Re: Questions About Using Standard Answers in RFPs

Subject: Re: Questions About Using Standard Answers in RFPs
From: kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 10:21:00 -0600


Syed wrote:

I've suggested that a repository (or something akin to it) of standard
answers be created, so that we have stock answers to provide to

potential customers.

Questions:
- Have you ever created such a list/repository?

KC> Yes - you have hit on the solution most proposal managers I know
employ who find themselves frequently recycling information.


- If not, how have you addressed this issue?

KC> N/A


- What steps specifically did you take to achieve this goal? (For example,
I've suggested using three-five of the longest RFP/RFIs we've submitted,
for which we've won the contract, as a starting point).

KC> That's a good starting point. Thereafter, EVERY time you encounter an
RFP question similar to one you remember answering in a previous RFP, add
that to your repository. I did this at a couple of levels: sometimes a
complete free-standing document (such as one outlining customer support
policies) would be called for, so I created a folder for frequently used
documents. For others, if I had a particularly useful/informative chunk of
text that answered a frequently asked question, I'd save it in a "blurbs"
or "boilerplate" folder, with a filename that made it easy to find. I
continually add to this folder, and also tweak and update the existing
blurbs in this folder.


- What was your delivery format? (I think a database would be overblown
for our purposes. I would like to keep this information in a spreadsheet,
but I'm open to other suggestions).

KC> Whatever is easiest. One of my teammembers kept chunks of information
in a spreadsheet, while another created an Access database, but he is a
whiz with Access, so it wasn't a time-consuming task. I use mostly
individual Word docs, since most of the RFPs I deal with require responses
in Word. I also keep some long and short versions of my answers, because
if I need to deliver the response in Excel, the individual cells in the
spreadsheet puke if you try to paste too much text into them.

There are also third-party tools specifically designed for such use - Sant
is one of the main players in that market. The RFPs I get are diverse
enough that I want to maintain text that is easy to port into ANY format.
Also most of our RFP responses are collaborative; I need other people to
be able to modify these documents, so specialized tools like Frame are not
useful in my situation. So I stick mostly with Word.



- Most importantly, has it truly reduced the amount of time you spend
gathering information, or do you still find yourself spending the same
amount of time customizing the answers for each potential customer?

KC> Absolutely. It's a major time saver, and a lifesaver when you're
working multiple RFPs simultaneously.
The thing you have to be vigilant about is making sure your boilerplate
chunks really answer the question. When you're in a hurry, it's easy to
see a couple buzzwords and think "Ah, my 'implementation schedule' blurb
will answer this." But each RFP may ask specific things that your blurb
does not address, so take the time to really read the question. And if it
DOES ask something new (or something similar, but in a new way), carefully
craft an answer for it, and then save it as an additional blurb in your
arsenal.

Hope this helps!




Keith Cronin
Senior Proposal Coordinator
(another name for a detail-minded worrywart, if you ask me)



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