It used to be that you could ignore RFPs. Only a small portion of the market used them in their buying process and you could work around those companies. Today, governance rules dictated by boards and administered by finance have made RFPs and RFQs a dominating component of the large-deal world. Not only can you no longer ignore them, but you need to know that companies use RFPs-and increasingly purchasing and procurement-for many reasons that have little to do with the opportunity offered in the official document. The result? We all have no choice but to go through the expensive and time-consuming process. And though you might like to believe the system is fair, if your company is pitching a disproportionately larger client, you're at a disadvantage from the moment you begin the process. WHY? Because the RFP system is not built for you. It's built for big companies and government institutions that benefit from RFPs. But no matter how hard you try to avoid them, there will inevitably come a day when that irresistible RFP lands on your desk. It's almost like it was written for you. This book is your best guide on what to know, to question and to do when faced with that RFP. It will also help you develop the confidence and understanding to know when to quit the process before it even starts or when to stay in it and win big.
Tom Searcy is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and the foremost expert in large account sales. His methods of unlocking explosive growth were developed through years of real-world success. By the age of 40, Searcy had led four corporations, transforming annual revenues of less than $15 million to more than $100 million in each case.
Since then, Searcy founded Hunt Big Sales, a fast-growth consultancy and thought leadership organization. With Searcy's guidance, Hunt Big Sales clients have landed more than $5 billion in new sales with 190 of the Fortune 500 companies, including 3M, Disney, Chase Bank, International Paper, AT&T, Apple and hundreds more.
Searcy's revolutionary ideas are now more accessible than ever. He is the author of RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Win Big Business and co-author of Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company. Searcy's newest book co-authored by Henry DeVries, How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett: Lessons from the World's Greatest Dealmaker, is being released by McGraw-Hill in November 2012. Searcy writes weekly online columns for Forbes, CBS MoneyWatch and Inc.com, which have a combined monthly readership of 38 million. Searcy's expertise has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times UK, and Inc. Magazine.
Searcy has also established himself as a nationally renowned speaker. He is a regular contributor to the Inc. Magazine conferences, the Inc. 500/500 Conferences, and Vistage International, the leading organization for CEO thought-leadership, where he is ranked in the top 1% of speakers. He's also a member of the Million Dollar Speakers Club for the National Speakers Association. Searcy has spoken to more than 5000 CEOs internationally about explosive growth sales.
