I don't compete for such RFPs (I'm actually kind of on the other side of the table at the moment :) ). However, I have friends whose companies do, and yes, the

I don't compete for such RFPs (I'm actually kind of on the other side of the table at the moment :) ). However, I have friends whose companies do, and yes, they've made a sustainable career out of this sort of work. The key "secret" is that, by the time the RFP comes out... it's almost always too late. It's much better to have built rapport with the organization, know its needs... and at least over here, the RFP will be written with one or several products or companies in mind. There are several very good answers here (dagw's point of finding the lower limit is a great one), and I've also seen other good posts here on HN, I'll see if I can dig some up.