Hey Lowe’s - RFP’s Are Not Our Bag Baby
We don’t sell widgets. Which is why we don’t participate in?RFP’s (request for proposals). You know who participates in RFP’s? Desperate people. If you find yourself in an RFP situation you’re officially cooked. Because RFP’s = commodity. Are you selling a commodity?
I recently got a call from the purchasing manager at Lowe’s. They wanted us to participate in a branding RFP. First I asked her nicely if she could define branding. Ah, she said, would you like to be in it? I said we’d be happy to meet with the marketing team. She said Lowe’s doesn’t work that way, you must complete the RFP.
I said nicely that branding was not like ordering copy paper. Branding is intimate, strategic and ultimately the most important thing a company could do. I respectfully declined.
She was shocked. She replied you do know we’re Lowe’s right? Yup, not interested. If Lowe’s can’t take the time to meet with companies concerning their branding then they’re not the right fit for Brand Identity Guru.
My advice is refuse RFP’s, instead build relationships that put you in a good spot to win business way before an RFP is even thought of.
More articles on why not to participate in RFP’s:
http://www.brandidentityguru.com/wordpress/?p=359
http://www.brandidentityguru.com/wordpress/?p=551
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May 22nd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Awesome. Totally awesome.
“You know we’re Lowes, right?”
How about “You know that I’m the Brand Identity Guru, right?”
May 24th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Yes! What a great response.
I recently sold my promotional products business where I faced similar scenarios all the time. I frequently refused RFP’s. Early in my business (I owned it for 16 years) I took on some of those vanity accounts by wining the RFP. What a waste of my valuable talent and money! Eventually the RFP process became a way for my prospect to share my best ideas with my competitors so they could scoop the project. Finally I said, “Wait, I think I’ll focus on relational clients rather than transactional clients.” My partner thought it would be the death of our business. NOT - we did better than ever.