The Request for Proposal (RFP) process is dead > stone-dead! Or is it??
This week has been awesome – visiting SAP in Stockholm for the Partner Sales Bootcamp covering Cloud for People together with Martin Elkjær Printz from NNIT – life sciences IT
When listening, reading or attending a SAP SuccessFactors Sales Academy in Stockholm > one could think that the “normal” sales procedure is gone and buried somewhere 3 feet deep. As a former marketing & sales geek – I do not find that the process has transformed itself completely into a new version of a Key Account Manger named Frankenstein. Yes, it has changed for some segments, for large accounts, I still expect that the Request for Proposal will be very much alive in the future. You are more than welcome to disagree – it´s a free world.
Where I see a changed process is for segments called Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), often these types of companies do not have a procurement process or procurement organization to handle and standardize the Request For Proposal.
Furthermore Large Enterprises (LE) – is often geographically dispersed & have to follow certain rules to be in compliance with the legislation in the different countries. And the acquisition of software is part of a larger IT initiative which has to fit into a corporate governance model. The negotiation of pricing and discount level is often complex – and other areas can be a part of the total price level.
The experts in market say that 60 % of the sales will be done without any contact at all with the sales department. This is displayed in the attached model – which originates from the held SAP Sales Bootcamp in Stockholm, whom has it from Norton Norris that
provides admissions and marketing solutions for Universities. I have changed the model, to the well-known AIDA model – and changed the content in the boxes. In its new form it is more useable
for the IT Cloud market.
So – the Request For Proposal process is not dead! It is very much alive – even though some say the opposite. Long live the RFP.