Having both written and responded to several RFPs, here are some quick suggestions to make this process as painless as possible.

1. Don’t do an RFP.

I know, this is counter to everything this blog post is intended to be about, but it’s an important point nonetheless. At the end of the day, the best partnerships come from personalities that mesh well. It will always be difficult to find a true partner in any venture if your decision is based off of a 24-page document filled with ‘fluff’.

Beyond the fluff, RFPs inherently force you as a client to focus on cost - though this shouldn’t be your deciding factor. Budget will always be the primary concern, but often a partner who understands your needs and is able to act on those efficiently will save you substantial money - both short-term and long-term.

2. If an RFP is necessary, get ready for meetings. Lots of meetings.

Again, one of the unspoken ‘benefits’ of an RFP means you can place all your prospective vendors side-by-side and ideally narrow your list down to two or three finalists. I would argue that this ‘benefit’ is really quite the opposite. It means you may be casting out the firm that really is the best qualified for your project or bringing in companies that have little more than good proposal writers. Make sure you meet with all of the companies who respond - to give them the chance to demonstrate their understanding and experience - and ask them to bring the people who will be doing the work, not just the sales folks.

3. Be clear on your scope - but open to ideas.

A vague RFP is difficult to respond to - the more concise and clear you can be on your needs, the better. An itemized spreadsheet can be especially effective, forcing potential firms to respond to their capabilities on each separate item.

Saying that, leave space for other ideas and recommendations. This is where a firm can really differentiate themselves — are they going to be able to provide you with ongoing strategy direction or are they only able to give you the basics of your project, with little else to offer?

4. Share how you’re going to make your decision.

Every company is going to ask this, so you might as well state it from the front — on what factors will you be basing your decision? Is cost the primary factor or will experience, timeline, expertise in specific areas, etc… play a role?

5. Share your budget. This seems like a complete ‘no-no’, but providing a high-level budget means you’ll get much more accurate responses and both parties won’t be wasting their time. If you don’t know what a fair budget is - do your homework beforehand. An RFP process should never help you to determine your budget, it should help you to determine the best partner in using that budget effectively and efficiently.