7 KEYS FOR RESPONDING TO AN RFP For many businesses, the first step in generating revenue is responding to a request for proposal (RFP). RFPs are invitations to submit a bid. Your bid will become the basis of any contract that is eventually signed.

1. UNDERSTANDING THE RFP PROCESS While every business and government agency has a slightly different RFP process, they all have three phases. In the first phase, an organization releases an RFP. They may post it on their website, send out a press release, or send an to a list of potential vendors.

2. EVALUATING PRICE POINT Successful businesses understand what their minimum price point is. They know that they cannot generate profits operating below a certain price point because of their fixed costs.

3. UNDERSTANDING DELIVERABLES AND MILESTONES The next key to responding to an RFP is to make sure you are clear on the number and frequency of deliveries the contract will require.

4. CHECKING TIME HORIZONS Beyond the number and frequency of deliverables, you need to examine all of the time horizons for the contract.

5. Determining Level of Effort and Resources Required More than one company has run into major cash flow issues after landing a bigger contract than they were used to handling.

6. EVALUATING SPECIAL CONDITIONS A well-written RFP will also include any special conditions for the project. You need to make sure that you are comfortable with any special conditions and plan for how special conditions will impact your costs and delivery timetable.

7. ADAPTING TO METHOD OF EVALUATION Often a company will require a bid be submitted in a certain format. You need to adapt your response to conform to whatever submission and evaluation requirements the company requests.

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