Pricing Table Topics: 2 of Hearts – The Best Response to an RFP Is Not to Bid

This one is the 2 of Hearts from the Selling Value card deck.

When you get an RFP, you have to decide, are you going to bid or not. Believe it or not, that's actually a decision you get to make. You do not have to respond to every RFP that comes through. And my advice, if you are not involved in the creation of the RFP, or at the very least, if you cannot have conversations with the decision makers or executives of the group who created that RFP, you have a very low chance of winning.

And so, the time and energy that you spend replying to the RFP makes you feel like you're doing work, but odds are really good you're not going to win that deal. There's somebody else that has already built a relationship with the client, understands exactly what the client wants, is able to create a response to that RFP that fits them almost perfectly. They've built the rapport so the client's going to give them the benefit of the doubt no matter what.

If you're going in blind to an RFP, you're probably not going to win.

Let's test that. From here on out, every time you respond to an RFP, just keep track. Did I help write this? Do I know the leaders? Do I get conversations with the executives? And if the answers are no, and you go ahead and bid, see how many of those you actually win. And I will bet you the percentage of those is so low you realize it just isn't worth your time to bid RFPs where you're not already involved.

We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. If you want to get better at speaking about pricing and value, grab a deck of our cards, pick a card, read the saying, and then talk for one to two minutes about what that card says. You'll become a better speaker and expert.

If you have any questions or feedback, please email me, mark@impactpricing.com.

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: mark@impactpricing.com
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