How to Find New RFPs
Want to land a new contract for your business? If your answer is yes (and obviously, it’s a yes), then you’re likely wondering how to find and bid on a Request for Proposals (RFPs). Responding to RFPs is one of the best ways to bring in new business, but finding the perfect opportunity can be downright overwhelming. You know that If you thoroughly vet potential RFPs you feel are a match, you’ll save a lot of time in the long run. But how do you actually find RFPs to browse and finally bid on? In this article, we’ll offer our advice and discuss exactly how to find RFPs for you and your business.
Pinpoint Your Target Market
If you’re interested in finding RFPs to boost your organization, business, or agency, you’re already on the right track! But before you begin to start your search, make sure you’re ready to answer three important questions about your company or organization:
- Who is your target demographic or market?
- Are you qualified to supply the industry products and/or niche services identified by the requesting organization?
- Can you accomplish the SOW within a reasonable timeframe, within budget, and within regulatory constraints?
Let’s say you work for an architectural firm, and most of the firm’s experience is in the commercial space. As you search through RFPs, you find an opportunity to design a new school. If your firm has never designed a campus or school building before, then your history of designing commercial storefronts might not be enough to convince the school board to award you the contract. That’s why it’s important to know what gives your organization a competitive edge within your industry before you begin to seek out bids. Strong competitors want to win those lucrative contracts just as much as you do!
So, before you even consider finding RFPs, you’ll need to identify the market and niche that best suits your organization. Take some time to assess your organization’s strengths and weaknesses in your industry. What do you do better than anyone else in the business? What opportunities might not be a good fit? Be selective and evaluate the opportunity according to those strengths and weaknesses. From there, you’ll begin to pinpoint exactly who your target market should be well before you begin your response.
There are plenty of RFPs out there in the wild, so don’t feel like you have to jump on the first one you find. Instead, try to take your time.
How to Find New RFPs Online
Let’s look at how to find RFPs on the Internet. Naturally, as with most things these days, the first place you’ll turn to is the Internet. And that’s a wise decision! There is a vast array of resources available online.
First, you need to decide whether you want to find a public or a private RFP. If you are looking for government contracts, then you’ll want to look for public RFPs. However, if you are looking for private sector contracts, you’ll obviously want to expand your search to non-government RFP sites.
- For federal public RFPs, you’ll want to find websites like SAM.gov to find procurement notices from federal contracting offices.
- For state and local public RFPs, you’ll want to find websites (like Texas Smartbuy). All states have local RFP databases for you to peruse!
- For an aggregate of both public and private RFPs, you’ll want to use websites like our very own Bid Banana, where you can subscribe to access large databases of currently active RFPs.
If you want to know how to find new RFPs on the Internet but don’t know of any RFP-specific websites, then check your socials! Social media is a great place to network and find great RFP opportunities. LinkedIn is the best place to start growing your network and opening doors for new RFP opportunities.
Also, subscribe to every industry newsletter you can find. Whether you are getting emailed content or following an RSS feed, this information will prove vital in finding new RFP opportunities. Don’t forget to subscribe to blogs as well, as the information provided by bloggers can often unlock more advice teaching you how to find RFPs in your specific industry.
Where to Find and Discuss Bids Online
Want to learn what people are really saying about bids? There’s no better place to go than an online message board to connect with everyday procurement pros. Plenty of educational videos are available for free on sites like YouTube. That’s right: they’ve got more than just funny cat videos. YouTube has an astonishing amount of content on anything you can think of, and we guarantee that you’ll find more than a few channels that can provide industry-specific insight into how to find RFPs.
The same goes for Reddit. The popular message board has a subreddit for almost everything, and with a little searching, you’ll be able to interact with industry subject matter experts who can point you in the right direction and show you how to find RFPs that are relevant to you and your business.
How to Find New RFPs Offline
If you want to know how to find new RFPs offline, you’ll want to start with local networking events. Keep an eye out for local business, community or industry events. Take advantage of more than the free refreshments. Start some conversations and grow your network. You could be one conversation away from finding the perfect RFP to bid on.
And don’t stop there. Get active in local associations. This is a great way to meet new people and grow your network. Soon, enough people will know who you are and what you do. Word of mouth will then take over, and chances are, you’ll be invited to bid on an RFP sourced from a friend of a friend.
Make sure to immerse yourself in industry-specific media. Journals and magazines are a great place to start. Not only will you be more informed about the state of affairs in your industry, but you’ll inevitably learn to identify which niche gaps you can fill– and which RFPs will give you the best chance to put what you’ve learned to work.
You Don’t Have to Go It Alone
At The Bid Lab, we know that it’s not always easy to figure out how to find new RFPs for your particular organization. But we can help! Not only do we have the perfect user-friendly RFP subscription search engine to recommend (check out Bid Banana!), but we also have RFP experts on hand who can help you find your next project. So, whether you need a partner to help you find a bid in Colorado, New York, Texas, or California, reach out! We’re just a conversation away from helping you find a new RFP within any state in the US. Schedule a free consultation by calling 1-844-4BIDLAB or emailing respond@thebidlab.com.
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