Writing an RFP Response That Wins

Most teams lose money by responding to RFPs they had no chance of winning. Score every RFP on five axes (1–5):

• Fit — does our product actually do this?
• Relationship — do we know anyone inside?
• Competition — how many incumbents and how entrenched?
• Margin — can we deliver this profitably?
• Strategic value — does it open a market or reference logo?

Below 15/25 → no-bid. Send a polite decline and preserve the relationship.

Read the RFP twice. On pass two, extract every numbered or bulleted requirement into a spreadsheet. Columns: Section · Requirement · Mandatory? · Our response (Comply / Comply with comment / Alternative / Non-comply) · Proof reference · Owner.

This matrix is your project plan for the response, your QA checklist, and a deliverable the buyer almost always asks for.

A win theme is one sentence that answers "why us, not them" for this specific buyer. Three is the max — humans can't remember more.

Examples for a wallet RFP:

• "We deliver on Fineract — the same core the central bank already audits."
• "Our team has shipped 6 wallets in this region; the others are pitching their first."
• "Our pricing is per-active-wallet, not per-seat — your costs scale with your revenue."

Every section of the response should echo at least one theme.

Two pages. Structure:

1. One paragraph restating the buyer's problem in their words.
2. Three win themes, each as a short heading + paragraph.
3. A single results table (your top 3 reference outcomes with numbers).
4. The headline commercial: total price, timeline, team size.
5. A short closing paragraph signed by the account owner.

Never reorder the buyer's sections. Evaluators score with a checklist; making them hunt loses points. For each requirement: restate it, give the comply/alternative response, then 1–3 paragraphs of evidence with a screenshot or architecture snippet.

Lead with the total. Then a one-page breakdown by phase, not by line item. Offer two options (e.g. "Standard" and "Accelerated") so the buyer is choosing between you and you, not between you and a competitor.

Include assumptions and exclusions explicitly — this is what prevents scope arguments in month two.

Three internal reviews on a serious RFP:

• Pink (50% draft) — does the storyline work?
• Red (90% draft) — would I buy from us?
• Gold (final) — compliance, pricing math, brand, legal.

Submit a day early. Use the time to prep a clarifications log and a demo. ~70% of shortlisted bids get a clarification round; the team that responds within 24 hours with crisp answers usually wins.