RFPs, internet auctions, purchasing consultants - all tools of the ever powerful CPO (Chief Procurement Officer). The rules are well laid out: here is the information we want you to have; respond to these questions; your response must follow this format; mail in your response by a certain date; don't call anyone else; wait to hear if you made the cut...

These tools are designed to level the playing field, equalize various vendors and boil many decisions down to product and price, and they've been proven very effective. This is not good for value leading sales organizations who can't afford to win based on the lowest price (or may not have the most function rich solution at every point in time).

In many cases, these rules are being created so that we (value leaders) lose. After all, the business value we can help drive doesn't translate well to a vendor grid.

Happily, we are not victims. We can break the rules and see where it takes us. We can choose who we call on, what questions we ask, how we will present our response; how we want to respond to the RFP, if we want to respond at all...

It's all up to us. We just have to have the courage conviction to blaze our own trails. After all, if the rules are made so that we lose, we better not follow them. We better make new ones.

More to follow...