One of the most common buying rules we all see calls for an all too speedy response to an RFP or opportunity. Last year, one of our clients was issued an RFP on a Tuesday and was asked to respond by the following Friday. But wait, it was the week of the Thanksgiving holiday. Surely the customer would understand that the rep had out-of-town travel plans, right? Actually, they did not. The customer told them, "Sorry, but the deadline stands. We must have the response by Friday." I wonder how many of the company's employees were in the office analyzing the responses that Friday. By the way, what's worse here - the prospect's demand for an unreasonable turnaround, or the rep's agreement to meet the timeframe?

Why does this happen so frequently? We know that the customer has had plenty of time to develop the RFP. Some organizations take months to develop the bid specs and the process, even utilizing consultants in many cases. So why not give the vendors a little more time to respond? In many cases, it's to keep the supplier scrambling and on the defensive.

What can we do about this? Well, we can decide what time frame works for us and let the customer know when to expect our response. After all, we have a lot to consider: who from our team needs to be involved, their availability, coordinating the efforts of multiple people... Strangely, this thoughtful effort would seem to be in the prospect's best interest as well. After all, the quality of our response may easily reflect the time we have to respond.

How do we tell the customer? Just lay out your reasonable response to them, "Here's what we need from a timing perspective to give you the high quality response you deserve". If they react poorly, it's probably time to assess our overall odds of success and react accordingly.