Client: Confidential Healthcare Data Client
Industry: Healthcare Data · SLED
Service used: Play to Win Consult
Confidential Healthcare Data Client RFP Case Study: A Customized RFP Success Roadmap
This confidential healthcare data client was not losing on capability. The team was losing on which pursuits it chased and how it positioned across them. The Play to Win Consult fixed the strategy first.
AT A GLANCE
From ~10%
Win Rate
Customized
RFP Success Roadmap
End-to-End
RFP Strategy + Process
FROM THE FOUNDER · WIN STRATEGIST SERVICES
Founder · The RFP Success® Company
Author of 11 books · Lisa’s 30+ years across responding to, developing, and evaluating RFPs.
“At your revenue level, guessing is negligence.”
“You’re not losing because you’re unqualified. You’re losing because you’re undisciplined.”
SIGNED
01 / THE SITUATION
Chasing RFPs Without a System Built to Win Them.
The client was submitting around eight healthcare data proposals a year and winning roughly one in ten. The team was capable, the technology was strong, and the work was good. But their RFP results were not reflecting those strengths.
The problem went beyond proposal writing. There was no consistent, organization-wide approach for deciding which opportunities fit, aligning the right people around a pursuit, positioning the company's differentiators, or building strong content from one response to the next. They also wanted to expand into SLED, but lacked the strategic foundation and internal alignment to pursue those opportunities with confidence.
At a 10% win rate, rewriting individual proposals would only address one piece of the problem. The bigger opportunity was upstream: strengthen how the company targets, pursues, develops, and learns from RFP opportunities. They needed a repeatable system that connected strategy, people, process, and content, then a roadmap for improving all four over time.
"Better proposals were only part of the answer. Better targeting, stronger strategy, and a repeatable process had to come first."
02 / The Approach
Strategy First. A Roadmap, and a System to Run It.
The client engaged The RFP Success® Company for a Play to Win Consult, a separate and larger engagement than the three core Win Strategist services. Where an audit reads past proposals and a content engagement strengthens a single response, the Play to Win Consult looks across the company’s entire RFP approach including strategy, people, process, and content.
The RFP Success® Company team assessed the client’s goals, targeting, past proposals, content, internal roles, pursuit decisions, and response processes, using the 4×4 Framework™ and D.A.R.E. Method that drive a 76%+ win rate across The RFP Success® Company’s client portfolio. The engagement identified what was working, where gaps were limiting performance, and what needed to change. From that assessment, we built a customized roadmap for strengthening future RFP performance.
HOW WE DID IT
INSIDE A PLAY TO WIN CONSULT.
The assessment looked across the client's entire RFP operation: strategy, people, process, and content. We evaluated what they were targeting, how opportunities were selected, how the team worked together, how responses were developed, and whether their content made their value clear to evaluators.
Using the 4x4 Framework™ and D.A.R.E. Method, we identified the gaps behind the 10% win rate and turned them into practical recommendations the team could apply across future pursuits. The goal was not simply to write better proposals. It was to build a stronger system for what to pursue, how to compete, and how to respond.
Assessment. Strategy. Roadmap. One engagement designed to strengthen the RFP process from opportunity through outcome.
Three steps. One engagement cycle. Repeatable on every SLED pursuit.
BUILT ON THE D.A.R.E. METHOD
01
Assessment + Audit:
The team completed an internal assessment, and we reviewed up to three past RFP responses to identify patterns in strategy, content, compliance, and presentation. In-document recommendations, an audit report, and a proposal writing guide gave the team specific improvements to carry into future responses.
02
Strategic Consultation:
A private working session addressed the RFP process beyond the document: internal goals, ideal clients and targets, relationship building, opportunity criteria, sourcing, team roles, response workflows, and post-submittal learning. The focus was building a more intentional approach from opportunity identification through outcome.
03
RFP Success Roadmap:
The findings from the assessment, audit, and consultation came together in a customized roadmap with prioritized recommendations for strengthening the client's overall RFP program. A final working session gave the team a clear plan for putting those recommendations into practice.
The 4x4 Framework™ and D.A.R.E. Method applied across the engagement, connecting the assessment, audit, strategic consultation, and roadmap into one approach for stronger RFP performance.
03 / Why It Worked
The 10% Win Rate Was a Symptom. Here's What Was Behind It.
When a capable team wins roughly one in ten, the instinct is to focus on the proposals and write harder. But the assessment and audit showed that the opportunity for improvement started well before the response and continued after submission.
The Play to Win Consult looked across the full RFP process: which opportunities the client pursued, how targets and relationships were developed, how internal roles and workflows supported the response, how the company positioned its value, and how results were used to improve the next pursuit. The roadmap brought those pieces together into a more intentional, repeatable approach.
Once the strategy was in place, the same team and expertise had a stronger system for choosing, pursuing, and responding to the opportunities worth winning.
04 / The Transformation
From Guessing to a Repeatable RFP Strategy.
The Play to Win Consult gave the client a more disciplined approach to RFP growth. Instead of treating each opportunity as a standalone event, the team had a clearer system for identifying the right targets, building relationships, evaluating opportunities, aligning internal roles, developing stronger responses, and learning from results.
The change was structural, not cosmetic. Pursuit decisions had defined criteria. Roles and workflows were clearer. Differentiation and positioning could be carried consistently from one response to the next. Past proposals became a source of insight instead of history sitting on a shelf. And post-submittal results could feed improvements back into the process.
The same team and expertise were still there. What changed was the system around them: a customized roadmap connecting strategy, people, process, and content so future pursuits could be approached with greater focus, consistency, and confidence.
This is what a Play to Win Consult delivers: not a fix for one proposal, but a stronger foundation for every RFP that follows.
BEFORE THE CONSULT
AFTER THE CONSULT
Guessing which RFPs to chase
A repeatable RFP strategy
ROUGHLY 10% WIN RATE
Strategic foundation built to improve it
REACTIVE RFP APPROACH
Clear targeting, criteria + pursuit strategy
ROLES + PROCESS NOT ALIGNED
Defined roles + optimized response workflow
BY THE NUMBERS
They came in with a roughly 10% win rate. They left with a roadmap for strengthening the entire RFP operation.
~10%
STARTING WIN RATE
3 STEPS
ASSESSMENT • STRATEGY • ROADMAP
1 SYSTEM
FOR STRONGER RFP PERFORMANCE
05 / THE QUOTE
“
CONFIDENTIAL HEALTHCARE DATA CLIENT · HEALTHCARE DATA · SLED
Explore the Service
Interested in a Play to Win Consult for Your Team?
The Play to Win Consult is a strategic foundation engagement for service-based businesses that need a stronger, more repeatable RFP approach. We assess your current process and past performance, then work with your team to strengthen targeting, relationship building, opportunity decisions, internal roles, response processes, content, and post-submittal learning. The engagement culminates in a customized RFP Success Roadmap your team can put into action.
Assessment + past proposal audit
Strategy + customized roadmap
Investment
From diagnosis to action plan
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FREQUENTLY ASKED · EVALUATOR-AWARE ANSWERS
Common Questions About the Play to Win Consult
Real questions from SLED service businesses considering a Play to Win Consult to improve future proposal performance.
01
What does a team get from a Play to Win Consult?
The engagement includes an internal assessment, an audit of past proposals, a strategic consultation, and a customized RFP Success Roadmap. Your team leaves with prioritized recommendations, clearer pursuit criteria, defined areas for improvement, and a practical plan for strengthening RFP performance over time.
02
What results can we expect after a Play to Win Consult?
Results vary based on your starting point and how consistently your team applies the recommendations. Play to Win does not promise a specific win-rate increase. It gives your team the strategy, structure, and roadmap to make better pursuit decisions, strengthen your RFP process and content, and improve performance over time.
03
How is Play to Win different from a proposal review?
A proposal review focuses on a specific response. Play to Win looks across the broader RFP program from goals and target clients to relationship building, opportunity criteria, internal roles, response processes, content, and post-submittal learning. The goal is not to fix one proposal, but to strengthen how your team competes across future pursuits.
04
Does Play to Win work outside healthcare data?
Yes. The 4x4 Framework™ and D.A.R.E. Method apply across service-based industries because the engagement is built around your organization's RFP operation, not generic industry advice. Your team brings the technical expertise; we help strengthen the strategy, process, and proposal practices around it.
05
How do I know if Play to Win is right for my team?
Take the RFP Assessment. We'll look at where your team is today, the challenges affecting your RFP performance, and what you want to improve. From there, we'll guide you to the service that best fits your situation or tell you if we're not the right fit.
Question not on the list?
Email support@rfpsuccess.com and the team will get you an answer.
Email support@rfpsuccess.comREADY TO WIN · MAKE YOURS THE NEXT CASE STUDY
Ready to Build a Better System for Winning RFPs?
Tell us about your business. We'll recommend the Win Strategist service that fits your situation, or tell you honestly if we're not the right fit.
Anyone can help you submit a proposal. Very few can help you win one.
Lisa Rehurek
Lisa Rehurek · Founder, The RFP Success® Company · 30+ years responding to, developing, and evaluating RFPs
