How to write an RFP

Amongst some really difficult decisions in mid-2017, my team sat down to talk about what was working, and more importantly what was not, in our then-fledgling business. Our lifeblood for new business was the Request for Proposal, or RFP. For those who don’t know, these are documents (typically advertised to the broad body of an industry) including a project background; high-level goal; bullet point list of requirements; and any number of additional asks. This document typically serves as your best guess/understanding to base a proposal on.

When RFPs came up in our discussion, we all knew we hated them. We spent anywhere from 20 - 160 hours researching, planning, writing, editing, and designing our responses. We didn’t have a chance to meet with the potential client to hear first-hand about their challenges and goals; get a sense of who they are; give them a sense of who we are; and determine if we might actually be the right fit.

Someone at the table asked “well, how many of these have we actually won?” We realized pretty quickly that it wasn’t many. Less than one per year, in fact. We were writing anywhere from 1 - 4 per month, spending anywhere from $2,000 - $16,000 (conservatively) in developing each response. It doesn’t take much to determine this wasn’t a great return on investment. What was working? Referrals, and the odd case where people just found us online. These were engaged clients who wanted us to help them solve their problems. We needed more of them. So - we quit the RFP game. Cold turkey. In fact, over a year later, we’ve only responded to one RFP and that was a partnered opportunity with another agency (which we just so happened to win).

I liken the RFP process to hiring an employee based solely on picking one resume from a large pile. This will rarely result in the right fit. Maybe the smartest person, maybe the most educated, maybe the most experienced. But often not the best candidate for you. There are so many other factors.

We’ve found other ways to win business. We do respond to requests for proposals - but not the typical ones. Are talking to more than 5 people? We’re out. Are you not willing to disclose your budget? We’re out. Are you unwilling to meet with us to discuss the project in person? Sorry, we’re out. Funny enough, this has seen us win more projects than ever before. Even better is that the partners we take on are much more aligned with our core values. We have common visions that help to create stronger bonds, build better relationships, achieve more buy-in, and produce better results.

Tips for Creating the Perfect RFP

With that, I wanted to offer up my feelings on the ideal Request for Proposals (RFP) process. If you can take even one of these points and employ it in your procurement practices, we’ll all be better for it.

• If you already know who you want to work with; approach them (and only them). If it’s based on a past or existing relationship, you already know what to expect. If you’re worried about being over-charged, they probably aren’t the partner for you. If it’s based on a desired relationship, have the conversation with them; get to know them, and feel them out. You’ll learn quickly if they feel like a good fit (both monetarily and from a relationship potential)
• Research your project. What are you trying to achieve and what are other stakeholders in the organization trying to achieve? Consider that outside factors that this project will affect. Consider how the results of this project will live and how it may need to be fed (from a sales and marketing stance, specifically). If it’s a website, do you have budget to market the site, or your budget is being swallowed up by the site itself?
• Make a list of project requirements. You don’t need to get in the weeds. Be high level with the characteristics of what you know you need. Is this replacing anything (beit a rebrand, website redevelopment, etc)? If so, what lives in your current property that needs to remain? What can go?
• What’s your budget for the project? Identifying a budget to potential bidders allows them to right-size their approach. If you have $10,000, we don't want to waste our time pitching an $100,000 solution; and vice versa. It's not that we're going to find a way to spend every dollar up to your top end - it's that we want to ensure we look at your challenges through the proper lens.
• What’s your budget to support the project? This piece is just as important, if not more, than the initial budget. Building a new website to drive leads or sales? That’s great, what is the plan to get people to it? To convert them? Knowing your support budget also helps to realign the conversation if we need to suggest a smaller, or phased, initial project in order to ensure you have enough firepower to get it in the face of potential leads.
• What are the requirements and characteristics of a good partner for you? Do you have any geographic requirements (want to stay local, for example, to ensure face-to-face meetings)? Do you have any infrastructure requirements that need to be considered? Is there a type of person/team you want to work with (specialists? a small team? a large team? a fun team)? Map this out to limit down the pool of types of firms you want to consider. Now research and find 3-4 groups who meet that criteria.
• Approach only the firms you’ve identified. Will you miss great options with this approach? Sure. But you’ve also found people who already meet your criteria, align with your values, and will be a stronger partner to help deliver what you need.
• For those who are interested, meet with them and include key stakeholders from your team. This is a time investment and probably feels like an inconvenience. Do it anyway. It will save you time, heartache, money, and probably face within your own organization in the long run. Tell each potential vendor in your own words about the project. This can certainly be scripted or come with a paper document, but have a conversation one on one. Pay attention to the team and how they jive with yours. The right team may not have all of the answers, but may be the best fit for success. Answer or follow up on anything that comes up from this meeting. Have an open discussion about your budget and desired timelines.
• Have the teams write a proposal to give you sense of price, timelines, and their read on the project. This shouldn’t need to follow a consistent structure. Lay out the key things you need to ensure the project will work. Don’t ask for strategy or any visuals as part of this. Solely their interpretation.
• Review the proposals. If anyone’s interpretation was off, but they were otherwise a consideration, ask them follow up questions and a chance to submit an addendum. Be open to alternative suggestions that you may have not considered at how the project could go down.
• Shortlist teams if you need to. If so, bring them in for a conversation.
• You should know from this process who you want to work with. You have spent more time upfront but will set the relationship up for both trust and success. You haven’t wasted your team’s time reviewing 30 extra proposals; nor have you wasted the time of 30 agencies who never stood a chance.
• Follow up with those who didn’t make the cut. If a team fell short, let them know and offer to do a debrief. Sure, it sucks and it’s awkward, but this will help them grow and offer your team to better understand areas where you may have fallen short in the process. Plus, it’s just common courtesy to take this step.

I’m sure that there are 100 other things I’ve missed. I’m just as sure any of the points can be argued against. What I can say with most certainty is that opportunities that follow the above criteria have been some of the most engaging and positive bids we’ve been involved in. If we won, we knew we beat out some quality competition. If we lost, we knew why and who we lost to. Rarely were we left saying anything other than “yep, that team is a pretty good choice.”

What are your thoughts and recommendations on the RFP process? Do you like it or hate it? What would you change to improve it?