Sometimes we get RFPs and we don't know why we're included, or who wants us involved. Based on the strength of our pipeline, many of us are just happy to be invited to participate even if it means we will spend some unqualified time creating an RFP response. If we haven't had any input to the process, and we don't know why we're included, we may want to take a different approach.

One strategy to consider is to make a call before doing any work at all. Who should you call? You could call the RFP administrator, a procurement executive or a senior level departmental executive.

What should you say when you call them? You are operating from a position of strength at this point, so ask them some questions, like:


why is this RFP being processed?
who is the sponsoring executive?
why was my company included?
who else was included?
what is the decision process?
who will make the final decision?
at what point in the process will we be able to meet with the decision maker?


These kinds of questions, and their answers, can help us qualify an RFP more effectively from the beginning of the process. You have nothing to lose at that point. After all, you had no input in the process so your odds of winning are already low. You might as well find out right away if you are column fodder, being used to drive an incumbent's price lower, or if you have a legitimate shot to win.