1. Do Your Research
Before taking the time to write and submit a bid for business, consider your relationship with the company that sent out the request for proposal (RFP). If you’ve never worked with them before, the win rate tends to be lower since firms that put out RFPs frequently choose to work with a company they’re familiar with, or with an incumbent company that’s competing once again for a bid. Since the process can take up time and financial and employee resources, consider the return on investment. If it’s a lucrative deal and you think you have a shot, go for it. Otherwise, shop around for another RFP that might be more comfortable in your wheelhouse or with a firm that’s familiar with your work.

2. Know the Timing
Always make sure to check the deadline for bids. If you’re close to the due date, it’s probably not worth pulling an all-nighter to read through the RFP and start the research and sampling process. It most likely won’t be your best work. Additionally, check reference requirements. They could be very specific, like “school district administrators in Wyoming.” If you don’t have those types of references, you’ll have done a lot of work for a bid that’s most likely going to be passed over. However, if you think you have the ability to serve them well, even if it’s last-minute and you don’t have the types of references they’re looking for, take a chance and see what happens.

3. Relieve Pain Points
In your proposal, make sure to focus more on the potential clients than yourself. Introduce your company and your value propositions, but show them you’ve done your research by concentrating on their specific pain points and how you’re uniquely positioned to relieve them. Perhaps the company they’re currently working with isn’t up to snuff in a specific area, like product quality, cost or delivery times. Show how you can address those challenges. Use easy-to-understand language, leaving out promo industry jargon, and lay it all out for them in detail. Don’t expect prospects to read between the lines; if it takes them too long to understand what you’re saying or why you deserve the business, they’ll move on to your competitors.

Companies with fewer than 100 employees spend an average of 15 hours over four days on each RFP they submit. (Loopio)

4. Be Unique
Don’t use the same fill-in-the-blank template for each proposal. You won’t stand out from the competition, and the potential client will know immediately that you didn’t spend as much time on it as a competitor that put together a proposal from scratch. Each proposal should speak to the potential customer in their language. This takes extra time and resources and requires you to plan ahead, but it increases your win rate.

5. Dig Into a Niche
Losing out on a bid can be tough. Sometimes, you’ve spent several days on research for a proposal, only to get beaten out by a competitor that offers products for a few cents less. Instead of spinning your wheels on many different types of proposals, pick a specific industry you’re familiar with and look for opportunities to compete there. You’ll know their special challenges, and you can customize the content for each client. The more proposals submitted within a specific industry, the better your win rate will become over time. If you lose out, ask for feedback so you can make changes for the next round.