So often I have seen sales and bid teams obsessing over fonts, colour schemes and pretty pictures. In a pitch deck or a written proposal. Yet the content written hasn’t had nearly as much attention paid to it. If any. This is where the proposal falls about. The prospect does not care one bit what colour your logo is but they do care what is written. They want to know that you will be a valued partner, that you understand their business and can help them to achieve their goals. It is not about what it looks look, instead it is all about what it communicates.

Substance will always outweigh style. Good formatting helps with readability and professionalism but it doesn’t compensate for generic or non-compliant content. You win RFP’s by researching and understanding your customer, writing for them and delivering on the outcomes set.

Problem Solved?

When an RFP is issued from a procurement team, they are looking to solve a problem. They don’t want to sold too. For you to tell them how great you are. Because they really don’t care! Your job as the person/group of people responding to an RFP is to understand the client’s problem as best you can and position your solution to their challenge in the most convincing way possible. A pretty document is not going to do it. Instead they are looking for a clear, compelling and complete proposal which answers all of their requirements fully. A common question I ask my clients is “would you be impressed by this”? If it has been hastily put together and fails the bare minimum standards, the chances are it won’t impress the client either.

The focus is always on impressing the review panel which is almost always composed of the procurement team. If you are expecting them to seek out information (finding an answer to a question in another location such as your website), understand your business, industry specific acronyms, jargon or complex ideas, you are making a huge error. They are most likely a small group of people taking time off from their main job to review a large number of proposals. If you are making it hard to read or understand your offer, chances are you won’t make it past the first round. It is a skim read at best so if the value offered isn’t obvious, it will be a no thanks.

Put yourselves in their shoes. You have two proposals. One is beautifully formatted with infographics and on brand fonts. The other is plain, with minimal design but communicates the perfect offer, answering questions directly with proven experience. The winning proposal will always be the one with better content. A better designed proposal with be more visually appealing but it won’t make a difference to the scoring and decision making.

Evaluation Time

Graphics can help with the communication of information. But the core information is scored by the detail written down. There is usually a points based evaluation system which usually focuses on a few key areas, typically:

Quality
Technical
Pricing
Compliance
Qualifications
Experience

The RFP document is one which requires a technical and detailed response. It is composed of legality and compliance at its core. Formatting and the use of images do not carry a points value unless specifically stated.

Formatting is only ever mentioned when there is a specific requirement for it. This is usually in regard to font size, page limits or the file format. Ignore these specifications and it will no doubt cost you in the points allocation. If nothing else, it shows a failure to follow simple instructions. The focus is always to answer questions to the fullest ability, making sure to focus on precision, clarity and relevance.

Weak Content Can’t Hide

It can be tempting to dress up weak content with sleek design as a way to hide a lack of knowledge. People do this often to ‘bulk out’ a proposal but in reality it doesn’t fool anyone. Evaluators do this regularly so can spot tricks like this, they know what they are looking for and also they know what a good proposal looks like. If half the required information is missing or the document is full of jargon and over explanation, with no substance, it will become very noticeable. Usually the review panel is working under tight timelines and using matrices to score responses quickly. If the information they are looking for is not available, the scoring will quickly reflect this.

The review panel will not appreciate graphics which don’t add value. Excessive visuals can even distract from core messages or slow down the whole process, which the reviewer is looking for the content they need. Always make a proposal as easy to understand as possible. On the other hand, great formatting can actually enhance strong content, but it cannot fix unclear messaging. This is why simplicity and clarity are the basis for success.

Compliance Wins

The ability to follow instructions is the absolute bare minimum standard set. Yet so many fail at the first hurdle just by writing what they want and not answering the questions at all or poorly.

Instructions will often specify:

Section headings
Page limits
Response format (PDF, Word, online portal)
Question numbering
Font and margin settings

A failure to comply with these requirements will almost always result in disqualification or lost points, which ultimately leads to a loss overall. I have seen more mistakes leading to a loss from the lack of attention to detail than anything else. When we say “its not rocket science” we do genuinely mean it. It is the simplicity of actions which wins the work.

The thing which genuinely separates winners from losers is simply reading and following instructions. Often people over complicate what is required. Rushing to complete, not taking the time to answer the question fully or applying focus in the wrong area. When all the buyer wants is to be able to read a document which describes clearly and convincingly why they are the best supplier to fit those requirements.

Demonstrate Value

Quality and Value are the hidden messages which many miss. While questions are there to be answered, the buyer really wants to know:

What will it be like working together?
Are you going to let them down in any way?
Can you be trusted?

This is the point they are trying to draw out in their questions and compliance testing. Yes, they are interested in your experience and qualifications because that gives them some assurance of quality. But the more you can draw out this point in your communication, the more successful you will become.

Strong content looks like:

a strong UVP (unique value proposition)
win themes established
bespoke messaging
specified case studies with measurable outcomes
compliance matrices
demonstration of relevant experience

All of these factors help to build both credibility and trust — two of the most important factors in the buyer’s decision making process.

Strategy Matters

Capture Management and Bid Strategy live in the content through win themes, competitive positioning and differentiators. Colour schemes and page header formats don’t make the difference. Strategy is often a buzz word passed around different departments but when it comes to winning RFP’s, there has to be a high-level sales strategy at play or nothing will be achieved.

Real strategy focuses on truly understanding the buyer and what really matters to them. This comes from effective research into who they are, their goals and business focus. But also from having a thorough understanding of their underlying focus.

It is important that you give the evaluators a reason to choose you. Instead of just presuming that they will. Take the time to understand the message you are trying to convey, and learn to communicate this in the best way possible.

Formatting Needs Purpose

Formatting is very important. Let’s be clear about that. I am a huge fan of formatting, graphs, images and diagrams of all sorts. This input can really make a proposal sing but it has to work with the content provided. It communicates in a way which the written form often can’t. Great formatting allows a proposal to be read and understood much more easily.

When a proposal is clear with great formatting, it helps evaluators to find and understand the information they are looking for more easily. This in turn makes it easier to score highly. It can also enforce great branding and messaging which communicates professionalism throughout.

Some of the best ways to ensure this include having consistent headings, easy to read fonts, clearly labeled sections, good use of bullet points and white space throughout. Formatting is there to enhance the evaluators experience which enhances the content provided, not to replace it.

Choose Your Demon

Sometimes it is a case of choosing your focus point. Not allowing your team or yourself to get distracted from the factors which win RFP’s vs those which look aesthetically pleasing. Proposal deadlines are tight so managing this function effectively is of the highest importance.

The key here is to focus on and prioritise those tasks which have the greatest impact on win probability. This usually means working collectively as a team — the greater the collaboration — the better the output. Having a well established knowledge bank with great resources which can be adapted easily.Understanding the winning criteria and how that can be achieved. Conducting final reviews, receiving informed feedback from business leaders which gives the competitive edge.

When a team is spending too much time on formatting and making inconsequential things look ‘pretty’ — it adds no value. The real time should be spent tweaking content editing and re-writing until it can be perfected no more. This is the sign of an RFP completed fully. I will often edit and re-write 10 or 20 times where time allows to get to a standard of perfection in my own eyes. This is when I personally know it is ready to submit.

Improvement Focus

You cannot simply throw a winning RFP together. There must be a plan and strategy in place. This starts with understanding both the buyer and where you fit in with the desired solution, through aligning mutual requirements. Form Follows Function. This is the idea that design should always be followed by the intended function. The purpose of a proposal is always to solve the buyer’s problems, prove your value and win the work. It really is that simple. It is when people over complicate this process, that it seems like an impossible task. All the buyer is looking for is a well structured, insightful and persuasive response which answers the questions set as well as understanding their needs from the clients view point. This will always beat weak content with great design. The real trick is striking a balance between the two to create the winning proposal. That is always the winning goal.

RFP Response Strategy: Prioritise Content Over Design