A recent issue of the newsletter was called TLC for the RFP. It was all about creating materials along with a system and roles that would allow a company to generate high quality RFPs with less effort.

A subscriber writes in with an interesting question about the best length for answers to RFP questions. Many questions can be answered with a simple Yes or No. Is this a good answer or should you offer more detail if it is a strong suit of your product? What about if it’s a weak point? Also, if you don’t know if you’re a serious contender for the business (rather than column fodder), should you take the time to expand on an answer?

These are important issues to consider. Given that there’s the potential for a Product Manager to spend significantly more time writing responses when they go beyond one word answers, it’s crucial to determine how much effort should be put forth at the expense of other projects. Read on for some tips on how to answer RFP questions.