Distinguish between a legitimate opportunity vs. a “pricing exercise.” And gauge the buyer’s intentions so that you can better position your company for long-term relationships.

Leverage background documents; intuit the buyer’s seat at the executive table by understanding the type of RFx that is issued; understand your procurement person’s role in their team; and be aware of shadow approvers (those working behind the scenes) to better position proposals for the gate-review process.

Become more effective at meeting vague or poorly written SOW or tech specifications; identify gaps or flaws in the SOW or technical specifications; and leverage all communications for clear expectations, so you can tie your response to the evaluation process.

Help your team make meaningful redline objections; diplomatically remove unnecessary/adversarial terms; and identify terms that may impact your organization’s overall performance, so you can move your company to a better position in the supplier selection process.

Establish a competitive advantage through value; speak to the four most common types of value; explain the costs of commercial and technical risks; and intuit what customers value, so you can convey value to all types of audiences (i.e. your proposal’s readers).

Understand risks in the pre-award phase of the contract life cycle; avoid two risky scenarios; control what you are measured on; prepare customers for change management; and manage expectations about contingent awards, so you balance risk and reward in each deal.

Don’t succumb to sales behavior that’s ethically questionable; encourage your organization to work within the Supplier Code of Conduct for the entire RFx event; and manage customer unresponsiveness, so you can act with integrity to win more lucrative awards.