RFP pre-submission review - it's common sense

For today’s blog I would like to discuss internal RFP pre-

submission reviews.

Reviewing a RFP response submission in my experience should take place at two different stages of the response development; before the response is actually submitted and during key points in the generation of the response. I recommend for reviewing purposes that the author/writer of the response engage a second person who understands RFP responses, but who has not been involved with the response in question. This second person is there to provide a sanity check and review of the response.

It goes to say that a final review of a RFP response is critical before it is submitted. I recommend the reviewers reread the RFP documents and addenda to make sure nothing was missed. I know this will be done at the beginning of the process and should be captured when the checklist is created, but better safe than sorry. This review should take place with enough time to make edits or changes or additions well before the submission deadline.

Realistically time may get away from the team so it is invaluable to conduct content reviews during the response creation period. In an earlier blog about 5 tips for writing better RFP responses, my colleague Dr. Debbie Davy wrote on the importance of tracking of the RFP response status. At the time a checklist is created review deadlines can be added.

When the checklist and schedule is completed, make the key content suppliers aware of the review dates, and then check on them as necessary to keep the process on track. Once content has been supplied and entered, review the section and send it on to the SME and/or second reviewer. Implement any changes as soon as you receive them so as to minimize last minute changes in multiple sections.

Remember to review the responses to the Mandatory and Rated requirements. Make sure that all responses meet any restrictions for character, word or page count. Confirm attachments are complete and accounted for. Confirm all signatures have been included as required. Many of these items can be completed well in advance of the closing date, so try to get them ready and checked as soon as possible.

There can be are a lot of components to a RFP submission and you want to be on top of the submission. That is why I find it very important to use the checklist to track the completion of the reviews and to complete the reviews according to the schedule.

I recognize that this advice may seem to be common sense, but I have seen RFP submissions come down to the wire and the best way to minimize poor submissions in my experience is to initiate a two-stage review as a key component of the RFP response creation process.