Bidding on government and private sector RFPs can be very different experiences for you and your business. Generally speaking, this is largely due to the varying objectives and regulatory requirements of public organizations versus those of private companies. While profit is usually the sole motivation of a private business, public entities have myriad factors to consider.  

With so much competition in the marketplace, it is absolutely vital, that agencies spend the proper amount of time and effort customizing their proposals. As AdAge puts it, “RFPs are not simple, cookie-cutter documents where agencies need only fill in the blanks with stock answers they’ve developed over time for the purpose of responding to RFPs.” While many individual queries in an RFP may be similar (if not identical), responses need to be as distinct and specific as possible, tailoring their responses to each individual request.

Selling products and services to the federal government can be a confusing, time-consuming process. Fortunately, the government has established a program to streamline government acquisitions of private-sector assets.

While hiring a consultant may seem like an easy and efficient way to tackle the RFP process, there are a few things to keep in mind if you do choose to do so.