SPORTS FANS KNOW THAT YOU CANNOT score the winning run if you don't get a chance to bat. It is the same in responding to the Request For Proposal (RFP). The selection process for most BPO and IT services awards includes responding to an RFP. My experience has been that, by and large, off shore service providers do an inadequate job of responding to the RFP. In fact, in one of my current consulting engagements, there were 15 respondents submitting proposals, but none of the off shore service providers made the “short list” due to the quality of their response. Although the client felt that there were qualified companies responding (and their reputations had preceded their responses), it was extremely difficult to clearly understand the value offering presented by these companies. The very companies that were touting their quality programs and lofty certifications had typos, incomplete response sections, and poor language construction. The “short list” included well recognized on-shore companies who made the list largely on the basis of the quality of their response. The off-shore companies will not even get to bat—they won't even have a chance to demonstrate their capabilities and experience to the client.

Based on my experience with hundreds of RFP responses from off shore service providers, let me identify what I have found to be the most common problems:
• Not understanding the audience for the response
I have found that most off-shore service providers do not understand the target audience for their response. They do not know how the proposal response will be read and evaluated, and therefore, the response does not help in the evaluation process. As I mentioned in my previous article on the relationship management, this knowledge must be gathered before the response is prepared and submitted to the client. If the response is not constructed with the target audience in mind, evaluators may miss the high points covered in the response. Most large corporations, who use the RFP process, have an evaluation team based on their function and competency. Many times, these evaluators either do not see the entire response or have limited time to read it. Therefore, if the RFP response is not created with the target audience in mind, some of the key points may not get read, let alone evaluated.
• Creating the content
Before the response is created, it is important to understand the competition and establish the "differentiating" message for the response. I always recommend to service providers, when I consult with them, to create a "theme" for the response, and then make sure to repeat the theme throughout the response—sort of like a mantra. The selection of theme depends on understanding the client, the competition and the core differentiator for the service provider. It is the message that gets embedded in the evaluator's head as he or she reads the response.

Another more common problem that I have found, deals with the complexity of the response. I often joke that Indian service providers treat the RFP response like an essay question on an exam. The response to a certain question gets so detailed that the reader loses patience or the point of it. It seems that the respondents are showing off their intelligence but not their knowledge or experience! It is essential to balance detail with the cogency of the response.

Another key aspect of creating a winning response is presenting information in a format that makes it easy for the reviewer to absorb the essential message by scanning. Often, the reader does not have the time to wade through lengthy responses, and a response that allows him or her to gather key points quickly makes the job easier. Margin notes, tables, figures, and key message boxes are tricks that can be utilized to get the message across quickly and easily.

• Delivering a professional response
A professionally constructed response instantly wins the respect of the reviewer. It's like the old saying, “there is only one opportunity to create the first impression.” This is the area where the traditional American service providers differentiate themselves from the off shore service providers. A response that is professionally produced, bound and is appealing to the eye will get a favorable response, even if the content may be lacking in all the necessary detail. I am always amazed that off-shore service providers, who have deep technical knowledge and savvy, do not produce a response that utilizes the very technology that they are selling. One of the winning RFPs I was involved with, at PricewaterhouseCoopers, was created on the “web,” and the response was a simple link to the website. The website allowed posting of pictures, music and even video of the facility and made the entire response quite interactive.

One of the most irritating and—to me—totally inexcusable responses is one that is full of errors, misspellings, and poor grammar! It is ironic to find these types of mistakes coming from companies who are promoting their quality culture and capabilities. I have also found that many of the off shore service providers do not use “American” writers or editors, and as a result, their response is flavored with their local variation on the English language. Although this by itself is not a major issue, it raises the question of cultural compatibility in the minds of the reviewer.

Last but not least, my experience—as service provider, CIO and now as a consultant—has shown that most responses are pulled together at the last minute and it's reflected in the final output. A carefully developed project plan for the response, with appropriate time allotted to the production, can easily avoid this problem.
There are some simple steps one can take to create a professional RFP response:
• Create a template and a “proposal response team” that has experience in responding to complex RFPs. Such a team can apply lessons learned from past responses and constantly improve processes. Most of the well-known American service providers have a professional team dedicated to RFP response creation. A well-managed library of responses will shorten the time frame for response and create consistency without having to reinvent the wheel each time.
• Use professional writers and editors in reviewing and improving the response. I strongly recommend utilizing American editors to make sure that the response is in “American English.”
• Establish a separate team that will review the response and critique it before it is sent out. This team, often referred to as the “red team,” will have a limited understanding of the RFP and will not be engaged in creating the response. As consultants, we have played this role rather successfully for service providers.
In summary, creating an RFP response is, and should be, easier than implementing a complicated system, migrating a business process or managing large volumes of transactions. A well-constructed response, with a differentiating theme, will help you stand out among the competition, and get you to bat.

Then, and only then, can you score the home run.

Jagdish Dalal has held senior positions: CIO and VP of e-business at Carrier Corporation, a partner at PriceWaterhouse Coopers handling BPO for Nortel, and VP of information management at Xerox. He now consults with Fortune 500 companies in BPO and IT Services.