Do you find that you or your sales team relies on RFPs to fill the pipeline? Let’s face it, preparing RFPs use a lot of your valuable resources and have hidden costs which affect your bottom line that include:
1. Distraction from sales goals. Companies who ask for RFPs have probably already decided who they are going to buy from and are just fulfilling some requirement established by upper management. Sales reps become so focused on jumping through these hoops; they miss out on other opportunities to get appointments with qualified prospects.
2. Risk of giving away intellectual property in efforts of explaining how your solution can solve their problem. Sadly, we have many clients who have confessed that they lost the bid only to learn that their solution was built “in-house.”
3. Risk of cutting your margins. Your price is based on the value you provide. If you cut your price, value goes with it. How competitive will you be if you lose on value?
4. Letting the buyer control the sales process. This is the ultimate Sandler Training “NO-NO” without a prequalification process. Don’t follow your customers; lead them instead.
Here are some recommendations when you do send a proposal requests. If you are asked to provide an RFP on a sales call, set some expectations around what the outcomes will be.
Read: A Proposal: To Send or Not to Send
Our most successful clients tell us that having a system for selling in place helps them win these legitimate requests and eliminates the prospects who will waste time and energy.
Consider this an invitation to attend a complimentary session and see how you can change the outcomes when responding to RFPs. Click here or call 203-264-1197
to determine the best session for you.
