How to respond to an RFP

A company or a council has sent you a request for proposal (RFP), or you found a tender that fits. It is 40 pages, with a spreadsheet of questions and a deadline in two weeks. This guide shows how to respond to an RFP when you do all the selling yourself: decide in 30 minutes if it is worth it, answer every requirement so nothing gets you thrown out, and use every bid, won or lost, to get known before the next one. Most founders either skip RFPs or spend a week on one they could never win.

Do these three things

About 3 hours a day until the deadline, then 3 to 4 hours a day of messages. Judge cold bids after 10 of them, not after one.

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1. 1Today: score the RFP on 8 yes-or-no questions in 30 minutes. If it passes, register on the buyer's portal and send your questions before the questions deadline.
2. 2Every day: answer 25 questions from your compliance sheet until the response is done, with AI drafting and you adding one true proof to each. Then send 100 personal messages to buyers at companies that buy by RFP, so you are known before the next one.
3. 3Every Sunday: count RFPs found, bids sent, shortlists and wins, and note where each one came from. Ask for feedback on every result, and copy every answer into your answer library.

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1. Decide in 30 minutes whether the RFP is worth answering

Before you write a word, score the RFP on 8 yes-or-no questions. Bid only if the first three are all yes and you have at least 6 yes answers in total. A full response takes a response team about 33 hours on average (Loopio's 2026 survey of 1,533 people who write them), so a 30-minute "no" saves you a week.

Read these parts first, in this order: the summary of what they want, the scope, the mandatory requirements, how answers are scored, and the dates (questions deadline, submission deadline, start date). Mark every "must" or "shall" you cannot meet today. Then fill in the sheet.

Must be yes:
Can we meet every mandatory requirement today: certificates, insurance, size, location, registrations?
Can we deliver the whole scope, alone or with a named partner, or bid for one part (a "lot") of it?
Can we finish the full response 24 hours before the deadline?
Count the rest:
4. Did we speak to anyone at the buyer before this RFP came out, or did they invite us by name?
5. Is this new work, or is there a clear reason they would leave their current supplier?
6. Is the contract worth at least 5 of our average orders?
7. Is it scored on more than price: quality, speed, service or how we work?
8. Do we have proof for the main requirement: a client, a past job, a sample or a pilot?Bid if 1, 2 and 3 are yes, and the total is 6 or more.

Question 4 matters most among the rest. A buyer who has never spoken to you rarely picks you over someone they know, so a warm introduction or an earlier call counts for a lot. One consultant on Hacker News in April 2026, after several cold bids: "If you can get RFP with a relationship then you might have a chance." Some RFPs are written so that only one supplier fits. If the scope names one product or method that only a competitor offers, score question 5 as no. Question 6 stops you spending a week on a contract worth less than what winning one client costs you.

If you cannot meet a "must" alone, check two ways round it. You can bid for one lot, if the RFP is split into parts. Or you can bid with a partner who covers the gap and is named in your response. If neither works, send a short, polite "no bid" email to the contact, and ask to be told about the next one. That email starts the relationship that question 4 asks about.

If you make or wholesale a product: the "musts" are usually certificates (food safety, quality, materials), product liability insurance, volumes and delivery times. Check that you can hold their volume at your price. If you sell through a distributor, ask them whether they are bidding too, so you do not bid against your own partner. The same score works on a retail chain's supplier form when you pitch stores.

If you sell software or IT services: expect a security questionnaire. If they require a certificate you do not have (such as SOC 2), question 1 is no. Ask in step 2 whether a written plan to get it is accepted.

• Tool: Google Sheets and the RFP.
• Time: 30 minutes.
• You will have: a scored sheet and a written "bid" or "no bid".
• It worked if: every question has a yes or a no, and the decision follows the rule, not your hopes.
• Common mistake: bidding on every RFP that arrives because "you never know", or reading the scope for an hour before checking the mandatory requirements.

2. Register and send your questions before the questions deadline

Most RFPs set a questions deadline that comes before the submission deadline. Register on the buyer's portal today, then send 3 to 6 written questions to the named contact before that date. The answers often change what you write and what you charge.

Register first, because some portals take days.

If you bid for US federal work: register your company on SAM.gov. It is free: "Registration in SAM.gov is always free", and anyone asking you to pay for it is not the government. It can take up to 10 business days to become active, and you renew it every 365 days. You need it to bid.

If you bid for UK public work: every notice is on Find a Tender, which is free. Since the Procurement Act came in on 24 February 2025, you register your company details there once and reuse them for every bid. Have your Companies House number, address, website, the last two years of accounts and anyone with significant control ready.

If a company sent you the RFP: it usually comes through a supplier portal or an email address. Accept the invite or confirm by email today that you will respond, so you get every update.

Then write your questions. Ask only what changes your answer or your price: exact volumes, the budget or price range, how each part is scored, whether there is a current supplier, the start date, and anything that is unclear. Ask the same way you would on a discovery call: about their problem, not about you.

Send them in writing, only to the person or portal the RFP names. Many RFPs say that contacting anyone else at the buyer while it is open can get you disqualified, so find that clause and follow it. In public tenders the answers often go to every bidder, without your name, so ask nothing that gives away your plan.

Subject: [RFP name or reference] – questions from [your company]Hello [contact name],[Your company] will respond to [RFP name]. Before the questions deadline of [date], we have [number] questions:
[Section number]: [question about volumes, timing or scope].
[Section number]: [question about how this part is scored].
Is there a current supplier, and is this contract replacing theirs?
Is there a budget or price range we should work within?
Thank you,
[Your name], [role], [your company]
[Phone]

• Tool: the buyer's portal (or SAM.gov or Find a Tender) and your email.
• Time: about 1 hour, plus the wait for a registration.
• You will have: an active registration and your questions sent, with a receipt.
• It worked if: the portal or the contact confirms your questions arrived before the deadline, and you have their answers before you write step 4.
• Common mistake: missing the questions deadline, or calling a manager at the buyer to "just ask something" while the RFP is open.

3. Copy every requirement into one compliance sheet

A compliance sheet is a list of everything the RFP asks for, one row each, with where you answer it. Build it before you write any answers. One US government-contracting guide calls it "the single most effective tool for avoiding disqualification", and it is the same for a company's RFP.

Put one row in the sheet for every:

• question in their spreadsheet or form;
• sentence with "must", "shall", "will", "required" or "mandatory";
• form, signature, certificate or attachment they ask for;
• page limit, word limit, font, file format and file name rule.

Let AI find them, then check it. First read the RFP's confidentiality section. If it lets you share the document with tools that help you respond, turn off training in your AI tool: in ChatGPT, Settings, Data controls, "Improve the model for everyone"; in Claude, Settings, Privacy. Then paste the RFP into ChatGPT or Claude and ask for every requirement as a table with its section number. If the RFP forbids sharing it, paste only the question text, in your own words. Either way, search the RFP yourself for "must" and "shall" and count the results. Your sheet should have at least that many rows.

No. | Requirement (their words) | RFP section | Must or scored? | Points or weight | Our answer (file and page) | Proof | Owner | Done

Sort the scored rows by their weight. The parts worth the most points get the most time in step 4.

• Tool: Google Sheets, and ChatGPT or Claude.
• Time: 1 to 2 hours.
• You will have: one sheet with every requirement, form and format rule, each with an RFP section.
• It worked if: the number of rows is at least the number of times "must" and "shall" appear, and every attachment in the RFP has a row.
• Common mistake: answering from your memory of the RFP and missing one form. Missing a mandatory form can rule you out before anyone reads your answers.

4. Answer 25 RFP questions a day with AI drafts and your own proof

Work down your compliance sheet, 25 rows a day, every day, until every row has an answer. At 25 a day, an RFP of 100 questions is drafted in 4 days, with time left to check it. AI writes the first draft of each answer; you check every fact and add one true proof.

Build an answer library first (1 hour, once). Put everything you have already written in one Google Doc: past quotes and proposals, the text of your website, your sales deck, your two clients' results, your certificates and insurance details, and your experience from your LinkedIn profile. AI drafts from this document, so it has less room to invent things.

Write every answer the same way:

1. Yes or no, in the first sentence. "Yes. We deliver within 10 working days of artwork sign-off." The scorer should not have to hunt for it.
2. How, in 2 to 4 sentences, with numbers. Use their words and their section numbers, in their order.
3. Proof. One true thing they can check: a client and what changed, a past job with a date, a certificate, a sample or a photo. Turn your best client result into a short case study once, and reuse it.

How 25 a day is possible. Paste 5 rows at a time into ChatGPT or Claude, with the answer library and the pattern above, and ask for one draft per row in under 150 words, or within their word limit. Read each draft against the requirement. Fix anything that is not true, add the proof, and mark the row done. That is about 5 minutes a row, so about 2 hours for 25.

Check every promise. A response with a price can become part of the contract. The UK government's guidance on AI in bids (PPN 017, February 2025) says AI is allowed, but warns that AI text "may include inaccurate or misleading statements". If the RFP asks whether you used AI, say yes and how.

If you have no big references. This is the most common worry for a new firm. Use what is true:

• your two clients, as named references (ask them today, and use a testimonial from each);
• work you did before you started the company, described honestly as "at my previous company, I ran…";
• public reviews from clients, such as on Clutch, if you sell a service;
• a small paid pilot or a free sample before the full contract;
• a named partner who has done this size of job, if they are part of your bid.

Never name a client, a certificate or a number you do not have.

• Tool: Google Docs or Word, Google Sheets, and ChatGPT or Claude.
• Time: about 2 to 3 hours a day, for about 4 days.
• You will have: an answer in every row, each with one proof.
• It worked if: every row is answered, every answer starts with yes or no, has a proof, stays inside the word limit, and promises nothing you cannot deliver.
• Common mistake: pasting AI text you have not read, or answering a question they did not ask instead of the one they did.

5. Write a one-page executive summary and price in their format

The executive summary is the page every scorer reads first. Write one page that says their goal in their words, what you will do, three reasons to pick you with proof, and the total price. Then fill in their price form exactly as they set it out.

[Buyer] wants [their goal, in the words of the RFP] by [date].We will [what you will do, in one sentence], starting [date], for [total price, or "the price in section X"].Why [your company]:
[Reason linked to their most heavily scored part], shown by [proof].
[Reason], shown by [proof].
[Reason], shown by [proof].
[One line on the main risk they worry about, and how you handle it.][Your name], [role], [phone], [email]

Your three reasons come from your value proposition, matched to how they score. As a small firm, say what a big supplier cannot: the founder answers the phone, faster changes, a named person on the account. Back each one with proof.

The price. Work out your floor and your price the way the B2B pricing guide shows, then put it in their form. Do not add columns, change their units or attach your own price sheet instead. List every assumption under the form ("prices assume 4 deliveries to one warehouse"). If the RFP allows options, give the price they asked for first, then up to two clearly labelled options. If your prices are public on your pricing page, check that the two match or explain why they differ.

• Tool: Google Docs or Word, and their price form.
• Time: about 2 hours.
• You will have: a one-page summary and a filled-in price form with assumptions.
• It worked if: someone who reads only page 1 can say what you will do, by when and for how much, and every cell of the price form is filled.
• Common mistake: a summary about your company's history, or a price with hidden extras the buyer finds later.

6. Submit 24 hours early and ask for feedback on every result

Submit your response at least 24 hours before the deadline, after one last check against your compliance sheet. Then, win or lose, ask why. Feedback from one lost bid is worth more than any guide.

The last check (1 hour). Go down the compliance sheet row by row. Every row has an answer, every form is signed, every file uses their name rule and format, and nothing is over a page or word limit. Upload, then download what you uploaded and open it. Keep the receipt or take a screenshot of the confirmation. Treat the deadline as final: in US federal bids there is no grace period for late responses, and a portal can be slow in the last hours.

Ask for feedback on every result.

If you bid for UK public work: you do not have to ask. Under the Procurement Act, the buyer must send everyone who bid an assessment summary with your score for each part and, if you lost, the winner's scores.

If you bid for US federal work: ask the contracting officer for a debriefing in writing within 3 days of the award notice. The debriefing should then happen within 5 days, where possible.

If a company sent the RFP: email the contact the day you hear.

Subject: [RFP name] – thank you, and one questionHello [name],Thank you for letting [your company] respond to [RFP name]. Congratulations to [winner], if you can share it.Could you tell me, in a line or two, what would have made our response stronger? A 15-minute call works too, if that is easier.I'd also like to hear about your next [type of purchase]. Who should I stay in touch with?[Your name]

Write the feedback in your Sunday sheet (step 7). Copy every answer you wrote into your answer library, with any changes the feedback suggests. Your next response starts from there and takes less time. If you win, the RFP becomes a normal deal: put it in your sales pipeline or your CRM, and agree a start call within a week. If you lose, add the buyer to the people you keep in touch with by email.

• Tool: the buyer's portal and your email.
• Time: 1 hour to check and submit; 15 minutes for the feedback email.
• You will have: a receipt dated at least 24 hours before the deadline, and feedback on every result.
• It worked if: you submitted a day early, and you asked for feedback within 3 days of every result.
• Common mistake: uploading in the last hour, or reading "unsuccessful" and never asking why.

7. Get known before the next RFP comes out

The bids you win most often are the ones where the buyer knew you before they wrote the RFP. So, every day, find the next RFPs and send 100 personal messages to buyers at companies and public bodies that buy what you sell this way. Every Sunday, count what came back.

Find RFPs every day (15 minutes). On SAM.gov, save a search for your words and choose "Notify" under Actions to get a daily email; "Follow" any notice you might bid on, to see changes and answers to questions. In the UK, search Find a Tender for your words. Check your city, county or state buying pages too: smaller contracts, and local suppliers often get preference. Score every one that fits with the step 1 sheet.

Send 100 personal messages a day. This is the same daily routine as getting your first B2B clients, aimed at buyers who use RFPs. Build a lead list of organisations that fit who buys from you and buy through RFPs, with the decision maker who runs buying or the team that uses it. Find their email, or message them on LinkedIn. AI drafts each message from one fact about them; you add one true line. Ask for a 15-minute discovery call about their next purchase, not for the contract. If you send more than about 50 cold emails a day, warm up a separate domain first, and spread the rest across LinkedIn and calls. Follow up up to 3 times.

Do not message anyone at a buyer whose RFP is open, except the named contact. For big accounts, reach the buyer, the user and their boss; that is account-based marketing, and selling to enterprise clients shows the rest. A buyer who has seen your demo or a sample before the RFP is out can ask good questions about you when it is. Meet more of them at trade shows, and post what you learn from each job on LinkedIn, using ideas from your own work. Buyers who ask ChatGPT for suppliers should find you as well, so get your company named there too. If you sell consulting, the same routes are in winning clients without referrals.

Every Sunday (20 minutes), fill in one row:

Week | RFPs found | Scored | Bids sent | Spoke to buyer before? (yes count) | Shortlisted | Won | Feedback received | Messages sent | Calls booked | Invited to bid

After 10 bids, decide:

• 0 shortlists, all cold: stop bidding on RFPs where you did not speak to the buyer first, unless the score is 7 or 8. Put those hours into messages.

• Shortlists only where you spoke to the buyer first: keep both, and raise the messages to buyers who buy by RFP.

• 0 shortlists, even with buyers you knew: read the feedback. If it is always price, check your pricing; if it is proof, get a case study from each client. If nothing changes after 10 more bids, find out why no one is buying. Once a month, put RFPs next to your other channels in a monthly review, and set your marketing budget from what each won contract brings.

• Tool: SAM.gov, Find a Tender or your local buying pages, Google Sheets, your email and LinkedIn.

• Time: 15 minutes for RFPs, about 3 hours for 100 messages, 20 minutes on Sunday. Put the blocks in your diary first and fit the rest of your week around them.

• You will have: a daily list of new RFPs, a growing list of buyers who know you, and one row a week.

• It worked if: after 2,800 messages (4 weeks at 100 a day), at least one buyer has invited you to bid or told you about an RFP before it came out, and after 10 bids you have at least 1 shortlist.

• Common mistake: waiting for RFPs to arrive, then bidding cold on every one.

Your RFP checklist for this bid and the next

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Step 1 · Decide whether the RFP is worth answering

• Score the RFP on the 8 yes-or-no questions.
• Bid if questions 1 to 3 are yes and the total is 6 or more; if not, send a no-bid email.

Step 2 · Register and send your questions

• Register on the buyer's portal, SAM.gov or Find a Tender.
• Send your questions to the named contact before the questions deadline.

Step 3 · Build the compliance sheet

• Copy every requirement, form and format rule into one compliance sheet.

Step 4 · Answer 25 questions a day

• Build your answer library in one document.
• Every dayAnswer 25 rows from the compliance sheet and check every fact.
• Ask your clients to be named references.

Step 5 · Write the summary and price

• Write a one-page executive summary.
• Fill in their price form exactly, with your assumptions listed.

Step 6 · Submit early and ask for feedback

• Check against the compliance sheet and submit 24 hours early.
• Ask for feedback on the result and save every answer.

Step 7 · Get known before the next RFP

• Save a search for new RFPs that fit what you sell.
• Every dayCheck your RFP alerts and score every new one that fits.
• Every daySend 100 personal messages to buyers who buy by RFP.
• Every SundayFill in the Sunday RFP sheet.
• After 10 bidsDecide which RFPs to keep bidding on.

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