The Way to Win an RFP Against Someone Cheaper Than You
I talk to a lot of burnt-out event business owners who have been in this industry for over a decade. And they all ask me the same question.
How do you differentiate yourself?
I have a long-winded answer and a quick one. Scroll down if you want the solution. Stick around right here if you want the what not to do.
Same Title. Same Business Card. Same Proposal.
Obviously, as event business owners, we want to stand out. But we are in a very saturated market, with a title that carries the same weight for someone who planned her cousin's wedding and put "Event Planner" on her business card as it does for a global planner with an earned CMP.
The numbers back this up. Meeting, convention, and event planners held about 172,100 jobs in the U.S. in 2025, with roughly 16,800 more openings every year. No license required. No required experience. Certifications are voluntary.
And the most recognized credential in our industry? Just over 11,000 people worldwide have earned their CMP. So even if you're one of them, most of the people you compete with use the exact same title you do.
It's very hard to put your flag in the ground and say, this is what I stand for.
What Not to Do (I Tried All of It)
Over the last nine years, I have tried very hard to do this.
The disruptor stage. Hey, pay attention to me. I'll create a software. I'm smart. I know this industry like no one else because I've been doing it for 20 years. That bombed. In its own painful way.
The bowtie-meets-short-skirt combo. Business on the top, party on the bottom. See? I'm smart. Pay attention to me.
The looks trap. I thought the "I'm smart, pay attention to me" was bombing because I'm 5'9" with blonde hair and a D cup. Well, sadly enough, no one gives a shit about that anymore. As Gen Xers, we sometimes get stuck in the old way of thinking. Maybe if I'm more attractive, I'll make more money.
And yes, statistically, there's a little truth to that. In economists Daniel Hamermesh and Jeff Biddle's landmark research, women rated good-looking earned about 4% more than average-looking women. But here's the part nobody puts on Instagram: when the same researchers looked at what women spent on clothes and cosmetics, the extra earnings came to no more than 5% of what they spent. The makeover doesn't pay for itself. Your credit card company is the one who profits.
Looks are not a differentiator. Standing out in this industry has no bearing on how attractive you are.
Notice what all three had in common? Every one of them said look at me. None of them said look at what I can do for you.
The Solution: Two Words. Prove Value.
Here is what actually works in differentiating your services in the events industry.
Prove value.
You might be thinking, well, duh. I don't mean make it prettier and call yourself an event designer. I mean doing what barely anyone in this industry is doing: proving your client's event success before the contract is even signed.
How few are doing it? In a 2026 Global DMC Partners survey of mostly senior-level and owner planners, 68% said stakeholders are pressuring them to prove business impact. Only 30% use real data tools to track ROI. And 44% have no ROI tracking in place at all. Most still rely on the post-event satisfaction survey.
That's not a problem. That's your opening.
Here's what it looks like. A client sends you an RFP for a group travel experience for 250 people on Martha's Vineyard. You send it back with an objective at the top and the ways you'll track and measure success for them.
Before the breakdown of your fees. Before the execution shit that everyone else adds. Before the wow, we're going to have a fire-throwing, conch-blowing sunset ceremony that's going to blow everyone's minds.
The way you win an RFP against someone priced cheaper than you is to show the value of their event. Because they're waiting for you to do what everyone else does. Return the RFP with a price breakdown. Then they go with whatever fits in their budget and looks like the best value.
Why It Works: The Pattern Interrupt
This works because of something in psychology called a pattern interrupt.
Communication researcher Judee Burgoon's expectancy violations theory explains it. When someone does something we didn't expect, it grabs our attention and makes us stop and re-evaluate what we're seeing. And here's the part most people miss: when the surprise is a good one, people judge both the behavior and the message more positively. A proposal that leads with their goals is a very good surprise.
Then the curiosity gap kicks in. In a classic 1994 paper, Carnegie Mellon's George Loewenstein described curiosity as an itch that shows up when we notice something missing in what we know, and we're driven to scratch it. Once you've broken the pattern, there's a gap between what she expected and what you handed her. So she keeps reading to close it.
Here's why this matters so much when you're one of five returned proposals. They weren't expecting it. They were expecting the wow moments and the budget breakdown. They skim each one and compare you to the other four. If you're the most expensive, what do you think they're going to do next?
The way you get to stand out in their mind is the pattern interrupt. And then they see the value and the outcome of their event.
The Bottom Line
Proving the value and the outcome of an event is something I teach at length at the Edgucation Institute. But I promise you this: it is going to be the number one differentiator in your events business.
And you don't have to schedule a hair appointment or shop for a new wardrobe.
Ready to stop competing on price? Grab my free guide, From Event Executor to Experiential Strategist, and see exactly how to start leading with value instead of logistics.
Sources
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners (2025 data)
Christian Science Monitor: Hamermesh and Biddle, "Beauty and the Labor Market"
Virginia Postrel: Like it or not, appearance counts in the workplace
Smart Meetings: Global DMC Partners 2026 Meetings & Events Industry Pulse Survey
