Responding to RFPs in B2B sales with Scott Sinatra

Sep 21, 2023

Scott Sinatra, CEO and co-founder of Bountiful and a former senior sales leader at Glassdoor and LinkedIn, shares his expertise on navigating RFPs in B2B sales. He emphasizes the importance of building relationships within organizations and having a strong internal champion. Scott discusses the challenges of responding to vague RFPs and the critical need for strategic communication. He also highlights the necessity of making informed go/no-go decisions and aligns proposal criteria with client needs to stand out in competitive markets.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Revolutionizing Recruitment: The Bountiful Approach

01:33 • 4min

Navigating RFP Challenges in B2B Sales

05:41 • 17min

Responding to RFP Challenges

22:57 • 7min

Mastering RFP Strategies

30:03 • 16min

Navigating the Transition from CRO to CEO

45:33 • 3min

Navigating Leadership and Product Management in a Young Company

48:30 • 3min

Scott Sinatra is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bountiful. Scott is a serial entrepreneur and former senior vice president of worldwide sales at Glassdoor. With deep industry knowledge in HR technology, Sinatra also served as a founding executive and head of go-to-market at Glint, which was acquired by LinkedIn in 2018

In this interview, Scott shares his experience responding to an RFP during his time at BladeLogic. He discusses the importance of having a champion within the customer's organization, the need to influence the decision criteria in the RFP, and the value of training and understanding your product and competition. Scott also emphasizes the importance of making a go/no-go decision when evaluating an RFP and the need to prioritize activities that will lead to success

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT

[00:01:26] Overview of Bountiful, a referral platform for recruiting
[00:03:03] Explanation of how Bountiful works and how scouts can refer candidates
[00:09:06] Formation of a committee and funding for the initiative
[00:10:11] Surprise of receiving an RFP and the alignment with decision criteria
[00:11:14] Conclusion of the RFP discussion and next steps
[00:11:14] Scott offers to provide a test plan template for the RFP.
[00:23:14] Addendum received with more details on problem to solve
[00:24:41] Scott writes another letter declining to participate further
[00:25:32] Scott receives a call from the company
[00:26:12] Second addendum received with desired changes
[00:35:42] Salespeople need to get buyers thinking about their solution
[00:36:12] If you didn't write the RFP, your differentiators may not be included
[00:37:31] Example of influencing criteria in an RFP to win a deal
[00:44:59] Importance of managing the sales process for team success
[00:45:40] Introduction and discussion about RFPs

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
More tips for handling an RFP as a seller: https://forc.mx/3ELMidQ
How to stack customer requirements in your favor: https://forc.mx/48oUxdF

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:17:49] “We can either play by somebody else's rules or we can change the game” - Scott Sinatra
[00:24:54] "We really appreciate the time, but if this is the criteria you're going to use to make a decision, we're going to respectfully decline to participate further." - Scott Sinatra
[00:33:07] "Understand how to set decision criteria. The shopping list of capabilities required to solve pain is fundamental. You need to know your products and services really well, as well as your competition's, so you can differentiate."
[00:44:09] "This is a team sport. If you manage a sales process with the idea that you're going to make your team successful, they're going to appreciate that a lot. You'll build a lot of internal credibility, and they'll be more apt to want to help you." - Scott Sinatra

Learn more about Scott through this link.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-sinatra-b399312/

Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064