Responding to a request for proposal for a conference
How an events company should answer a corporate or association RFP to run its conference, what buyers check about bidders, and why the cheapest may lose.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Events businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
A professional association wants someone to run its annual congress: venue sourcing, delegate registration, the exhibition, speaker logistics, the gala dinner. A bank wants a partner for its three-day leadership summit. Both send out a request for proposal, and both will receive bids from organisers ranging from one-person agencies to large destination management companies.
For an events company, the RFP can be where much of the year's significant work is won or lost. A strong response is not simply a lower price or a glossier brochure. It is a document that answers what the buyer asked, in the order they asked it, and gives the evaluators confidence that this organiser can deliver this event without drama.
What the RFP is telling you
Investopedia describes an RFP as a document in which a government, business or organisation announces a new project and invites contractors or vendors to submit bids. It explains that the document typically sets out who the issuing organisation is, the scope of the project, the criteria for evaluating entries, the bidding process and the contract terms, and that it includes a statement of work and a timeline for the winning bidder.
For a conference RFP, read those parts as a brief:
| RFP section | What it tells the organiser |
|---|---|
| About the organisation | Who the delegates are and what the event means to the client |
| Scope | Which services are yours and which the client keeps, such as speaker selection |
| Evaluation criteria | How your proposal will be scored, and the weight of price |
| Bidding process | Deadlines, clarification questions, format, site visits |
| Contract terms | Payment schedule, cancellation, liability, insurance |
| Statement of work and timeline | The deliverables and the dates they fall due |
Investopedia's guide to the request for proposal covers what an RFP asks bidders to supply and how it differs from a request for quotation or information. Read the evaluation criteria first, then structure your response so every criterion has an obvious, labelled answer.
How the buyer judges the bidders
Investopedia states that the entity issuing an RFP is responsible for evaluating the feasibility of the bids, the financial health of the bidding companies and each bidder's ability to undertake the project. For an events company, each of those has a concrete meaning.
- Feasibility: does the proposed venue hold the expected numbers, are the dates available, does the programme fit the time?
- Financial health: can the organiser carry deposits to venues and suppliers before the client's payments arrive, and will it still be trading on the event date?
- Ability to deliver: has the team run events of this size and type, and who exactly will be on site?
The financial health question surprises some smaller organisers. A client handing over its flagship event wants assurance that supplier deposits will be paid and the organiser will not fold mid-project. Be ready with recent financial statements, bank references or whatever the RFP asks for, and with a cash plan for the event that shows how deposits will be funded. Knowing the margin on each event you run, as described in profit per event, makes that cash plan credible.
Why the most responsive proposal can beat the cheapest
Investopedia notes that accepting the proposal most responsive to the specifications may not always mean accepting the lowest-priced bid. For a conference, "responsive" means the proposal addresses what the client actually needs: the delegate experience, the exhibitors' return, the sponsor commitments, the risks of the chosen city.
So compete on fit as much as on price:
- Restate the client's objectives in your own words, and tie each proposed service to one of them.
- Name the team and their comparable events.
- Identify the risks you see, such as a venue's capacity or a busy hotel week, and how you would manage them.
- Price clearly, with what is included, what is optional and what is passed through at cost.
Shortlists, negotiation and best and final offers
According to Investopedia, once proposals are in, the buyer typically narrows the field to a small group of bidders, negotiates pricing and technical details with them, and may ask those remaining for a best and final offer before awarding the contract.
Prepare for that before you submit. Decide which elements of the budget you could reduce without harming the event, such as a simpler set design or a different gala venue, and which you will not touch, such as on-site staffing levels. A shortlisted organiser that arrives at the negotiation with options keeps its margin; one that improvises is more likely to cut it.
Finding association meetings, and sending the proposal pack
Association congresses can move between cities and countries, and may be bid for well in advance. The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) offers its members an Association Meetings Database and a Destination Comparison Tool, runs ICCASkills as a global certification for the meetings industry, and has an African Chapter. For an organiser in South Africa, Nigeria or Kenya pursuing international association business, it is one route to finding association meetings worth bidding for.
When the proposal is ready, Achekam can carry the pack from your files to the client:
- Keep the bid in one place. Document Centre is a folder-based store where you upload files or whole folders, then preview, download, rename, move, tag, archive and search them, and a new version keeps the earlier ones. A folder per bid holds the RFP, clarification answers, drafts and the final submission.
- Share by expiring link. A document can be shared by e-mailing a personal link with an expiry, an optional one-time code, and download allowed or not, and the share can be revoked once the evaluation is over.
- Sign the declarations and contract. Any document can be sent for electronic signature with signature and initials fields placed on it, signers in order or all at once, an expiry and reminders, and the signed PDF and a completion certificate are filed back into Documents.
Once the contract is won, invoicing corporate tables and sponsor packages is covered in invoicing companies for tables and ticket blocks. For the next RFP that arrives, list its evaluation criteria on one page before anyone starts writing, and build the response around that page.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
