How to respond to an RFP and win the bid

An RFP response isn't a sales pitch. It's an exam. The buyer has told you how they'll score, and the winner is usually the one who answered the actual questions best, not the one who wrote the prettiest prose.

Read it twice before you write anything

Pull out every requirement, every question, and crucially the evaluation criteria and weightings if given. Those weightings are the buyer telling you exactly where the marks are. If "experience" is 30% and "price" is 20%, spend your effort accordingly.

Answer in their structure

The fastest way to lose is to make an evaluator hunt for your answers. Follow the RFP's sections and order. If they asked six questions, answer six, labelled. Evaluators score against a checklist, make it effortless to tick every box.

Prove capability, don't claim it

"We're experienced and reliable" scores nothing. Specifics score: a comparable project, the outcome, a named reference, the relevant certification or insurance. Every claim should have evidence attached.

Address the requirements literally

If a requirement is "must hold £5m public liability insurance", say "We hold £5m public liability insurance (certificate attached)." Mirror their language so there's no doubt you meet it. Silence on a requirement reads as a gap.

Price to the brief

Give a clear, itemised price that maps to the scope. If a budget or range was signalled, respond to it. If price is heavily weighted, sharpen it; if it's a small part of the score, compete on value instead of racing to the bottom.

Two mistakes that lose bids

1. A generic response. Recycled boilerplate that ignores their specifics is obvious and forgettable.
2. Missing the deadline or format rules. Late or wrongly-submitted bids often get binned unread. Follow the submission instructions to the letter.

The fast way

Vizivo's RFP Response Generator structures your answer around the requirements and evaluation criteria, turns your capabilities into evidence-led responses, and writes in your business's voice, so you spend your time on substance, not formatting.