Why were we invited to participate in a particular RFP? This is one of the most basic, yet important questions we can ask when trying to determine our strategy. There are several reasons we may be invited to the table:

We have coaches who want us to win. In this situation, we do our research with them and involve them in determining how we should best respond.

The decision maker wants us to win. When this is the case we know that we will get an opportunity to shine at the right time. We don't take this position for granted. We do our best work so as to validate the decision maker's faith in us.

We are invited to help fill out the grid. In this case our odds of winning are low. The customer needs enough companies on the grid to show a valid amount of effort or due diligence. A variation of this theme - we are invited for "benchmarking" purposes, or to drive down an incumbent's price. The customer has no real intention to change, but want to make sure they are getting the best deal possible from their current supplier. Our options for responding in this situation are varied, depending on what we want to accomplish.

Sometimes we are invited because we are an industry leader, and no grid is complete without our presence. In this situation, our involvement validates their grid. Based on our involvement, the customer is able to show that they have considered all of the key players in the industry. If we chose not to respond, there would be a void in their process. In other words, as an industry leader we have power in this scenario, and we should leverage it. Let's use this power to change some of the rules to our advantage and improve our odds of winning.