How do you influence the spec before the RFP in energy sales?

You influence the spec by being in the conversation during the problem-definition and spec-writing phase, before procurement formalizes the requirements. That means educating engineers and operations early, providing reference designs, technical content, and a clear point of view, and becoming the trusted advisor whose approach gets written into the requirements.

This matters because once an RFP is published, the specification often already favors whoever helped shape it. Competing after that point usually becomes a price game against requirements built around someone else's solution.

Practically: invest in upstream relationships and education, publish content that frames the problem the way your solution solves it, and measure success by how often your thinking shows up in the requirements — not just how many bids you respond to.