Creating pull-through inside a pre-shaped RFP

What we did

Turning disadvantage around

The challenge

From the start, the odds didn't look good.

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• The RFP looked like it was written with another provider in mind

• We suspected competitors were larger, better known, and more resourced (we knew because we saw one over breakfast on pitch day!)

• Our initial RFI response was met with silence. We couldn't find any foothold

• We had limited visibility of the full decision-making group. We only knew who we knew

It felt like  box ticking exercise

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The core insight

On paper, this was a supplier selection exercise. In reality, it was a high-risk human decision.

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Middle managers were about to experience disruption, uncertainty, and increased scrutiny, but the buying process focused on vendor credentials and programme design.

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If we couldn’t win on that front, we needed to find a way to "humanise" the outcome.

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What we did​

We followed the RFP process, we introduced a novel  Buyer Enablement approach aimed at the future programme users.

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We:

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• Focused on middle managers as a critical, hidden buying influence

• Created leadership content focused on their situation, not our brand

• Built practical, brand-light assets addressing real transition challenges. To be fair, these assets we pretty generic

• Used targeted offline and online tactics to reach them directly

• Put the content on a dedicated landing page

Our brand deliberately took a back seat.
The focus was on helping leaders navigate uncertainty and perform during change.

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Our inspiration

​We borrowed the model from consumer goods.

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Chocolate manufacturers sell to supermarket buyers. They create demand with us, the consumers, which pulls the product through the system.

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We applied the same logic to a complex B2B buying decision.

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Internally, this became known as:

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“The Hershey method”  or “The Cadbury method” depending where we were in the world!

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What happened

​We saw immediate traction.

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• Leaders were engaging with the campaign and downloading content

• We never followed up, but we gained direct insight into day-to-day leadership challenges

We hoped that momentum would start to move upwards, and the people affected by the decision would influence the people making it.

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We didn’t need visibility of every decision-maker because the organisation would do that work for us.

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The outcome​

• We moved from outsider to preferred partner

• Won a multi-year leadership development programme

• Contract value was over seven figures

• Engagement was strong from the beginning, as we had built credibility 

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Why it worked

​We weren't chosen based on the RFP boxes.

The decision makers instead focused on risk reduction, protecting their reputation, and helping disconnected leaders succeed.

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By focusing on the people who would live with the decision:

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• We reduced personal and role-level risk 

• Internal alignment formed before the final decision

• The conversation shifted from “who looks best on paper?” to “who already understands us?”

What this lesson matters

​Buyer Enablement works when:

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• The buying group is large or opaque

• End users aren’t the formal buyers

• Decisions carry personal or career risk

• Traditional RFP processes favour incumbents or scale players

In these situations, persuasion is rarely the constraint. Decision safety is.

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If this feels familiar

​And a deal is stuck, silent, or buried in process, Buyer Enablement maybe what’s missing.

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Let’s talk about your situation