The Most Dangerous Letters in Sales Are RFPs

Respond, and you lose…

One of my clients emailed me an RFP (request for proposal) that they received yesterday. It came from a company who had never done business with them and whom they had never even called on. They know my rule. RFP means one of two things. It's either 'Real Fools Participate' or 'Request For Probing'.

Real Fools are the ones that read the document and believe every word. It says, "All questions must be in writing" and "Contact with the company must be through the purchasing office". If you play this game, you are falling into the trap of thinking that this makes a level playing field for all bidders.

Wrong!

First of all. I hate level playing fields. I like the ones that are sloped down hill, in the direction I am running. Unless you are up against a government contract where public laws dictate the rules, there is almost no reason for a company to 'level the playing field' or for you to accept one.