All Aboard the Funding Train

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As a young girl growing up during the Western era, I was in love with the singing cowboy, Gene Autry, and his horse Champion. In his movie “Mule Train” from Columbia Pictures, the theme song describes an Old West driver moving his team of mules forward.  As he travels along, he mentions the goods he is delivering to far away customers.

The song echoed in my mind as my “Mule” underwent repair service this week. Like the lyrics of the song, my Kawasaki Mule is critical to moving work forward on my farm. When the Mule was repaired and returned, I got more than service. I saw first hand an important lesson in selling and it was genuinely conveyed by the dealership at Kawasaki of Hickory, NC . The man that sold me the 4X4 utility workhorse said, “We don’t sell, we back what we sell and value you for trusting us. We want you to be satisfied and hopefully say positive comments about us.”

A gentle reminder that selling doesn’t end with a sale. When it moves beyond, it becomes the foundation for a solid relationship.  And in the case of this dealership, it offered an expression of gratitude to a satisfied customer! That is what we strive for at RFPMatch.com. We want to be the conduit between education agencies and organizations that offer solutions to schools and districts. We provide “just in time” fund matchmaking to businesses that sell products or services to education. Ultimately we do our work because we genuinely want to make a difference for students, teachers, and schools.

And like the Mule train moving forward, we want happy, satisfied clients. We know that is what you want too!

Reach out today to learn how can we help your train move forward in the education sector.

RFPs: A Thing of the Past

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Back in Italy’s heyday, an iconic cathedral was built in Florence that included space to add a jaw-droppingly enormous dome.  The problem? Nobody knew how to design and build the dome structure to complete the cathedral. In 1418, the leaders launched a contest to see which great artisan was up for the challenge.

A number of men approached the leaders with design ideas. One of those men was Filippo Brunelleschi, who provided drawings that showed an enclosed dome without visible crossbeams for support. When asked how he would accomplish the dome without the typical supports, Brunelleschi allegedly showed them a turnip that he had carved as a model. (A favorite tidbit about that turnip: out of fear that others would steal his design, he immediately used the turnip to make a soup to keep his design secret safe.)  Brunelleschi’s design was ultimately chosen and is now the acclaimed Duomo of the Florence cityscape.

What does this architectural feat have to do with education funding and procurement? The process—right down to the turnip model—was not much different than the RFP protocol of current times.

Today’s RFPs might be a touch more sophisticated—many are online, require detailed budget spreadsheets, and some even require pre-bid qualifications to access the full proposal. But, the core qualities of a successful RFP have withstood the test of time:  creativity, clarity, and ingenuity.

Brunelleschi was able to convey his idea in a way that proved him to be the right designer for the job.  In the same way, the most successful solution providers in the education sector are able to understand the key issues and needs of their customers and to thoroughly address those challenges.

One way that your company can stand out from the competition is by deeply understanding the current insights and trends of the education funding landscape. If you know that a state’s long-term goals include stronger parental engagement, you are able to address how your solutions can help meet this need. If you understand the current focus on better linkage of CTE programs to local workforce needs, you have the ability to showcase certifications and curriculum that will accomplish this connection. See our Trend paper, Integration of Education and Workforce Development: A Courtship Funding Opportunity, to learn more about the current climate around this issue.

RFPMatch ONDemand offers funding resources, trends, and insights that will provide your company with an edge in the education sector. And, the best news of all is that this information is gathered and compiled in a way that makes it easy for you to find and use. Wading through hours of content to find relevant data is a thing of the past. Our virtual portal allows you to grasp the insights that matter to your solutions—wherever and whenever.

Register today to learn how we can support your company’s masterpieces of work.