I’m Carl Erickson, founder of Iconic Selling and CEO of Beacon Worldwide. After more than 30 years of helping sellers close six and seven-figure deals, I’ve seen every kind of Request for Proposal (RFP). Some open doors to incredible opportunities. Others? They’re dead ends before you even start.
Years ago, I remember getting a blind RFP from a large financial services company. We hadn’t spoken before, didn’t have an inside contact, and the document dropped into our inbox without warning. On paper, it looked promising. But the more we read, the more it felt like something was off. The requirements were vague, the timelines short, and the scope seemed more like a fishing expedition than a real buying process.
We picked up the phone and asked to talk. That single conversation changed everything. We discovered that the RFP was less about a purchase and more about market education. They wanted to learn what was possible, not buy. Without that call, we might have wasted weeks crafting a detailed response that would never see daylight.
That’s the truth about blind RFPs. They’re not always real. But when they are, and you handle them correctly, they can open doors your competitors don’t even know exist.
What Is a Blind RFP?
A blind RFP is a Request for Proposal that comes from a company you know little or nothing about. You weren’t engaged before the RFP was issued. You didn’t shape the scope. You didn’t meet the decision makers.
In complex sales, up to one third of RFPs are never acted upon. Many are issued as educational exercises. There’s no budget, no urgency, and sometimes no internal sponsor to drive the deal forward.
Blind RFPs aren’t inherently bad. They can signal that a company is exploring new territory, benchmarking vendors, or evaluating risk. The key is knowing how to tell the difference between an opportunity and a distraction.
Why Blind RFPs Can Be Dangerous
Responding blindly can drain your time and energy. I’ve watched sellers pour days, sometimes weeks, into responses that were never read by a decision maker. The worst part isn’t the lost effort. It’s the false sense of opportunity.
When an RFP lacks a visible power base or sponsor, your odds of winning plummet. If you can’t have a real conversation with someone driving the process, you’re flying without instruments.
I once coached a seller who treated every RFP like gold. They’d respond to everything that landed in their inbox. The result? A pipeline full of “activity” but no traction. Their close rate fell below 5%. The fix wasn’t more effort. It was smarter qualification.
The First Step: Find Out How Real It Is
Before responding, always seek a conversation. Call the sender. Ask questions like
- “Can we discuss what’s driving this RFP?”
- “Who initiated the request?”
- “What outcomes are you hoping to achieve?”
If they refuse to talk, that’s information too. It tells you the RFP may already be wired for someone else or simply an exploratory exercise.
When sellers go through our Iconic Selling training, this step often surprises them. Many have never thought to question the RFP itself. But qualification is not skepticism, it’s strategy. It ensures your time aligns with real opportunities.
The Power of Insight: A Real Example
A few years ago, I worked with a law firm competing for a major financial services contract. The firm was invited through an RFP they hadn’t seen coming. On the surface, it looked like routine HR policy and compliance support.
Instead of rushing to respond, they asked for a short call. During that conversation, they learned the company was restructuring trader compensation to improve retention, but there was a blind spot. Upcoming SEC and FCA regulations were about to reshape incentive oversight for financial institutions.
The law firm used that insight to reshape their proposal. They introduced regulatory risk mitigation strategies that the client hadn’t considered. The result? They won the deal because they added value before a proposal was even submitted.
This is the essence of handling blind RFPs effectively: engage, uncover, and elevate the conversation.
When You Can’t Get Access
Sometimes, you’ll hit a wall. The prospect refuses to meet. When that happens, consider two moves.
First, request an extension. It signals professionalism and implies you’re assembling the best team for their needs. If they decline, suggest a brief “insights meeting” instead of a full proposal. Explain that without dialogue, you can’t ensure alignment.
If you still sense the process is locked, you have a decision to make. Either walk away or escalate strategically. If you hold a strong differentiator, reach out directly to power. Express genuine concern that the RFP may not fully address their business problem.
This tactic requires finesse, especially if it’s an existing client. But handled correctly, it demonstrates courage and conviction, two qualities top sellers consistently exhibit.
The Mindset That Wins
Responding to an RFP isn’t about compliance. It’s about clarity. When you approach blind RFPs with curiosity rather than fear, everything changes.
Great sellers see RFPs not as forms to fill out, but as clues. Each section reveals how the buyer thinks, what they value, and where they might be uncertain.
In our course on Handling Incoming Opportunities and RFPs, we teach sellers to decode those clues and use them to reframe the conversation. The goal isn’t to chase. It’s to lead. To help the buyer think differently about what they truly need.
That’s where differentiation begins. Not in the proposal, but in the conversation that precedes it.
What Top Sellers Know
Top sellers don’t treat RFPs as random opportunities. They see them as reflections of relationships that are either built or neglected.
When an RFP lands, they ask themselves three questions. First, do we know the people behind it? Second, do we understand the real problem it’s trying to solve? Third, can we bring insight that others can’t?
If the answer to any of those is no, they don’t panic. They plan. They build the connection, uncover the story, and shape the opportunity for next time.
That’s when blind RFPs stop feeling like traps and start becoming stepping stones.
Ready to Master RFP Strategy?
If you’ve ever struggled with whether to respond to a blind RFP, the Iconic Edge Package ($299) is designed for you. It includes six courses covering everything from first contact to qualification and RFP handling.
You’ll learn how to assess opportunity quality, identify decision makers, and build trust even when you’re starting cold. You’ll stop wasting energy on dead ends and start focusing on deals you can win.
About Carl Erickson
Carl Erickson is the founder of Iconic Selling and the President and CEO of Beacon Worldwide. With more than 30 years of sales leadership experience, Carl has helped top sellers close six and seven-figure deals in industries like technology, healthcare, and energy. His client-centric Iconic Selling Framework is a proven pathway to building trust, delivering value, and consistently closing high-value deals. Carl’s mission is simple. Help salespeople sell the way buyers actually want to buy.
About Iconic Selling
Iconic Selling is an 8-course sales training program designed to help you build trust, communicate value, and consistently close high-value deals. Backed by more than 30 years of real-world sales expertise, the Iconic Selling Framework gives you a flexible, client-focused approach you can adapt to your unique personality and selling style. Whether you’re looking to master the fundamentals or refine advanced skills, Iconic Selling meets you where you are in your sales journey.