Jason M. Lemkin argues that startups should embrace RFPs and enterprise procurement processes rather than dismiss them. He acknowledges common objections (RFPs are time-consuming; decisions are often pre-decided and favor market leaders) but counters that teams improve with practice, compliance (e.g., SOC 2) and good processes increase chances, and treating RFPs as part of the up-market playbook is necessary to win big deals.
Chapters
They're too much work and we lose them all anyway. If you haven't done it before, a bunch of things will drive you crazy. He can't penetrate enterprise markets because they didn't do the SoC2. Well, it happens generally speaking. Not always. Not always, but generally speaking, when an enterprise vendor goes to the trouble to put together a massive rfp one, they do it because they're required to. But two by the time they get there, by the time they spent all the time to issue that rfp, they probably know who they want to go with and generally it's the market leader. Then you do have a shot. 2. You will get better at them. Your sales team and engineering team don't have to do it themselves. You will eventually get better bigger and you will eventually steal a deal in an rfp you will steal a deal no matter what it is part of going up market being compliant. Doing Sock 2 Doing RFPs are part of closing bigger deals and you just got to embrace them and get good at them. If you shrug your shoulders and say you lose them anyway, you will lose them all anyway.
