EP122: Overcoming Weaknesses in Your Capabilities
Sometimes the RFP capability requirements are a perfect fit. But more often than not, we're just shy of what we need to really make a great showing.
So, what can we do to overcome these weaknesses—now and in the future?
On this episode of The RFP Success Show, I discuss how to deal with a deficit for an opportunity in front of you now, describing how to weigh the significance of a requirement you don’t meet to make the go/no-go decision.
I explain when to find a subcontractor or partner to overcome a weakness in staffing or experience and how to be strategic and creative in presenting information when you have a small deficit.
Listen in for insight on brainstorming with your team to overcome weaknesses in the future and learn to create an action plan to improve your capabilities and win more RFPs in the next 12 to 18 months!
Key Takeaways
How to overcome weaknesses in your capabilities for an RFP (now and in the future)
How to weigh the significance of a requirement you don’t meet to make the go/no-go decision
Why I suggest finding a subcontractor to overcome a deficit in staffing or experience
When to partner with someone who has a strong relationship with the buyer
How to be strategic and creative in presenting information if you have a small deficit
What questions to ask your team around overcoming weaknesses in the future
What do you wish you could say about your services or your company?
What have you NOT had that caused you to pass or lose on other opportunities?
How to identify 3 key weaknesses and create an action plan for the next 18 months
RFP Success Show EP122 Transcription
(00:00):
You are listening to the RFP Success Show, with eight time author, speaker, and CEO of the RFP Success company, Lisa Rehurek. Tune in each episode to learn what today's capture and RFP teams are doing to increase their win percentages by up to 20, 30, and even 50%, and meet the industry trailblazers that are getting it right. Let's get started.
Lisa Rehurek (00:24):
Hey, everybody. Welcome to the RFP Success Show. I am your host, Lisa Rehurek, founder and CEO of the RFP Success Company. And today, we're talking about overcoming weaknesses in your capabilities. So look, we've all got them right? Sometimes the RFP capability requirements are a perfect fit, that's amazing, but sometimes, a lot of times, we're just shy of what we need to really make a great showing. So we're going to talk about how to overcome these weaknesses in two ways. So one, what to do now? You've got this great opportunity in front of you, how are you going to overcome this weakness? And then we're also going to talk about what to do in the future so you don't have this challenge going forward. All right, so let's start off by talking about the now.
(01:15):
You have a hot RFP on your plate, you're very excited, you meet 90 to 95% of the requirements, but there's this pesky little requirement that you can't fill. So what can you do? Number one, obviously, you need to take a look and see if it's a dealbreaker. Is this a dealbreaker? Is it going to make you lose? Is it a significant capability in the evaluation criteria that is going to really just ding you and prevent you from getting the points that are going to take you over the top? You have to really weigh how much significant it is. You can't go into this saying, "I've got 60% of the requirements, but 40% we don't really meet," that's a pretty big hill to climb. We're going to talk about how you can do that here in a second. So the first thing is be honest with yourself.
(02:13):
I mean, what you need to think about is, here's the deal. Your competitors that are bidding against you, they're probably going to commit at 100%, so what are you going to do to overcome that? So you really need to think about whether you should bid or whether you should walk away. And I know it's hard to walk away when it's a close fit, but again, the competitors, they're going to come in fully capable. And so unless you can overcome that deficit with these other two pieces that I'm going to talk about, you're going to have to do a no-go. So the first thing that I would look at is, can you find a subcontractor? Is there a subcontractor or a partner that you can work with that will come in and fill that gap? So for example, if you aren't a small business enterprise, but you're going to lose points for not being one because they place points on being a small diverse business, you can subcontract with somebody that will fulfill that requirement.
(03:10):
That's a huge thing that the states are doing these days. Particularly, a lot of the states are saying, "Look, we've got a minority or a small, diverse business requirement that you have to fulfill," and we see companies all the time where they're just like, "Well, we don't have that. We're not that, so we're just going to take a hit on those points." Instead of just automatically taking a hit, think about who you might be able to bring in as a subcontractor to fulfill that requirement. Another thing we see a lot of times, maybe a small part of the staffing requirement is something you can't meet. So let's say they're looking for a CPA in one particular small area, but you don't have one. Can you hire one or, again, subcontract with one to be part of your team so that in the response you're showcasing, "We've got a CPA on the team," and you're not going to lose points there, so that's usually one of the best ways to overcome a deficit, particularly in staffing or experience.
(04:15):
The other thing is sometimes partnering with somebody that may have a strong relationship with the buyer if you don't, but they don't have all the requirements, so partner together. It gives you both an opportunity to bid, both an opportunity to get into that entity, both an opportunity to get that experience, but you don't have to bid alone. And we'll talk to people a lot of times and they'll say, "No, we just want to do this on our own. We don't want to lose control, or we don't want this, or we don't want that." Just really think about it because if you're going to lose too many points, again, why are you bidding when you know automatically you're going to go in with a pretty significant deficit? So you really have to think about that.
(04:58):
I mentioned earlier, 60 to 40%, let's say you've got 60% of the requirements, you should not be bidding on that. I'm just being completely honest with you here. If you've only got 60, 70% of the requirements, you should not be bidding unless you can partner or subcontract to meet the needs of that other 30 to 40%. Flat out.
(05:21):
If it's a small deficit, this is number two, is you can be strategic and creative. So weigh the deficit against evaluation criteria. How many points are you going to lose? Is there a way to present an alternate solution that would still give you the points but provide a different angle? How can you present the information slightly differently? Now, I am saying right now, you do not want to lie, never ever lie, but let's say they're asking for 10 years of experience, and your company has only been in existence for five, so you can take the angle that your team has collective experience or let's say average experience of 12 years or 15 years. It wasn't with your company, but it was in the same realm of what you're bidding on in other companies. So that experience still exists just because your company itself hasn't been in existence, so you have to find a way to present so that it shows that you have that experience.
(06:30):
So get creative and think of alternate ways to present the information so that you can still at least get average points. Maybe you're not going to get the exceeds points or the far exceeds points, but you're going to get average points so that you're not going to get zero points. That's the goal. With these areas that you're a little weak in, you still want to get those average points. Then make up for those average points because you still want to have above average points, so you want to make up for those lost points in another section, making sure that you're far exceeding in other ways, in the ways that you really superstar shine. So those are ways to really kind of overcome some deficits that you've got going into those requirements.
(07:17):
Now, you've got that RFP on your plate, but what can you do to plan for the future? And most companies don't do this, but it's a super amazing way to say, "Okay, we keep seeing these RFPs come across our plate. We keep either losing or having to pass because we don't have this, this, and this." Instead of just noticing that, maybe keeping track of it in the back of your mind, and maybe thinking about it over the course of the next year, develop a plan. So this is really a brainstorm exercise. Get your key team members together for a fun little brainstorm. And what you want to ask, two kind of key questions that I would suggest asking, the first one is, what do you wish you could say about your services or your company? And think about things that set you apart. Think about things that would give you that far exceeds or exceeds points.
(08:14):
What is the secret sauce for your company that differentiates you? And if you don't know what that is, you should be brainstorming about that separately anyway, but then, what do you wish you could say? What do you wish you could really kind of claim and plant your flag in? And then the other question is, what have you not had that caused you to pass or lose on other opportunities? So get the team together and brainstorm, answer these questions. The thing is, you have to be really honest here and make it a safe space for your team to toss out their thoughts. Nothing's wrong, no ideas are wrong, no ideas are stupid or bad. Just get them all out there, make that master list, then really go back and prioritize and say, "Okay, looking at all of this stuff that we collected here, all of this information, what are the maybe key three things," three key things let's say, "that will move the needle forward the fastest, that will get you to be able to bid on more or to get more wins?"
(09:21):
Prioritize, pick the top three things or one thing, whatever that looks like for you, and then create an action plan for how are you going to fix those things? Then you get to work. So over the next say 12 to 18 months, you're taking action. Maybe it's that you say, "Hey, we really want to be recognized in the press," or "We want to win an award," or some of those things that might help you stand out, something that gives you a differentiator, what do you have to do now to go out and make that happen? So sometimes you're going to find that there are things that are too big, which means you just may be barking up the wrong tree with the types of opportunities you're looking at. So for example, maybe what keeps showing up is that you don't have a key type of software, and you're not able to or willing to invest 50, $100,000 in this software or a lot more.
(10:20):
So then that just says, "Hey, you're barking up the wrong tree with the types of opportunities you're looking at. You probably need to shift a little bit and say, 'All right, what do we need to look at that doesn't include these types of softwares because we're never going to overcome that barrier?'" But really, mostly what's going to happen is it's going to give you this great list of actionable items that are going to position you very differently in the next 12 to 18 months. So that feels like a far away away, but I don't know about you all, I'm recording this in January of 2023. 2022 was a blur. It went by so fast. And if you think about what you had planned for in January of 2022 and where you'd be sitting now and the types of opportunities you'd now be able to bid on because you did that work, and you didn't...
(11:09 ):
Again, I think what people do is they think about it, they might have these ideas in the back of their mind. But they don't actually take action on it take consistent and present action, like conscious action, to make those things a reality. And I challenge you to do that because it will make a big difference for you in January of 2024. Like what an amazing accomplishment you'll have and think about the things you'll be able to bid on. So, those are all ways to overcome those weaknesses. Don't just sweep them under the carpet. Don't just ignore them in the RFP and think well, it's okay, we'll take the hit on those points. Or you don't ever want to take a hit on points if you can help it. So, you know, come up with strategic ways to make that work.
(11:53 ):
Thank you so much for listening today. If you have a topic that you'd love to see it covered, let me us know. All you need to do is send an email to podcast@RFPsuccess.com.
Outro (12:18):
This has been another episode of the RFP Success Show with Lisa Rehurek, eight time author, speaker, and CEO of the RFP Success Company. Thank you for joining us. If you have feedback on today's episode, email us at podcastrfpsuccess.com. No matter your business size, industry, if you have an in-house RFP team or need outside support, the RFP Success Company helps increase RFP win ratios by 10, 20 and even 50%. Learn more at the rfpsuccesscompany.com.