The last Tip about getting upstream got some reaction from a few readers. They commented on the fact that the value of doing this incredibly obvious, but the execution is still very difficult. We all know we should get ahead of RFPs. We should be proactive and conduct effective research to uncover new business opportunities that we can drive instead of react to. That doesn't make it easy, and the uncertainty of it all can be disconcerting. When we are striking out to find these opportunities, we don't know what we'll find. When we are reacting to RFPs, at least we know there's a deal out there somewhere. Nonetheless, isn't this why we got into sales? Driving exciting new opportunities is better than typing away on an RFP response we believe we will lose anyway.