Responding to RFPs What AMS Vendors Should Be Doing!

Every time I consult with an association to help them strategically select the right AMS (association management software) solution, I am amazed at the diversity and mediocrity of vendor responses.

Here is how I like to categorize the various groups:

• Relationship Builders - These are the cream of the crop vendors.  They want the association's business and understand what it takes to make it happen. They invest the time and energy required to earn the business. They clearly demonstrate how their software will solve the association's problems.


• We're So Wonderfuls - These are the self proclaimed cream of the crop. They believe they're so wonderful that the association should just bypass all due diligence and buy their software. These are the companies who "don't respond" to RFPs. (buyers beware)


• Brochurposals - These companies ignore the RFP requests and instead send a proposal that reads more like a brochure. If prospects want this kind of information, they can visit your website. The proposal shouldn't be an advertorial about your product's bells and whistles, it should be a way for you to communicate how your company will solve the association's specific problems.


• Whiners - "Not enough time...", "too much information..." and the list goes on and on. Don't waste time and energy whining, instead funnel this energy into creating a high quality proposal that wins the business. If you don't want the business, save face and decline.

The following are some tips for AMS vendors as they reply to RFPs. Incorporate these ideas into your business processes and your proposals will rise to the top of the pile.

• Read through the entire RFP. Understand the problems the association is currently facing and learn why they're on the hunt for a new software product.


• Make sure you understand the association's expectations and required deliverables. If they provided a checklist, use it as guideline when writing the proposal. If not, make your own checklist of all the items that must be addressed in the proposal so you don't forget something.


• Always, Always, Always pick up the phone and call the RFP contact person. It adds a personal touch and shows that you are more than an assembly line churning out proposals. Ask many different questions about the problems the association is experiencing. Learn more about the association needs. Learn more about the personalities on the review team. Knowledge is power.


• Don't whine. Doing so immediately casts a negative shadow on your company. Be a professional, step up to the plate and get the job done. If you feel the urge to whine, then you probably don't want the business.


• Make the investment and create a high quality proposal. AMS companies spend tens of thousands of dollars on print ads that most people will ignore, but when they have a hungry client standing in front of them with checkbook in hand, they balk at the time and financial investment required to write a quality proposal. Where's the logic? 


• Don't submit a product brochure in place of a proposal. The body of your proposal should tell a story about the association's problems and how your company will solve those problems.


• Drop the technical jargon and speak like a human being. Technospeak is fine when you're chatting with a colleague at lunch but can become a communication barrier when speaking to the average association executive. Speak their language. If the buyer understands what you're saying your proposal will rise to the top of the pile. If they need a decoder, the power of you story is diminished.


• With the ever growing number of AMS providers, you need to stop peddling commodities and focus on building relationships and solving problems.


• Use spell check before sending the proposal. With the technology we have available today, there's no excuse for blatant and multiple misspelled words. When this happens, the professionalism and credibility of your company is severely diminished.


• Have someone proofread the proposal for grammatical errors or "cut an pastes" gone bad.


• It's okay to create a shell for your proposals, but make sure you personalize every proposal by weaving in the association's story. The find and replace proposals are easy to spot. They're cold and boring.


• If you've written an article or white paper on a topic that is relevant to the association's problem, include it as an attachment or proposal. This will boost your credibility.


• Make sure your website works. This is especially true for web solution providers. I have visited websites for AMS companies who offer web solutions and there web pages are littered with errors and broken links. Actions speak louder than words.


• Deliver the proposal before the due date. You will definitely stand out.


• After you send the proposal, follow up with a telephone courtesy call to verify that it has been received. You never know when a good email has been sent to the spam folder. Meanwhile the association exec thinks you've missed the deadline. Here is another opportunity to make an positive impression on the RFP contact.

I assure you that if you follow the above points, you will stand out in the sea of mediocrity!

Association executives - as you prepare to make that huge investment in a new AMS software product (time, energy, learning curve, opportunity costs, etc.), don't settle for mediocrity. Do your homework and select a vendor who is in the relationship business.

Comments

[Sigmund VanDamme]

Joe,

As an AMS reseller (iMIS) I found this to be an excellent article and dead on.

We consider ourselves to be in the 'Relationship Builders' category and we do respond to RFPs.

I have to tell you, however, that we have responded to numerous RFPs where the organization was using the RFP simply to get other quotes as required by their board/bylaws and the organization had already 'anointed' a winner (usually a good provider that they had been working with for years).

Our account representatives can spend 40+ hours crafting a response to an RFP only to have it used to fulfill an obligation to the organization's board. I think this is the primary reason that so many firms do not respond to RFPs. We consider it a cost of doing business but it can be very frustrating.

Not sure what can be done about this but the more transparency there is the more responses will received. Would love to hear your take on this.

Anyhow - great blog - have it bookmarked.

-Sig VanDamme

[Joe Grant]

Hi Sig,

Thanks so much for dropping by. As a consultant myself, I too write proposals. I understand your frustrations, when you give it your all and still don't get the job.

My only recommendation is to make that telephone call to the contact and dig for more information. How long have they been looking? Have they reviewed any vendors already? Who's on the task force? etc. Again, knowledge is power!

You would be surprised what you can find out in a single telephone conversation. The problem is that many AMS vendors skip this step.

When I help associations, I always urge my clients to keep an open mind and clear the slate for the selection process.

The bottom line is this - if you blow them away, it won't matter what happened previously because, you've given them a reason to take notice.

I have posted a new entry that I think will help put this into perspective for associations on the hunt for a new package; however, I don't think you will ever see the full transparency you (and I) would like to see.

Best wishes!

Joe

[Becca]

Joe-thanks for this post / blog.

This particular post managed to clearly state (in 100th of the space given in other books) exactly what I've been researching and compiling this week. As we review our current proposal to start fresh/revise our entire process, I've been examining exactly what needs to go in to each proposal we send clients and researching how much information can be "boilerplated" vs. written out.

Just as the length of your post is short but informative, I feel strongly that most proposals are 25 pages longer than they need to be. You say it's okay to use a “shell”..but how much of a shell should there be? Could we simply save a copy of each of our normally offered solutions (one for AMS, one for web design and AMS, one for our own application and AMS)? Or, should there be a different template for each client story as well: example: “low budget but needing a solution” or “money is no object but most interested in follow up support and consulting”.

What if each sales team member uses one master document, changes client names throughout and rewrites the executive summary (and a few other paragraphs.) Do you think it's obvious to clients? What are your thoughts on proposal management software to keep the entire process under control?