If you’re responding to a cold RFP, you’ve already lost.
Most security vendors know this. The real game isn’t responding, it’s shaping the ask before it goes public. That’s how you get specs that match your strengths, not someone else’s.
Here’s how to hack your way upstream and write the RFP without writing the RFP.
Get in Early
Your sales process shouldn’t start when the RFP hits your inbox. It starts six months earlier—during workshops, pilots, demos, or even casual coffee chats. If they’re writing an RFP and you weren’t consulted, you’re column fodder.
Be “helpful,” not promotional
Offer to review their early requirements draft. Suggest frameworks. “Happy to sanity-check your scope” goes over better than “Can we pitch you?” You’re not selling yet. You’re embedding yourself in their thinking.
Seed your differentiators
Highlight features you do uniquely well and frame them as must-haves. “Real-time packet capture at 100Gbps” or “native Okta integration for admin actions” becomes a line item. If it’s in the RFP, and only you can do it, that’s not an edge—it’s a spec.
Guide scoring criteria
If you can influence how vendors are scored—bonus points for response times, simplicity, UI, whatever you’re strongest in—you’ve tilted the field. Ask how they’ll evaluate. Offer draft templates. Share best practices.
Educate the non-technical buyer
Many RFPs are written by procurement or compliance, not end users. Translate your value into their language. “Reduces audit prep time by 30%” speaks louder than “supports SCAP.”
Know when to walk
If the RFP clearly favors a competitor, don’t waste your SE team’s time.
Move on. Or better, flag the bias and use it as a door opener for your next prospect. “We saw this spec in XYZ’s RFP. Want to avoid getting locked into that vendor’s stack?”
RFPs are winnable. But only if you shape them before they’re published. Influence the ask. Don’t just answer it. That’s how you stop reacting—and start winning.
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