The prospect who's already decided
You're in the running. But someone else wrote the requirements.
Some RFPs aren't competitions - they're formalities. The prospect has already chosen a vendor and needs three quotes for procurement. You're making up the numbers. The clues are there if you look: requirements that match one vendor perfectly, timelines too short for real evaluation, decision criteria that weren't discussed with you.
The scenario:
You suspect you're the backup option in a deal where someone else is the frontrunner. You need to either change the game or walk away.
The prompt:
You're competing against a preferred vendor.
Context: [paste what you know about the opportunity and competitors]
Create a strategy that:
- Identifies signals that the deal is wired (what to look for)
- Provides questions to surface the real decision criteria
- Offers tactics to reset the evaluation if there's an opening
- Includes a graceful exit if the deal is truly unwinnable
- Calculates the cost of pursuing vs. walking away Include talk tracks for having the honest conversation with the prospect.