Students ask this question all the time in my training seminars:
The RFP asks for the same or similar information in multiple places. Is it OK to answer the question one time in one place and then respond to similar questions by answering something like: “Please see our response to question 1.4.3 on page 17 to read about our service level agreements.”
The short answer is no, it is not OK to refer people to another place or page in your proposal. Here’s why.
1. Nobody reads a proposal cover to cover
It’s true, virtually nobody reads a proposal cover to cover. This should be obvious, though. Business people are busy. The people who are selected to review vendor proposals have other full time jobs, and they still have to do those jobs in addition to their new task of reading and evaluating multiple proposals from as many vendors.
If you ask these very busy reviewers to turn to another page to read an answer that should be in front of them, it’s possible and maybe likely they’ll skip over it.
1. Nobody reads a proposal cover to cover
It’s true, virtually nobody reads a proposal cover to cover. This should be obvious, though. Business people are busy. The people who are selected to review vendor proposals have other full time jobs, and they still have to do those jobs in addition to their new task of reading and evaluating multiple proposals from as many vendors.
If you ask these very busy reviewers to turn to another page to read an answer that should be in front of them, it’s possible and maybe likely they’ll skip over it.
2. Some people only read assigned sections
Different organizations use different methods for reviewing proposals. One method is to assign specific sections to specific people. For example, the IT person is assigned the section about system security and implementation, so this may be the only section they receive and review.
Imagine if an overworked IT tech is reviewing their section, but instead of an answer, sees your verbiage that says they have to refer to another page located in another section. Even worse is if it’s in a section they didn’t receive. Do you think they’re going to take the time and make the effort to get a copy of the other section? Probably not. But even if they do, they are NOT going to be feeling happy thoughts about you when they review it.
Bottom line
It’s already hard enough to get people to read our proposals sufficiently to understand the compelling messages we’re trying to share. We need to make it easier on them, not harder, by not sending them off to other places to find the information they should be finding on the page in front of them.
Does this mean you may be repeating the same answer in multiple places? Yup, it sure does. But it also means you’ll be making it lots easier for that busy reviewer who decides whether or not you get their business.
David Seibert is president of The Seibert Group, a consulting and training organization for businesses that respond to RFPs from other businesses and from SLED (state/local government and education) agencies.
The Seibert Group provides a range of services:
David authored Proposal Best Practices and The Sales Manager’s Guide to RFPs, he publishes Dave’s Blog about proposal and business development topics, and he is a regular speaker at numerous webinars, seminars, and conventions.
You can contact Dave at David.Seibert@ProposalBestPractices.com. You can also follow Dave on LinkedIn.