Managing the RFP Process

Article written by Melania Wenstrup

Quali sono le questioni salienti che uno studio legale deve affrontare quando è chiamato a partecipare ad una “gara d’offerta”? Ci sono molti aspetti da valutare. Melania Wenstrup attraverso la sua esperienza di business development coordinator evidenzia i momenti principali di questo processo e le domande chiave da porsi per decidere l’approccio migliore da adottare. Ambra Di Tommaso

Clients are looking to consolidate their legal spending, better control their quality and prefer to reduce the number of law firms they use on a global basis. Therefore, it is increasingly important for law firms to differentiate their legal services and align their internal resources to better serve these clients across all locations and practice groups. Without the right business development strategy in place, firms can easily exhaust resources. The Request For Proposal (“RFP”) process can be a daunting task. It is imperative to have a strong plan and structured processes.

One way to improve marketing’s internal RFP process is by developing tools to help them decide which RFP to respond to and what priority and level of resources to invest in each proposal. Not all RFPs are equal, and certainly not all are golden opportunities. Law firms should be asking key strategic questions when evaluating whether to bid on an RFP and develop a Go/No Go strategy. Here are examples of key questions:

1. Is this company a strategic target for our firm? Why or Why not?
2. Are they a current client?
3. Can we meet the deadline based on our workload, the timing, and size of RFP?
4. Are the selection criteria clear and acceptable to us?
5. Does our service mix and operational structure match their needs?
6. Do any legal or business conflict issues exist? Can they be resolved?
7. Do we have an internal contact who will champion the firm?
8. Do we have adequate knowledge of their business and legal situation to develop specific solutions?
9. Do we know why the client has issued the RFP?

Once the firm has decided to submit a proposal, they should focus on their internal strategy. A pre-pitch meeting that brings together marketing professionals, attorneys and, possibly, outside consultants is a great way to develop a clear picture of your client’s needs and issues, as well as to identify the firm’s ability to address these needs. When responding to an RFP firms should ask the following questions:

1. Why is the RFP being issued at this time?
2. Have we responded to an RFP in the past from this organization? If so, when and what was the outcome?
3. Who are the decision makers?
4. What are the incumbent firm’s strengths and weaknesses in the marketplace?
5. What are the client’s priorities and strategies for the future?
6. How does the client perceive your law firm?
7. What immediate action steps, analysis and added value can we offer?
8. How critical are fess as an issue?
9. What issues are most important to address in the proposal?

The greatest challenge when approaching an RFP is creating something new and fresh that speaks directly and specifically to the client’s needs and personality. A good proposal always takes into account the audience. Preparing an RFP can be narrowed down to five basic steps:

1. Go/No Go Strategy – deciding whether to purse an opportunity.
2. Research / Analysis / Competitive Intelligence – are crucial in identifying opportunities. Knowledge, experience and wisdom of each professional should be matched with the objective research of your marketing staff.
3. Internal Strategy – aligning the firm’s capabilities with the client’s priorities and strategies for the future. Also, identify established relationships with any of the client’s decision makers.
4. Written Proposal – produce a document and strategy that focus on specific issues important to the client and differentiators that address the client’s key concerns.
5. Delivery – focus the message on the limited set of issues that matter to the client.

The goal in preparing an RFP is to create a value proposition and win strategy. Differentiators are determined through research, interaction and discussion at the onset of the proposal process. In any proposal the winner will be the firm that understands what the client wants and demonstrates a superior ability to deliver it.

Article written by Melania Wenstrup, Wenstrup@BlankRome.com. Ms. Wenstrup graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business Management and Business Law. She has also attended the University of Maastricht, Netherlands, where she focused her studies on relationship marketing.