Fleet or flat-footed? How to prepare your firm before the next big RFP drops

Every firm says it wants to win more work.

Fewer firms do the quiet, unglamorous work that makes winning more likely.

When a significant RFP drops, two versions of events tend to unfold.

In the first, the team scrambles. Partners are chased for case studies they haven't written. The BD coordinator is hunting for a CV last updated in 2021. No one can find the fee arrangement from the last panel renewal.

The bid goes in by the skin of its teeth, bloated with generic ‘kitchen sink’ content.

In the second version, the team already has most of what it needs.

The evidence is ready, the key messages are clear, and the first week of the bid window is spent on strategy rather than archaeology.

The difference between those two versions is almost never talent or luck.

It's preparation.

Why most firms start too late

Bid preparation tends to happen in response to opportunity rather than in anticipation of it. The RFP arrives, the clock starts ticking, and everyone works backwards from the deadline.

This is understandable. Partners are busy. BD teams are stretched. Pre-bid preparation can feel speculative, especially when you don't know exactly what the client will ask or what the evaluation criteria will be.

You know what though: a significant amount of what makes a strong bid is not RFP-specific. Your capability evidence, your relationship history, your differentiators, your pricing approach, your compliance documentation - much of this exists (or should exist) regardless of what any particular tender asks.

Getting it into shape before the RFP lands is simply good practice.

For major bids and key client opportunities in particular, where an approach to market is anticipated or a panel renewal is coming, early preparation is not a luxury. It is a competitive advantage.

What pre-bid preparation actually looks like

Pre-bid preparation is not about writing a response before you have the questions. It is about interrogating what you already have, identifying gaps, and getting your evidence, intelligence, and positioning into a state where you can respond quickly and credibly when the time comes.

There are six areas worth working through systematically.

1. Capability evidence

Start with the basics: what case studies, matters, projects, or transactions do you have on file that are relevant to this client or work type? Are they recent? Are they specific enough to be credible? Do they include measurable outcomes - timeframes, cost savings, success rates, or other indicators the client would find meaningful?

Many firms have done good work but documented it poorly and don’t track and trap their best track record.

Pre-bid is the time to fix that. Identify your best-fit examples, validate them with the relevant partners, and get them written up properly.

You will use them again.

Also check your accreditations, panel appointments, and awards. Are they current? Are they relevant to this client's priorities? Evidence that is out of date or off-point is worse than no evidence at all, because it signals a lack of care or understanding of this client’s needs this time.

2. Relationship intelligence

Capability evidence tells the client what you can do.

Relationship intelligence tells you how to position it.

Before you get to bid stage, map what you actually know about this client. Have you worked with them before?

What was the experience on both sides? Who are the key decision-makers, and what do you know about their priorities, preferences, and procurement influence? Are your contacts advocates, neutrals, or detractors - i.e. people who would rather see a different firm win?

If you have past performance reviews, client feedback, or satisfaction survey results, find them.

If you do not have them, that tells you something useful about the gaps in your client management practices.

For new client opportunities, work from what you know about comparable clients in the same sector. It is less precise, but it is far better than going in blind.

(See the article: So you think you can win? How to use intel (or lack of it) to your advantage in bids and tenders).

3. Value-add and differentiators

What have you done for this client - or similar clients - that goes beyond the base matter or project? Secondments, training, pro bono support, process improvements, technology solutions, thought leadership?

Have contacts attended your events, engaged with your content, or collaborated with your team outside of formal work?

These things matter in bids because they demonstrate investment and relationship depth.

But they can only appear in bids if someone has tracked them.

Pre-bid is the time to dig them out and validate whether they are still relevant and current and perhaps most importantly figure out if they are likely to be valued by the client.

No point sending out monthly ‘newsletters’ if no one cares enough to open, let alone read them.

4. Procurement intelligence

What do you know about how this client buys?

Do you have access to previous RFP documents, evaluation criteria, or contract structures from prior rounds? Do you know who the likely competitors are and how they tend to position themselves? Are there pricing expectations or rate sensitivities that will shape how you structure your commercial offer?

This kind of intelligence is not always available, but it is often more accessible than people assume - particularly for incumbent firms, clients you have engaged with at industry events, or sectors you know well. Gathering it before the bid window opens means you can use it to shape strategy, rather than scrambling to interpret it under deadline pressure.

5. Pricing and fee structures

What are your existing fee arrangements with this client, if any?

Have you offered alternative fee models - fixed fees, capped fees, hybrid arrangements - for comparable work? What worked, what did not, and what might be appropriate here?

Pre-bid is the time to identify your current position and think through your commercial approach, model profitability and floor pricing - before the pressure of a deadline makes creative thinking difficult.

6. Resourcing and compliance

Do you have the right people, with current CVs and appropriate credentials, to deliver this work credibly? Are there compliance, governance, or security requirements you will need to address - conflicts, confidentiality protocols, cybersecurity, ESG - and is your documentation actually up to date?

These are often the last things people think about, and the first things (as compliance) that can derail a bid when they are not ready.

A simple discipline: the pre-bid evidence review

If this feels like a lot, it need not be complicated.

A structured pre-bid evidence review - ideally completed with the relevant partners and BD lead - is simply a conversation with a checklist attached.

The goal is not to produce a finished bid before you have the RFP.

It is to arrive at bid stage knowing what you have, what you lack, and what your strategic starting position is.

That clarity alone is worth a great deal when the clock is running.

The bottom line

The firms that perform consistently well in competitive bids are not necessarily the ones with the most resources. They are the ones that treat preparation as part of the work, not an afterthought to it.

If a significant opportunity is on the horizon - a panel renewal, a government tender cycle, a client whose contract is coming up - start the pre-bid conversation now.

What do you already have?

Where are the gaps?

What needs to be done before the window opens?

Being fleet-footed in a bid is not luck. It is the dividend on preparation done earlier.

Happy bidding!