When a request for proposal (RFP) comes in, you get excited! Its a chance to earn income, develop more business contacts, and expand your client base. You work your little heart out in order to be thorough, compelling, and professional. Everything is in place. Your RFP is geared to show why your product or service will meet or exceed the clients goals. With fingers crossed, you submit.

Whether through non-response, a phone call, or an email, you find out your proposal was rejected. But why? Have you ever wondered? Have you ever asked? You should!

Finding out why proposals are rejected can lead to some valuable insights that - in turn - lead to increased proposal acceptance. But how do you go about asking? Many people find this is an uncomfortable situation to approach. Its really quite easy, if you handle it professionally.

Step One - Create a Form

Create a form or questionnaire that lists a few questions youd like the answers to. You may want to ask:

if the proposal itself was clear

whether all the information the prospect needed to make a decision was included

if the price was too high based on the services provided

whether your product/service was flexible enough

if any element was missing from your proposal

Dont:

ask to see the winning proposal

ask which company won

These questions are too probing and will likely make your prospect feel defensive.

Step Two - Ask Permission

Ask your prospects for permission to send the questionnaire. This will give them the opportunity to refuse if they dont care to participate.

Step Three - Send the Form

Email works best in these situations, so, if possible, send your questions via email. Your prospects will have time to think about the answers and what information to provide.

If email is not possible, send the form via postal mail. Be sure to include a postage-paid and addressed envelope.

One note: While follow-up is usually a good thing, in this case its not advisable. If the prospect is too busy or simply changed his/her mind about responding, let it go.

Step Four - LEARN!

When you get your responses, review them carefully. Dont make radical adjustments based on one or two pieces of feedback. Instead, wait until youve collected several forms then look for trends.

If you see that most prospects are making reference to the same things, youll know its time to make some changes.

By asking a few simple questions, you can find out an enormous amount of information that can help to turn losing proposals into winning ones. Simply be professional. While no one will win every project they bid on, with some inside information direct from your prospects, youll have a much better shot at creating winning RFPs in the future.

Copyright 2005 Diane Hughes