Today is Friday the 13th. Allegedly, 8% of people in the United States suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13th (from the Greek “Paraskevi” - Friday). While we were unable to confirm Canadian numbers in time for this blog post, we can say with certainty that we at DK are not among them. Our post today is all about the references you should include in your RFP response. If you follow our tips, we guarantee your RFP stress will be reduced and Friday the 13th won’t affect you.
From our experience responding to more than 500 RFP responses since 2007 (and counting!), here’s a useful tip about references: ALWAYS make your references recent and relevant to the project(s) you are bidding on!
We see two main types of references being requested in RFPs: (1) references that need to be included in a Reference Form, and (2) descriptions of projects that need to be included in the RFP body.
The Reference Form is almost always a mandatory section in which you need to provide three references (it is typically three). Sometimes, the RFP will explicitly state that the references should be recent (e.g. within the last 3 years). If it doesn’t, this should be the rule when addressing this requirement. Here, you will provide the reference company’s name, contact’s name and title and method, and high level information on the project you delivered for the reference (for example, the project duration, size, resource complement, role, etc.). You should always provide references that can speak to your expertise and the relevance of the project to the RFP. Remember, you are being asked to answer the implied question “why should we hire you?” Your references do not merely attest to your competence, they also attest to why your experience is relevant to the project you are bidding on…and why you should be awarded the RFP.
Descriptions of projects that need to be included in the RFP body follow a similar format to those you will include in the Reference Form, with one main difference: they provide additional detail on your background and experience relevant to the RFP but not the contact information. This is your chance to prove why you are the best candidate for the RFP award. Your descriptions should refer to specific RFP requirements and describe your experience in delivering services/goods of similar size, scope, and industry. This last item is vitally important—if you have done work in the industry of the RFP requestor, you should highlight it here.
Remember, RFP references are never all about you…they are about how YOU can meet your client’s needs. Always showcase your most current and relevant references. These will get you more RFP points than just a “vanilla” answers and make your RFP stand out among the rest.
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