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4 Proven Tips to Improve Your RFP Response Process
Jul 2, 2024
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While RFPs provide a strong foundation for the start of a project, attracting responses can often be challenging. Here are four strategic tips to improve your RFP response process.
Explore our RFP templates at the bottom of this page (sorry we don't have an anchor link here!).
Although some RFPs may be overly general or lack necessary details, other RFPs discourage qualified candidates from bidding for the project with its 200-page such as lengthy documents.
After consulting with hundreds of nonprofit executives, business leaders, agency principals, and other professionals, we identified a few key things agencies prioritize in their RFPs. These insights can help RFP issuers, including nonprofits and foundations, garner more intelligent and effective responses without being overwhelmed by the volume of submissions. Here are the top three strategies to increase your RFP responses:
Our primary recommendation is clear: More than half of the agencies we surveyed indicated they would not respond to an RFP without the opportunity to speak directly with the issuing organization. In theory, this makes sense: if they can’t make time for me to ask a few questions and get to know them, why would I make time for them?
This interaction is mutually beneficial - it gives allows RFP issuers the chance to build relationships with potential future partners and get to know them for who they are. Proposals represent real teams with distinct cultures and work styles. Taking the time to discover these aspects can determine compatibility before committing significant resources to proposal development or evaluation.
Providing all necessary information is crucial to encourage responses to your RFP. These should consist of:
Your submission timeline should include the RFP release date, proposal due date, potential presentation date, and a result announcement date. This helps respondents manage their schedules and strategize their proposals effectively.
A staggering 70% of our survey participants indicated that RFPs with a designated point of contact are perceived as more personable and credible, thus more engaging. Include your contact’s phone and email directly in the RFP to facilitate open communication.
Explore our comprehensive guide on crafting effective RFPs on our blog for more insights.
Uncertainty often leads to inaction. Nearly half of our respondents skip proposals when RFPs lack clear instructions or defined expectations. This is especially true if they cannot discuss further details directly. Without sufficient information, agencies struggle to develop compelling proposals.
To capture more opportunities, it’s crucial to explicitly outline – preferably in a list – form the required submission format, scope of work, expectations, and criteria for evaluating bids.
Life is unpredictable—vacations happen, emails get missed, or sometimes other commitments take priority.
Based on our client interviews, approximately 60% of potential respondents choose not to submit a proposal because they don’t have enough time to work on their proposals for projects they are interested in.
To accommodate the schedules of your potential partners, provide ample time for them to develop and submit their proposals. We suggest allowing a minimum of one month for straightforward projects, and up to six to eight weeks for more involved initiatives that require extensive preparation.
We know that it takes time to get the word out about your RFP, which can eat away potential respondents’ time to prepare and submit. We hope these tips will help you during your next RFP process. And if you’re too strapped for time, Prosal is always here to help.
Check out the links to our RFP templates below:
Strategic Planning RFP Template
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