The last two installments of "Prospecting" have been associated in one way or another with the economic downturn, as is this one. In preparing for this edition, I found myself wanting to write about anything except our economy, but its reality presents unique challenges to sales and marketing departments of any shape and size, and I feel compelled to explore how it affects the way we prospect for new clients and build business. Next issue, I promise to take a different direction.

There you sit, reading through a proposal/quote request that mysteriously made its way to your desk. It looks good. All the services described are well within your firm’s scope, your experienced personnel easily meet the stated requirements, the project or services are well within in your geographic coverage area and you’ve completed similar projects for other clients. Above all, you could really use the work. Seems like an easy decision. Right…No Bid.

When business is slow it’s difficult to set opportunities aside, but sometimes it is the best decision you can make. Your firm’s ability to carry out a particular scope of work better than anyone else means very little unless you can win the contract. Competition is fierce and your chances of winning a cold RFP are lower now than ever which puts a great deal of importance on up-front intelligence. In times like these there is a tendency to respond to whatever crosses your desk and a great deal of time, effort and money can be lost chasing empty opportunities. This puts the pressure directly on the business development staff to lead the pursuit of new business in a way that not only uncovers opportunities, but influences them in your favor. A well thought out go, no-go process with a focus on the intelligence your firm has about an opportunity, the client, their people, the selection process and competitors is a good start. But what about the intelligence gathering process itself? It can be a "Catch 22" of sorts. There is no time to gather intelligence when you’re busy preparing proposals, and low-quality proposals are being prepared because there is no intelligence. Make the hard decision to set cold RFPs aside and raise the standards by which you decide to bid. Only go for what you’ve influenced.

If you’ve ever read through an RFP that you have influenced, you know how different the facts are from what is written in the document. Consider this when looking at RFPs that you don’t know much about. Chances are the circumstances behind the scenes are very different than what you are reading in the text, and someone else has the facts.