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What to do after losing an RFP.
A loss is disappointing, but it is also the moment when an issuer is most willing to explain how it scored. The weeks after an award are worth using well.
Published
Request a debrief promptly
Many issuers offer a debriefing to unsuccessful respondents, and some solicitations set a short window for asking, sometimes only a few days after notice of award. Read the RFP's terms and make the request in writing as soon as the award is announced.
Ask useful questions
- Where did our proposal score highest and lowest?
- Was anything unclear, missing, or hard to find?
- How did our price compare with the award?
- What would have strengthened our response?
Listen more than you speak. A debrief is not the place to dispute the result.
Review the public record
In many jurisdictions, the winning proposal and the evaluation score sheets become available through a public records request once the award is final. Reading the successful response next to your own is often the most instructive hour of the whole exercise.
Look honestly at price
Where the award was decided largely on price, compare your fee with the winning figure and the scoring formula the RFP published. Sometimes the answer is a sharper price. Sometimes it is a clearer explanation of what your price includes.
Write it down for the rebid
Note the contract term and the likely date of the next solicitation, along with everything the evaluators said. When the work is offered again, those notes are the foundation of a stronger response. If you are considering a formal protest, that is a legal matter for your counsel.
How we can help
Our debrief review helps you prepare the request and the questions, and turns the evaluators' comments into specific changes. Rebid support carries those changes into the next response.
Begin with a private consultation.
Tell us about the opportunity and your deadline. We review every inquiry personally.