FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS
Use the NDA to test for signing authority early in the process.
Send an executive update early in the process so that you have a thread to call on when things don't go so well.
Map out the process in a way that makes sense to them. Not to you. AKA not a buyer's journey.
The person who's involved in the RFP is usually the person who wins the RFP.