How to Build a Simple RFP Process: 5 Steps to Win More Bids

Kyla Steeves

September 16, 2022

Submitting a proposal is no easy feat…especially if you don’t stick to a standard set of request for proposal (RFP) process steps. You’ve got to meet every requirement, engage *unavailable* subject matter experts (SMEs), and transform highly technical content into a compelling proposal. Winging it isn’t exactly an option.

With companies sourcing roughly 33% of their sales revenue through deals involving RFPs, following the right course of action is essential to perform your best (and prepare for surprises). So, if your RFP process flow is a little too spur-of-the-moment, read on to find out what you should do throughout the RFP stages.

In this article, you’ll learn how to improve your RFP process by following the plan below.

Master your RFP process in 5 simple steps:

Evaluate the Bidding Criteria and Opportunity
Research the RFP for Key Insights
Plan Out Your Response Strategy
Draft a Compelling Proposal
Respond & Submit a Winning Bid 🏆

First, let’s look at the big picture of how an RFP process lands on your desk—and how to submit a winning bid with ease.

The High-Level RFP Process Flow

Instead of searching for a prospective vendors in the wild, a company will issue a request for proposal (RFP) to promising candidates and see who comes out on top. It’s almost like speed dating–they can compare all potential vendors simultaneously rather than putting their eggs into one basket. Plus, it allows them to swoon over a vendor’s specific action plan, not just the one they sell over the phone.

To carry out this strategy, a company will follow a procurement process to help narrow down qualified vendors to your own “match-made-in-heaven”. If you have a comprehensive understanding of what’s happening on their end, you can prepare ways to stand out as a frontrunner before, during, and after receiving the RFP.

Five Stages of the RFP Process

Discovery	A company will kick off the proposal management process after identifying a need. They will assemble key stakeholders to determine the project scope, budget, and goals. Ideally, your sales team will catch wind of an RFP early and notify you to start pre-proposal research.
Draft & Issue	Next, the procurement team will put together an RFP with a long list of questions. Either you will receive the RFP exclusively or find it publicly in an online bid portal. As soon as it lands in your hands, it’s go-time to package a winning proposal. 🚀
Shortlist	After accepting all interested bids, they will score the proposals based on the agreed-upon evaluation criteria and narrow down the list. If you make the cut, keep your response saved as a reference for the next RFP. It’s a winning one. 👏
Follow-Up	It’s not uncommon for the prospect to ask for additional demos or even an RFP finalist presentation before making a decision. So, keep the champagne on ice and ensure your sales team is aligned on your win themes before they swoop in and close the deal.
Decision	At this point, the procurement team should know whether they want to partner with you or not. All that’s left is to get executive approval, send you an RFP award letter, and iron out the kinks in the contract. Let the negotiating games begin.

Simple Steps to Tackle Your RFP Process

A lot of time and effort goes into crafting a compelling proposal. Whether you’re an RFP expert or just learning how to manage the RFP process, the workload is always daunting. There’s no getting around it.

Many teams will jump right into responding without an action plan, knowing there’s little time to waste. But the secret to conquering complex RFPs is to break down the project into smaller visible goals. That way, you can chip away at the proposal rather than feeling like you aren’t making any progress.

1. Evaluate the Bidding Opportunity

Just because you receive an RFP doesn’t mean you have to respond. It may not be the right opportunity right now. Or, you may have other RFPs more deserving of your time. So, the first step is to consider whether a response is the best move before investing valuable time, resources, and collective energy.

🥇Your goal at this step: Determine whether the opportunity is a good fit.

👉 Action items

Review opportunity: Ask your sales team to complete an intake form, which includes key information about the client (such as the company name, geographical region, and top needs)
Assess RFP: Use RFP evaluation criteria to measure customer fit (and your existing relationship), the cost of pursuing the opportunity, and if you have the right resources available.
Prioritize the proposal: After evaluating the RFP, add it to your priority list or kindly say no if it’s not worth a response.

Proposal managers will do better if you mutually decide that the proposal is worth your time in the first place.

Roxanne Marquez

Marketing Manager

Siegel & Strain Architects

2. Research the RFP for Key Insights

Once you know the RFP is a good match, it’s time to dive into specifics. The idea is to find golden nuggets of information that tell you more about the prospect, what they’re looking for, and how to win their business. Don’t skip this homework–the more you know about the client, the easier it will be to personalize the proposal later.

🥇 Your goal at this step: Gather RFP intelligence and identify win themes.

👉 Action items

Analyze the RFP: Do preliminary research by reading the RFP from cover to cover. Take note of critical information like formatting instructions, special requirements, and even specific features the customer wants.
Schedule an interview: Ask sales if you can hop on a discovery call with the client. Most companies expect vendors to come prepared with clarification questions, so don’t be afraid to take advantage of this opportunity to tease out more insights.
Identify competitors: Conduct a competitor analysis to see how your company stacks up. Pick out any differentiators by reviewing solutions on their website, reading analyst reports, and seeing what their happy (and unhappy) customers say in online reviews.
Develop win themes: Determine the most persuasive reasons why your solution is the number one choice based on your strategic advantage beyond the RFP requirements.

3. Plan Out Your RFP Response Strategy

This stage is arguably the most fun or the biggest headache, depending on your team’s availability and enthusiasm. It involves briefing key stakeholders, subject matter experts (SMEs), and other contributors on the response strategy (a.k.a. your content plan and project roadmap). But first, what is an RFP plan?

An RFP plan is a strategic approach to managing and responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP). It involves understanding the RFP requirements, creating a project plan, developing a compelling proposal, and submitting the response. This process ensures a competitive and comprehensive proposal that meets the project’s objectives.

🥇 Your goal at this step: Turn your research into an actionable plan everyone agrees on.

👉 Actions items

Plan content: Use your win themes as the main points you want to communicate in the RFP response. Then, create an outline for the story you want to tell in each section of the proposal.
Rally SMEs: Take a look at the content plan you’ve created and figure out which RFP sections need input from subject matter experts in other departments.
Create roadmap: Create a project workback schedule to map out major milestones in the next two RFP stages and divide tasks among contributors.
Host a kickoff: Get your team excited about the opportunity by briefing them on the content plan, outlining the RFP process steps, and gathering their winning input.

4. Draft a Compelling Proposal

You’ve laid the foundation with in-depth research, expert guidance, and strong win themes. Now you can put everything together. In this stage, you’ll craft a winning response by personalizing answers, enlisting the brainpower of SMEs, and designing an eye-catching proposal.

🥇 Your goal at this step: Create a final proposal that’s ready for submission.

👉 Action items

Write the first draft: Tap into your content library (or your most recent RFPs) to answer the questions you can. Be sure to provide only relevant information (don’t go overboard) and tailor each answer to the prospect to create a good RFP response.
Fill in gaps: Invite your SMEs to answer any skipped questions or fact-check answers after you’ve tackled the first pass.
Provide proof: Back up each claim in your proposal by gathering substantive evidence, such as case studies, industry reports, survey statistics, or aggregated customer data.
Collect documents: Fetch supporting materials and required documents to show beyond doubt your qualification, like relevant certifications or business policies.
Proofread and edit: Fix any typos, smooth out awkward sentences, and ensure the proposal is easy to understand. Also, double-check to see if you’ve answered every question.
Polish the look: Give your proposal to a designer (in-house or freelance) to tell a visual story, adjust the format to submission guidelines, and find opportunities to co-brand the document.

5. Respond & Submit a Winning Bid 🏆

You’re almost at the finish line. 🏁 After making sure you’ve dotted every I and crossed every T, you can finally submit your bid. But the RFP process doesn’t end after you click Send. If you hear good news that you’ve made it on the shortlist, you’ll want to save your winning response in a content library for the next RFP.

🥇Your goal at this step: Submit your winning response before the deadline.

👉 Action items

Check the quality: Do a final once-over using the “four C’s” approach for quality assurance. Simply ask: Is it compliant, consistent, clear, and compelling?
Verify instructions: Triple-check the delivery instructions–like whether you need ink signatures or to get the document notarized. Overlooking the submission guidelines will only tell the prospect you’ll overlook other important details during the project.
Submit your response: You did it. 🎉 Submit the proposal and wait to hear back about getting shortlisted.
Build a content library: Save your answers in one convenient place for the next RFP. With a content library, you’ll spend 10% of your time answering new questions—and the other 90% tailoring existing responses.
Host a postmortem: Have one last meeting to review your RFP process steps. What went wrong? Where can you improve? A retro helps you zoom out at the end of an RFP, capture valuable lessons, and praise everyone for a well-done proposal. 👏

A properly conducted RFP process allows for qualifications-based competition on a more level playing field. The result is an improvement in quality on project delivery in most cases.

Roxanne Marquez

Marketing Manager

Siegel & Strain Architects

The Benefits of Consistent Steps for RFP Responses

Creating an effective RFP process is critical whether you manage 100+ RFPs or a dozen. Tight deadlines don’t have to mean long days at your desk. You can submit a winning bid without throwing everything together at the eleventh hour. Here are the benefits to following a series of RFP process steps:

Faster Response Times

Companies replied to an average of 137 RFPs last year. Although this number is down from prior years, that’s still a super high volume of responses to put on a proposal manager’s plate. Luckily, when you have a plan already mapped out, you can jump right into crushing your work (and your deadlines), one RFP after another. Less thinking, more doing.
Higher Quality Proposals

When you check every box on an RFP process checklist, you ensure nothing slips through the cracks before you respond–like key information that can help shape your win themes for proposals. Plus, when your team has visibility into the agreed-upon process, they can focus on crafting personalized answers instead of wondering what to do next.
Higher Win Rates

A happier team = a higher win rate. According to the 2022 RFP Trends Report, proposal teams that are satisfied with their RFP process have a 6% higher win rate than teams who are not. So, if you’re not making the shortlist, it could be because you’re burning out your team by treating RFPs like an ad-hoc project rather than having a system in place.

Three Must-Have Tools for Your RFP Process

With so much on the go, it’s easy to see how the entire RFP process can become unmanageable. FYI–here are a few helpful tools you can add to your proposal toolkit to optimize the RFP process from start to submission.

1. RFP Process Checklist

Checklists are super handy for ensuring you don’t miss any important steps in the RFP process. Plus, they can help you stay on track and feel good about completing tasks as you make it closer to the deadline. Don’t have one yet? Customize this RFP Checklist Template to your proposal team’s workflow and follow it for every RFP.

2. Go/No-Go Decision Tool

As you’ve learned earlier, you must evaluate whether an RFP is an unmissable opportunity once it lands in your inbox. Instead of deciding whether it’s an immediate yes or no as you skim through the document, it’s best to be diligent with a consistent scoring system.

Not sure what to evaluate? Follow this Go/No-Go Decision Template, which compiles the top factors that hundreds of proposal teams consider before deciding to move forward with a RFI, RFP, or RFQ response.

3. RFP Automation Software

Manual RFP processes were so last year. Now more than ever, organizations are optimizing their resources and investing in RFP automation software to store content for reuse, answer RFPs automatically, and close more deals. For example, see how Alight uses Loopio to level up their RFP process best practices.

Are you ready to level up your RFP process steps?

Read this RFP response process guide and learn how to take action on the above steps with a detailed plan and tried-and-true tips from proposal experts.

Other FAQs About the RFP Process

An effective RFP process typically consists of seven main steps:
1. Preparation: This initial step involves defining the purpose and scope of the RFP. The organization identifies its needs, project goals, the project deadline, and other requirements. Key stakeholders are also identified, and a project team is often assembled to manage the RFP process. This step includes creating the RFP document itself, outlining evaluation criteria, and setting a timeline for the entire process.
2. Distribution: The RFP document is distributed to potential vendors or service providers. This can be done through various channels, such as sending it directly to pre-qualified suppliers, posting it on the organization’s website, or using specialized RFP platforms.
3. Vendor Responses: Vendors interested in responding to the RFP submit proposals by the specified deadline. The RFP should include clear instructions on how proposals should be structured and what information is required from vendors. This step may involve a question-and-answer period where vendors can seek clarification on the RFP requirements.
4. Evaluation: A committee or RFP evaluation team reviews and scores the vendor proposals based on predefined criteria. The evaluation team typically includes representatives from various relevant departments within the organization. The goal is to assess the proposals objectively and select the one that best meets the organization’s needs.
5. Selection: After the evaluation process, the organization selects the vendor or vendors that best meet the requirements and offers the most favorable terms. This decision can involve negotiations with the best vendor regarding the scope, pricing, and other terms of the contract.
6. Contract Negotiation: Once a vendor is selected, the organization enters into contract negotiations. This step involves finalizing the terms and conditions of the agreement, pricing, delivery schedules, and other relevant details. The goal is to create a mutually acceptable contract that protects the interests of both parties.
7. The Win: After successful contract negotiations, the organization awards the contract to the selected vendor. 🎉This step involves formalizing the agreement, signing the contract, and initiating the work or project outlined in the RFP. Throughout the entire RFP process, transparency, fairness, and adherence to established procedures are critical to ensure a successful outcome and maintain trust between the organization and its vendors.
If you’re responding to an RFP, the first step is typically to assess the opportunity—before you even begin. You can use an go/no-go process to determine if it’s a good fit for your business.

Up next: reviewing and understanding the RFP itself. What do we mean by this? Well, before preparing their actual RFP responses, vendors need to thoroughly review and analyze the RFP template document provided by the organization seeking goods or services. This step is crucial to understanding the requirements, scope, and expectations of the project and ensuring that the response is tailored to meet those needs.

Here are the key tasks involved in this initial step:
- Read and Understand the RFP Document: Carefully read and study the entire RFP document to gain a comprehensive understanding of what the organization is looking for. Pay close attention to the scope of work, objectives, evaluation criteria, submission instructions, and any specific requirements.
- Identify Key Requirements: Identify the key requirements and criteria outlined in the RFP. This includes technical specifications, project timelines, pricing expectations, and any other essential details.
- Assess Feasibility and Fit: Evaluate whether your company has the capabilities, expertise, and resources to meet the requirements and objectives outlined in the RFP. Consider whether the project aligns with your company’s mission and capabilities.
- Clarify Questions and Seek Clarifications: If there are any ambiguities or uncertainties in the RFP document, consider submitting questions or requests for clarification to the organization issuing the RFP. This step may involve participating in a Q&A period if provided by the organization.
- Assess Risks and Challenges: Identify potential risks, challenges, and issues that may arise during the project. Understanding these upfront allows you to provide solutions and demonstrate your ability to manage them.
- Determine the Response Strategy: Based on your analysis, formulate a response strategy. Decide whether to submit a proposal, decline or request additional information. If you choose to respond, create a plan for how your response will address the organization’s needs and set your proposal apart from competitors.
- Review Submission Requirements: Ensure that you understand the submission requirements, including the format, structure, and any specific documents or information that must be included in the response.
The go/no-go step (or simple “Review and Analysis”) is critical because it helps vendors make an informed decision about whether to pursue the opportunity and ensures that their responses are well-prepared and aligned with the organization’s requirements. A thoughtful and thorough analysis of the RFP document sets the stage for a successful response.

How to Build a Simple RFP Process: 5 Steps to Win More Bids

The High-Level RFP Process Flow

Five Stages of the RFP Process

Simple Steps to Tackle Your RFP Process

1. Evaluate the Bidding Opportunity

2. Research the RFP for Key Insights

3. Plan Out Your RFP Response Strategy

4. Draft a Compelling Proposal

5. Respond & Submit a Winning Bid 🏆

The Benefits of Consistent Steps for RFP Responses

Faster Response Times

Higher Quality Proposals

Higher Win Rates

Three Must-Have Tools for Your RFP Process

1. RFP Process Checklist

2. Go/No-Go Decision Tool

3. RFP Automation Software

Are you ready to level up your RFP process steps?

Other FAQs About the RFP Process

What are the 7 steps in an RFP?

What is the first step of the RFP process?

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