provide input to RFPs.

Respond directly, in detail, and be consistent. An RFP is essentially a company’s request for a very specific kind of assistance. Any suggestions outside of the range of the guidelines of the RFP document may disqualify you. There’s no use in offering solutions that haven’t been requested or don’t directly respond to the supplier’s business issues and specifications unless requested as an alternate proposal. Select the top messages you want to convey to your prospective customer and be consistent through the entire response.

Remember that “less is more” in the Executive Summary. It is one of the most important sections in the proposal because it’s the section most likely to be read. Think “less is more” throughout, because when asked which proposals they read first, company executives almost always say, “The shortest ones”. Proposals that contain lots of glitz but little substance will not score well.

Respond to RFPs accentuating the customer’s needs and what you can offer to meet those needs. Include how your solution will benefit them, a project schedule, and, if possible, a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis. The ROI will let them know what they’ll get out of your products or services.

Though it seems obvious, remember to check your formatting, spelling, and grammar throughout the document. You can use your word processor spell-check and grammar-check features but also have someone else double check, as there are many words and names will be missed by your computer.

Double check RFP requirements and appendices. This is a good time to review the response matrix created at the beginning of the process. There are always proposals that get disqualified on a technicality: the responder forgets to submit a form or misses to reply to a required response or statement. These are the last-minute items that get misplaced or skipped as the due date draws near and the response team is coordinating last-minute copies with the last UPS pick-up.

Rule #3: After the Response, Do a Debriefing
Once a winner is selected be sure to connect with the customer to determine what did and did not go well. To get candid responses, consider having a colleague who wasn't part of the RFP call the customer to ask for feedback. If you took the time to ask the customer for this post-RFP meeting when you first made contact, your request will likely be granted.

Now it's time to meeting with your team to gauge the team's performance throughout the process:

• What went well and what didn't?
• What questions were asked and how did we respond?
• How did the different members of the team respond?
• What additional information did we learn about the customer's objectives?
• What can we do better next time?

You should follow-up the meeting with a memo responding to unanswered or imperfectly answered questions, capitalizing on any of this newly discovered information.

In this competitive environment, companies can be highly selective in who they choose to be their broadband deployment partner. Though not exhaustive, these three rules can be invaluable tools as you strive to be a part of those who are moving forward with their deployment plans.

Keeping your responses to RFPs simple, complete, and interesting to read are the best rules of all.

Endnotes: Additional resources
“The Sugarcrest Report, 13.5 Steps to a Successful RFP Response” by Felice C. Wagner
“Doing Business with the World’s Biggest Customer” by GOVtips
“Tips for Responding to Requests for Proposals” by Janice D. Byer

About the Author
Wanda Ortiz-Maysonet is a Proposal Writer for a major manufacturer of network infrastructure products and a student in the Information Technology Management Masters Program at St Mary’s University in Minneapolis, Minn. She has more than 22 years of experience in the Telecommunications industry. For more information, email: wortizmays@comcast.net or wxorti09@smumn.edu.

What’s your take on this subject? Leave a comment and get the conversation going.