Selling security to government may be profitable…
on October 15th, 2006 at 11:21 pm…but it is also one big pain in the neck! I have been thrown into the process of answering an RFP (request for proposal) for a city government down here in Texas, and I cannot begin to tell you how tedious and ridiculously complicated the whole process can be. RFPs can be complicated enough with corporations. But when you get one from a governmental entity, you have so many other things to worry about (there are a ridiculous number of special considerations and conditions when you do work for governments).
Another thing I am finding out first hand is that many government workers (not all, but I wouldn’t think it too far from the truth in saying most) are functionally inept in their positions, at least when it comes to technical matters. Though I have had some inkling of this from talking to peers over the years, it amazes me when I see it so closely.Â
First of all, the RFP is very poorly written.
Second, it is incomplete.
Third, when you try to ask questions to work out the inconsistencies, the answers are often, “Because I say so”, or “Don’t question why our network is setup as it is.”
I don’t know if we will win this contract or not. If we don’t, then we have wasted a LOT of man hours.  I guess it is worth the payout if it happens, but I have to wonder if anyone has figured out the cost of NOT getting one of these and compared it to the potential profit. I am sure someone has.Â
And if you are thinking that I make a salary, so it doesn’t matter, then think again. I have about 4 projects for which I am either scoping or actively talking to clients to complete. Two of these are sure things, and two are 50% or above on probability. And these aren’t some small deals you can just sneeze at. There is good money to be made here. So the more time I do this dang RFP, the less time I am working on some potentially good profit for Accuvant. All to work on a deal that no one has a good idea whether it will come through.
Oh well, business is business!
Vet
Government RFPs, like any RFPs, require you to be selective. Even if the project seems to be one that you’d knock out of the ballpark, the team you’d be working with and the overhead that goes with government might make it unprofitable. Be selective and you’ll see a higher ROI, not just on your proposals that win, but on the projects as well. In the spirit of being selective, check out the RFP Database; lots of projects are listed there daily and the site is free to use. Government RFPs, private RFPs, and non-profits…
I am inclined to agree with you, Sam. That is exactly how this one looks. I guess we will see!
Michael
RFP’s are notorious for being biased. It is well understood by most vendors that, if you did not participate to helping build the RFP (by way of previous discussions about your solution or even writing the thing yourself) then you are not likely to win it. And – for the record – making the cut in the first or second round does NOT necessarily mean anything, but is many times just a way for the customer to bide their time (for whatever reason, i.e. budget, internal issues, etc.) before making the “official decision”. I am sure there are RFP’s out there that are, in fact, unbiased, but given the description you provide in this case, it is probably not. RFI’s are much better!
That is what is even more frustrating: Responding to an RFP you know you won’t win!