How to win event production and AV RFPs
An RFP looks like a price comparison. It rarely is. The production companies that win them answer exactly what was asked, show they understand the event and make the evaluator’s job easy.
Devon Race
3 min read
To win an event production RFP, bid only on the ones you can genuinely win, answer every requirement in the order the buyer asked, show you understand the event better than the other bidders, and price it clearly enough that the evaluators can compare without calling you. RFPs from corporations, associations, universities and public agencies are usually scored by a small group against a set of criteria. Price matters, but it is rarely the only thing on that list.
Losing responses usually aren’t the most expensive ones. They’re the ones that were hard to score.
Should you bid on every RFP?
No. Responding well takes real time, so decide quickly whether a bid is worth it. Good signs: you’ve done events like it, you know the venue or the market, and the dates and any stated budget fit the scope. Warning signs: requirements written around one vendor’s equipment, no chance to ask questions, or a timeline that only works for whoever already holds the contract.
- Do we have comparable work we can show?
- Can we deliver it with our inventory, plus subrentals we can price now?
- Is there a contact for questions, and a date to ask them?
- Would this client be worth keeping for future events?
Read the RFP like a scoring sheet
Most RFPs say how responses will be judged. Build yours in exactly that order, with the same headings and numbering, so each evaluator can find their criterion and score it. Answer every question, even when the answer is short. A missing answer can score nothing, however strong the rest of the response is.
List every mandatory item: insurance certificates, forms, references, deadlines and the format they want. Missing one can disqualify a response before anyone reads it.
Ask questions before the deadline
Most RFPs include a question period. Use it. Ask about the room, the run of show, what the client provides, how they want pricing presented and what didn’t work at the last event. The answers improve your response, and good questions show the buyer you’re thinking about the event, not only the order.
Show you understand the event
Open with the event as the buyer described it: its purpose, audience, schedule and constraints. Then explain your plan for each part, with the team who will run it and photos or drawings of similar work you’ve produced. Evaluators score confidence. A response that reads like the show is already planned beats one that lists equipment. The structure in how to write an event production proposal works here too, reordered to match the RFP.
Price it so it can be compared
Use the buyer’s pricing format if they gave one. If not, group the price into equipment, labor, trucking and production management, say what’s included and what isn’t, and list your assumptions, such as venue power or labor rules. Clear pricing helps you twice: it scores better, and it stops a low bid with hidden exclusions from looking cheaper than yours.
After you submit
- Confirm it was received.
- Be ready for a presentation or interview, with the people who would actually run the event.
- If you win, deliver the first event as carefully as you wrote the response.
- If you lose, ask for a debrief. Many buyers will tell you how you scored, and that’s the best preparation for the next one.
Common questions
- Where do I find event production RFPs?
- Corporate and association buyers often invite vendors they already know, so relationships with venues and planners matter. Public buyers such as cities, universities and state agencies post RFPs on their procurement portals, where you can register as a vendor.
- Should I come in with the lowest price on an RFP?
- Not as a strategy. Evaluators usually weigh experience, approach and price together, and a bid that looks too low can raise doubts. Price at your real rates, show the value clearly and offer options if the budget is tight.