Responding to RFPs in B2B sales with Scott Sinatra

Scott Sinatra is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bountiful. Scott is a
serial entrepreneur and former senior vice president of worldwide
sales at Glassdoor. With deep industry knowledge in HR
technology, Sinatra also served as a founding executive and head
of go-to-market at Glint, which was acquired by LinkedIn in 2018


In this interview, Scott shares his experience responding to an
RFP during his time at BladeLogic. He discusses the importance of
having a champion within the customer's organization, the need to
influence the decision criteria in the RFP, and the value of
training and understanding your product and competition. Scott
also emphasizes the importance of making a go/no-go decision when
evaluating an RFP and the need to prioritize activities that will
lead to success


HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT

[00:01:26] Overview of Bountiful, a referral platform for
recruiting
[00:03:03] Explanation of how Bountiful works and how scouts can
refer candidates
[00:09:06] Formation of a committee and funding for the
initiative
[00:10:11] Surprise of receiving an RFP and the alignment with
decision criteria
[00:11:14] Conclusion of the RFP discussion and next steps
[00:11:14] Scott offers to provide a test plan template for the
RFP.
[00:23:14] Addendum received with more details on problem to
solve
[00:24:41] Scott writes another letter declining to participate
further
[00:25:32] Scott receives a call from the company
[00:26:12] Second addendum received with desired changes
[00:35:42] Salespeople need to get buyers thinking about their
solution
[00:36:12] If you didn't write the RFP, your differentiators may
not be included
[00:37:31] Example of influencing criteria in an RFP to win a
deal
[00:44:59] Importance of managing the sales process for team
success
[00:45:40] Introduction and discussion about RFPs


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
More tips for handling an RFP as a seller:
https://forc.mx/3ELMidQ
How to stack customer requirements in your favor:
https://forc.mx/48oUxdF


HIGHLIGHT QUOTES


[00:17:49] “We can either play by somebody else's rules or we can
change the game” - Scott Sinatra
[00:24:54] "We really appreciate the time, but if this is the
criteria you're going to use to make a decision, we're going to
respectfully decline to participate further." - Scott
Sinatra
[00:33:07] "Understand how to set decision criteria. The shopping
list of capabilities required to solve pain is fundamental. You
need to know your products and services really well, as well as
your competition's, so you can differentiate."
[00:44:09] "This is a team sport. If you manage a sales process
with the idea that you're going to make your team successful,
they're going to appreciate that a lot. You'll build a lot of
internal credibility, and they'll be more apt to want to help
you." - Scott Sinatra


Learn more about Scott through this link.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-sinatra-b399312/


Check out John McMahon’s book here:
https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064