When a company decides to purchase a product or service and wants to solicit potential vendors, they write a request for proposal first (RFP). The RFP lays out the criteria that vendors must meet when presenting their case for why they should be hired for the job. It’s critical to write a clear RFP that requests all necessary information while portraying the company in a positive light. A poorly written RFP could result in the company receiving mostly unqualified or subpar vendors’ proposals, or no proposals at all.
The first step in writing an RFP is to figure out exactly what the company requires. Despite the fact that it appears to be a simple step, it is the one that most businesses overlook. Many businesses start writing an RFP without a clear understanding of their needs and desires, and as a result, they end up asking for too much, too little, or contradictory information. Before the RFP is even started, everyone involved in the project should be consulted, and a consensus should be reached on what is actually required.
Vendors will need to know exactly what you need done and what you simply want done. When writing an RFP, many companies make the mistake of creating a wish list of their ideal features while using need words like shall and must. If vendors believe the criteria are absolutely necessary, they may not submit a proposal if they are unable to meet one or two of them. It’s crucial to pay attention to the language used, saving need words for when they’re absolutely necessary and instead using softer language like desire and optional for more desirable features.
It’s also a good idea to know what the ideal proposal will look like before soliciting proposals. If proposals will be judged on multiple criteria, such as price, timeliness, and feature density, know how much each of these criteria will be weighted. Understand how a proposal with the lowest price but a long wait time compares to one that costs twice as much but takes half the time. Later on in the process, this will aid in reducing confusion and stress.
Once the foundation has been laid, sitting down to write an RFP can be a relatively painless and quick process. The introduction should simply state why the company is seeking proposals and provide an overview of the remainder of the request, including key criteria and deadlines. The RFP should then specify what a winning proposal must include, as well as desired characteristics and criteria for selecting the winner, if there are any. Following that, a timeline should be provided that includes various benchmark dates as well as a final due date. Finally, the RFP should give applicants an idea of what will happen next, such as how long they will have to wait for a response and whether those who are not chosen will receive one.