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Free Content From Our RFP Consultants
The Bid Lab is dedicated to empowering you through all aspects of the bidding process by providing comprehensive educational content pieces to answer your most pressing questions.

RFP Cover Letter: The Dos and Don’ts

You’re not alone if you feel like completing RFPs is a never-ending process. Time, research and planning all take an organized effort from your team. There are myriad documents to assemble and requirements to meet. But, just when you think you’re finally finished, you may realize that you’re forgetting that all-important ‘first impression’: your RFP…

Invitation for Bid: You Just Received an IFB, Now What?

What’s an Invitation for Bid (IFB)? For one, it’s a whole lot less intimidating than an RFP! So wipe that sweat off your brow! The Bid Lab is here to help you dig into what you need to know — and how you need to proceed next — in responding to IFBs. What Are Invitations…

RFP Proposal Response Template For Bids

Responding to RFPs can lead to a number of profitable opportunities for you and your business. They can open doors to new industries or provide you with additional work from your existing book of business. But if the process is so lucrative, why doesn’t everyone write RFP responses? On average, companies spend an incredible 30…

Bid Response: 3 Common Mistakes When Submitting an RFP

A challenge businesses face when responding to RFPs is, well, the entire bid creation process. Technical writing, pricing research and assistance, editing, graphic design and content retention are all necessary tasks requiring substantial time and resources. If not managed properly from the start, they can lead to overlooked mistakes within the bid response. As bid…

What Are Open Records?

When responding to or following up on RFPs, it can be helpful to have access to publicly available information that pertains to the proposal. The Bid Lab has helped our clients readily obtain the relevant information by working to retrieve the document in scope. Sometimes these documents are publicly available and just difficult to locate….

Why Your Local Agency RFPs Matter

Each year, the federal government purchases approximately $400 billion in goods and services from the private sector. This is in addition to the state, county and local agency procurement. Together, selling to the government is a lucrative opportunity for business owners regardless of size, location or offering. As a small business, you too can vie for…

How to File a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request

Overview When our clients require information to improve their bids, The Bid Lab is able to provide the extensive research support they need. When this information is publicly available but not immediately accessible, The Bid Lab helps our clients navigate the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request process. It’s worth noting that FOIAs should be…

Maximize Your Chances of Winning the Bid

While 2021 has seen a lot of businesses close their doors for good, many windows have opened for the business owners of tomorrow. Maybe you’ve already created a great website, recruited valuable employees and built a solid supply chain. Maybe you’re even ready to begin exploring responding to requests for proposals (RFPs) as a way…

RFP Process Challenges & How Outsourcing Can Overcome Them

Responding to a Request for Proposals (RFP) can be a stressful and intimidating process for business owners who are unfamiliar with bidding legalities. Despite the complex system that must be executed flawlessly to win a contract, companies who manage to win, in effect, are able to organically grow their businesses from there. So, it’s time…