Professional Development: RFPs ' Qualifying to Qualify

The market for law firm services has never been more competitive. Companies increasingly select law firms based on a formal RFP (Requests for Proposal) process. Although your firm may match the criteria that are needed to service these clients, much more is required to win the work.

How to Begin

All RFPs are managed differently. They may be issued through a procurement officer, the General Counsel or other executives in a company. Regardless, relationship-building, understanding the client's need for alternative fee options, and selecting the best-fit team to serve the client are all critical criteria. Relevant experience and reasonable fees alone are not enough to win the business.

The first step in the process should establish a core team to discuss qualifying questions. The team should include the attorney who received the RFP, a relationship partner and a lead partner (who may not necessarily be the attorney who received the RFP), a marketing liaison and proposal writers.

Before beginning to answer the potential client's RFP questions, the law firm must first answer some self-evaluating questions:

• Does the firm have the ability to service the client?
• Does the firm have a current relationship or the ability to build a relationship with the client during the proposal process?
• Will the company issuing the RFP provide the firm with an information-gathering session so that the law firm can assess the potential client's needs and determine how best to formulate the proposal? Can the core team compile a succinct summary matching the client's needs to your firm's skills?
• Can you articulate the firm's value-added services that benefit the client's needs?

If you cannot answer “yes” to each of these questions, the chances of winning the RFP are extremely low. If the answers are “yes,” the following critical steps constitute a blueprint for a successful RFP response.

Ability to Serve the Client

One of the most critical factors in responding to an RFP is the ability to service the client. This goes beyond the willingness to do the work, and asks: Does the firm have the competencies and skill sets to meet the needs of the proposal? Does the firm have a legal or business conflict that would prevent or limit the ability of the law firm to provide the requested services? Determining feasibility and establishing the steps to proceed or withdraw from the proposal are necessary to proceed.

Relationship and Communication with the Client

It is important to build a relationship plan into the RFP process. Having a current relationship with the RFP requester and the ability to ask questions and get responses to those questions helps to build and position your responses. Meeting face-to-face, conducting phone calls during the process, or having a strong internal advocate in the company enhances the quality of information used in your response and demonstrates your method of work and possible rapport with the potential client.

The Team

The team involves more than those attorneys who are the best fit for the RFP. It includes the right team to generate and support the proposal. The partner who receives the RFP may not be the best attorney to perform the work. You need to assess whether he or she is the best to build the relationship or if a “tag team” is needed to communicate with the requester of the RFP.

RFP Process Management

Last, assign specific tasks for each team member and set a realistic timeline to deliver the specifics needed to respond to the RFP. The written RFP response should adhere to any specified plan or required contents noted in the RFP. That includes limiting your response to only what is needed with reasonable supporting rationale. Writing succinctly and minimizing unnecessary documentation and marketing material shows that you are focused and organized.

Value-added information about your firm can also distinguish it from the rest. Describe your firm's technology and describe how it will bring value to the client or prospect. Real-time budgeting tools, extranet sites and other tools can help demonstrate that your team can best assist the client's internal team and help them provide value to their internal clients.

Pricing strategies should fit the requested needs. They may include alternative fee structures and risk-related incentives. Make sure you understand their request and know if your firm can financially, ethically, and otherwise commit to the prospective client's request. Understand the company's mission statement and check whether your proposal conflicts in any way with the company's goals and values. Your proposal should link to the mission statement or corporate goals of the company.

Engaging the marketing department and RFP writers is important, but they are most effectie in reviewing the final RFP work product and confirming that the RFP submitted adheres to the original RFP request. A succinct, direct and focused submittal provides the reader with a taste of how you deliver legal services.

Conclusion

The RFP process should not be approached as simply an exercise in completing a questionnaire. It is really an audition. The clarity and forthrightness with which you provide your written response shows the potential client the quality of work product they can expect. The depth and efficiency of your information-gathering demonstrates your interest in and understanding of the potential client's business as well as your ability to assimilate new data creatively and with added value. And your personal interaction with the company during the process will establish a bond with the potential client that will provide them a real idea of how well they will be able to work with your firm ' which is, of course, the strongest consideration in any professional services hiring decision.

Sharon Meit Abrahams, Ed.D., has been training lawyers in law firms for over 20 years. Her second book, “100 Plus Pointers for the New Partners,” was published earlier this year by the American Bar Association Young Lawyer Division. Ms. Abrahams is a regular speaker at law schools, legal associations non-profits in the areas of communication skills, management, leadership and business etiquette.

The market for law firm services has never been more competitive. Companies increasingly select law firms based on a formal RFP (Requests for Proposal) process. Although your firm may match the criteria that are needed to service these clients, much more is required to win the work.

How to Begin

All RFPs are managed differently. They may be issued through a procurement officer, the General Counsel or other executives in a company. Regardless, relationship-building, understanding the client's need for alternative fee options, and selecting the best-fit team to serve the client are all critical criteria. Relevant experience and reasonable fees alone are not enough to win the business.

The first step in the process should establish a core team to discuss qualifying questions. The team should include the attorney who received the RFP, a relationship partner and a lead partner (who may not necessarily be the attorney who received the RFP), a marketing liaison and proposal writers.

Before beginning to answer the potential client's RFP questions, the law firm must first answer some self-evaluating questions:

• Does the firm have the ability to service the client?
• Does the firm have a current relationship or the ability to build a relationship with the client during the proposal process?
• Will the company issuing the RFP provide the firm with an information-gathering session so that the law firm can assess the potential client's needs and determine how best to formulate the proposal? Can the core team compile a succinct summary matching the client's needs to your firm's skills?
• Can you articulate the firm's value-added services that benefit the client's needs?

If you cannot answer “yes” to each of these questions, the chances of winning the RFP are extremely low. If the answers are “yes,” the following critical steps constitute a blueprint for a successful RFP response.

Ability to Serve the Client

One of the most critical factors in responding to an RFP is the ability to service the client. This goes beyond the willingness to do the work, and asks: Does the firm have the competencies and skill sets to meet the needs of the proposal? Does the firm have a legal or business conflict that would prevent or limit the ability of the law firm to provide the requested services? Determining feasibility and establishing the steps to proceed or withdraw from the proposal are necessary to proceed.

Relationship and Communication with the Client

It is important to build a relationship plan into the RFP process. Having a current relationship with the RFP requester and the ability to ask questions and get responses to those questions helps to build and position your responses. Meeting face-to-face, conducting phone calls during the process, or having a strong internal advocate in the company enhances the quality of information used in your response and demonstrates your method of work and possible rapport with the potential client.

The Team

The team involves more than those attorneys who are the best fit for the RFP. It includes the right team to generate and support the proposal. The partner who receives the RFP may not be the best attorney to perform the work. You need to assess whether he or she is the best to build the relationship or if a “tag team” is needed to communicate with the requester of the RFP.

RFP Process Management

Last, assign specific tasks for each team member and set a realistic timeline to deliver the specifics needed to respond to the RFP. The written RFP response should adhere to any specified plan or required contents noted in the RFP. That includes limiting your response to only what is needed with reasonable supporting rationale. Writing succinctly and minimizing unnecessary documentation and marketing material shows that you are focused and organized.

Value-added information about your firm can also distinguish it from the rest. Describe your firm's technology and describe how it will bring value to the client or prospect. Real-time budgeting tools, extranet sites and other tools can help demonstrate that your team can best assist the client's internal team and help them provide value to their internal clients.

Pricing strategies should fit the requested needs. They may include alternative fee structures and risk-related incentives. Make sure you understand their request and know if your firm can financially, ethically, and otherwise commit to the prospective client's request. Understand the company's mission statement and check whether your proposal conflicts in any way with the company's goals and values. Your proposal should link to the mission statement or corporate goals of the company.

Engaging the marketing department and RFP writers is important, but they are most effectie in reviewing the final RFP work product and confirming that the RFP submitted adheres to the original RFP request. A succinct, direct and focused submittal provides the reader with a taste of how you deliver legal services.

Conclusion

The RFP process should not be approached as simply an exercise in completing a questionnaire. It is really an audition. The clarity and forthrightness with which you provide your written response shows the potential client the quality of work product they can expect. The depth and efficiency of your information-gathering demonstrates your interest in and understanding of the potential client's business as well as your ability to assimilate new data creatively and with added value. And your personal interaction with the company during the process will establish a bond with the potential client that will provide them a real idea of how well they will be able to work with your firm ' which is, of course, the strongest consideration in any professional services hiring decision.

Sharon Meit Abrahams, Ed.D., has been training lawyers in law firms for over 20 years. Her second book, “100 Plus Pointers for the New Partners,” was published earlier this year by the American Bar Association Young Lawyer Division. Ms. Abrahams is a regular speaker at law schools, legal associations non-profits in the areas of communication skills, management, leadership and business etiquette.