The Ultimate Guide to RFPs — All The Tips I Learned From Experts
This is the guide for you if you’re creating a request for a proposal (RFP) for the first time or if you want to improve your RFP process.
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This is the guide for you if you’re creating a request for a proposal (RFP) for the first time or if you want to improve your RFP process. In this article, I’m diving into the specifics of what an RFP is, why you might need one, when to issue an RFP, and how to create your very first RFP today. I’ve reached out to senior sales professionals, marketing leaders, and CEOs who are already using the RFP process. Want to learn from the best? Take note of their top tips for getting the most out of RFPs. Keep in mind that an RFP shouldn’t be confused with an RFQ. The RFP may also be used differently depending on the department. Let’s first dig into the definition of an RFP. Companies may issue an RFP, or a request for proposal, when choosing a vendor or service provider to work with. This document outlines project specifics such as scope and price and asks potential vendors to come back with a bid for the work. Multiple bids are then compared to help determine the best choice. When your company has a new (often large) project or one that’s more complex and requires a bit of outsourcing, an RFP can help you get the job done right the first time. The RFP doc allows you to quickly uncover potential vendors' strengths and weaknesses in relation to your project without having to spend too much time hunting for them yourself. RFPs can also give you a sneak peek into different strategies you may not have considered since each vendor will include their own unique action plan along with their bid. And you’ll have this information before you ever have to commit to the vendor. An RFQ is a Request for Quotation, which differs slightly from an RFP. The RFQ is just the quote. Companies solicit multiple price quotes from various vendors to compare services based on price alone. An RFQ does not detail anything other than price. RFP includes a price quote along with several other specifics. While you’re still receiving a quote in an RFP, you’re also getting information on the timeline of completion, deliverable schedule, and the list of services provided as well. You can go straight to the RFP phase if you want to, but some companies will submit the RFQ and then the RFP. Maurice Harary is CEO and co-founder of The Bid Lab, a company that responds to RFP and grant responses for businesses and non-profit organizations. Harary recommends that companies are better off sending an RFQ before the RFP. Harary says, “Never skip out on issuing an RFQ before you issue an RFP. Learn what makes a vendor qualified for the job before you issue that industry cattle call.” Once you've issued, reviewed, and assessed responses from an RFQ, Harary says that teams should have a realistic idea of the requirements necessary to implement the desired solution. You can then tweak your RFP according to industry feedback before you post the official version of your request. “When you do finally publish your RFP, you will have learned exactly which elements of the solution you need to stress to potential respondents up front —and, conversely, you‘ll know to be clear about what won’t work for your organization,” Harary notes. From there, the resulting responses will be more relevant and tailored according to the guidelines you established in the RFP and RFQ. And, Harary says, “Since you issued that RFQ, you'll probably also have a better rate of responses to boot.” In Marketing, an RFP is often used to outsource marketing activities. If you work at a small startup, you might create an RFP to find a full-service communications and marketing firm to create an integrated marketing plan for your business. A successful marketing RFP would outline that you're looking for a firm to help you “increase SEO presence” or “attract social media followers,” etc. In sales, an RFP is often created when a business is looking to purchase a product or service to suit its needs. For instance, if an enterprise company is looking for new CRM software, the business might release an RFP that outlines what it's looking for and what it hopes to achieve with the new CRM software. RFPs can play a critical role in the enterprise sales cycle. Enterprise companies that issue RFPs often look for businesses that can provide them with IT support, security, onboarding and training, and other services. Let’s briefly compare these two scenarios: If you choose the first route, you’ll probably use your coworkers, friends, and networking groups to solicit possible job referrals. Or, you might search Google to check out the top vendors in your area. After you review the website of a possible candidate for the job, you’ll craft the perfect message to reach out and learn if they can even help. Then, you’ll have to explain the specifics of your project, and you may or may not ask them to submit a proposal before choosing them for your project. It’s not a complicated process, but you’d have to repeat it for every promising referral or vendor you come across. Imagine how long that’s going to take! Now, what if these potential contractors already knew your project details and they came back with their best plan of action and a formal bid for you to review? Instead of having to explain your needs each time, you would simply outline it once and send it out to the masses. And to save you even more time, it would be up to potential contractors — not you — to reach out. While creating an RFP will require time up front, it’s certainly worth doing the legwork. Benefits of creating an RFP include: With RFPs you have an easy way to weed out vendors and cut through the stack of options fairly quickly. But, to get to this point, you have to avoid one major pitfall: timing. You will issue an RFP when your company needs a product or service from an external vendor. It’s ideal for you to issue the RFP in good time before you’re desperate to complete the work. While the RFP process is simple, you must take your time in the early phases (research and scope) to get the best out of it — more on this in the section below. Outside of your research, account for respondent time and onboarding your new service provider or product. For respondent time, according to Loopio, the majority of respondents will reply within ten days, but 29% of respondents will take eleven days or more. If you want to catch the majority of respondents, you might want to wait for two weeks before making your shortlist. If you’re still unsure if the RFP process is right for you, let’s look at some use cases of when you might submit an RFP. You might be ready to expand your tech stack; perhaps you want one piece of technology to solve multiple problems. However, researching the technology available is going to be incredibly time-consuming, and you might be left unsure about whether or not the tech you’re researching does what you want it to. An RFP will bring technology providers to you, and they’ll respond only when their tech can help you. Marketing and advertising services are often sourced through the RFP process. There are endless agencies that can support you. The RFP gathers information that allows you to compare them against a range of suppliers quickly and easily. You can request proposals for a range of services, including but not limited to branding, advertising campaigns, social media strategy, or web design services. If you’re hosting a large conference, trade shows, or corporate events, you might prefer to outsource the management to a vendor. It’s not uncommon for companies to issue RFPs to event management firms or venues. Truly, you can use the RFP process for anything! Now, I’ll explain how the process works. Before potential bidders can submit their proposals, the company must draft an RFP requesting the work. The RFP gives potential contractors everything your company is looking for so they can respond. Once your RFP is sent out, contractors or vendors will find it. Vendors interested in pitching for work via RFPs are always on the lookout for the right opportunities. The process is generally quite competitive, and companies wishing to close larger accounts via RFP must have a team prepared for the response process. It’s a sophisticated process that requires efficiency. In your RFP, you can ask for anything you like, but generally, you’d at least ask for Next, I’ll break down the process of creating the perfect RFP. Before you draft an RFP, you’ll need to do a bit of preparation to figure out what you need and what you’d like to accomplish. You will likely need to speak with your internal team about expectations. You may also want to conduct competitor and industry research to evaluate your position. This research may help you see things differently and expand on your RFP requirements. Ultimately, you want to treat the RFP as the most comprehensive brief. Any upfront research will help you. This process will help you define your goals and project scope. You may also discover potential roadblocks you can resolve before your new service provider is onboarded. Top tip: Be very detailed about what you want. Remember the differences between the RFQ and RFP. The RFP is more thorough and asks a lot from vendors. According to Loopio, it takes the majority of respondents 30 hours to complete an RFP. Let this give you a gauge of how much you can ask for. Including technical specifications up front in your RFP allows vendors to determine whether or not they can provide what you need. This also protects your business because if a vendor agrees that they can meet your specifications initially but fails to deliver once they’ve taken on the project, you can hold them accountable to the specifications listed in the RFP. Once the RFP is written, it’s time to send it out. There are many ways to distribute an RFP. You can: Early in the RFP process, bidders may request adjustments based on their industry experience. At this point, you can either review their feedback and create a new RFP to accommodate the changes, or you can leave the original as is and consider it while considering the other submitted bids. It’s worth noting that aforementioned expert Maurice Harary warns, “If you‘re receiving a deluge of questions from vendors, or you’re seeing huge differences in cost estimates from vendor to vendor, then your RFP wasn't well-understood.” Once you receive all the proposals, it will be almost effortless to compare each and determine which vendor best fits your company. Out of the stack of bidders, you’ll want to narrow this down to a handful of your top three, five, or 10 favorites to consider, depending on how many you receive or are interested in. From here, you’ll want to spend time vetting potential vendors further to determine who’s really the ideal fit for the job. Top Tip: Don’t rush to choose a vendor. Respondents will reply in their own time, with some taking more time than others. Though the early respondents may not be the best, it’s fair to say an early reply may be an indicator of efficiency, which might be important to you. Some companies may request one more best and final offer from their top vendors after they’ve started this negotiation process to ensure they’re getting the right person or company for the job and at the right price. While this may sound like an extra step, it could save you money, time, and headaches down the road. But this also leads us to a big question: Is all of this really necessary? Here’s the basic structure of an RFP and what to include in yours: Before you go into the company specifics, you should give a brief introduction to the project itself so vendors know right away if it’s something worth bidding on. Don’t get too carried away in the overview. There are dedicated places for elaboration, such as the ‘goals’ or ‘project scope’ section. For now, your overview should be concise. Max DesMarais, Director of Strategy at Vital Design, receives dozens of RFPs each month. He recommends "an overview section with bulleted or key-listed information about timelines, budgets, response format, and scope.” This shouldn’t be a long history of your company. Rather, it should give contractors context. You want to focus on the most relevant details. For example, the sector your company operates in, the company's core values, the types of clients or customers you serve. Ideally, you will be able to clearly identify what you want to accomplish with this project and what a successful project looks like for you. This information will help vendors understand your needs exactly and help them determine if they’re a good fit to work with you. Clearly identifying your needs will also help vendors with costs. Sometimes, those writing the RFP don’t know the solution in its entirety. Perhaps it’s a technical solution. You should exhaust your company's internal knowledge first; speak to your peers and see what you can pull together. In circumstances where there are gaps, Alex Wilson, marketing director at pixelframe Design, has a great tip. “If you don't know the specific solution required, describe the problem that needs solving,” Wilson says. According to Wilson, a frequent challenge in responding to RFPs is having to determine what the client really needs versus what they're asking for. “If you skip the research phase of crafting your RFP, you may be asking for services that don‘t properly solve your issue, and if you haven’t properly outlined the problem, the agency won't be able to help guide you,” says Wilson. This is excellent advice from Wilson because it allows you to be descriptive of what you want without the need to lay it out exactly. The details of the project are essential in an RFP. Spend time detailing your project scope so there are no surprises later on. Remember, you’re looking to provide an RFP that will take ten hours to complete. It needs to be detailed. The project scope wants to be as detailed as it needs to be but concise. Dan Christensen, owner, CEO, and founder at DJC Law, has some great advice when it comes to streamlining the RFP process without sacrificing detail. He says, “Be as clear and detailed as possible in the requirements while also keeping it focused. Outline exactly what you need, why you need it, and the criteria that will be used to evaluate responses.” According to Christensen, RFPs are often vague, leaving respondents to make assumptions and requiring lengthy and unfocused responses. “A tightly defined and well-structured RFP allows respondents to provide the right information efficiently. I recommend dividing requirements into must-haves versus nice-to-haves, being very specific on timelines, deliverables, performance metrics, and providing respondents with any templates or formats you want responses in,” Christensen says. Even if your deadlines aren’t super tight, you should still have a target deliverable schedule in mind. This needs to be included in your RFP so potential vendors can properly gauge if they have the resources and bandwidth to complete the job on time. When you set your deliverable schedule, you must consider the RFP process. Jakub Kozlowski, Sales Manager at People for Pools, says, “Establishing a clear timeline, allowing for questions and clarifications, and providing structured evaluation criteria can streamline the process and ensure a more efficient review of the proposals.” I like how Kozlowski has specified “allowing for questions and clarifications.” In my experience, there is always a problem to solve, and Kozlowski reminds us to consider the things that we might not expect or account for. Don’t hide your existing or potential issues under the proverbial rug if you want them to disappear. A successful RFP is explicitly clear about any technical issues or possible roadblocks, such as: Are you dealing with custom coding or an outdated platform? Does your team have limited resources? By explaining this upfront, potential vendors will know exactly what they’re getting into. You’ll also naturally weed out contractors who can’t handle the task due to those constraints. But you’ll also connect with companies that know how to work around these common issues with skill and finesse. Remember, it’s far better to find this out now than after you’ve accepted the bid and started work. It’s important to be upfront with your budget. This looks better for potential vendors because they know they’re not wasting time responding. Alex Wilson of pixelframe Design warns that not including a budget could result in your RFP being skipped altogether. Wilson says, “Include a budget. A range is fine, but not including a price at all makes your RFP much more likely to be skipped.” It’s not just about setting the budget but being upfront with the scope in the steps above so the respondents can see what’s involved and how to price. A thorough RFP will help with budgeting and prevent surprises later. Reyansh Mestry, Head of Marketing at TopSource Worldwide, says, “By prioritizing deliverables and outcomes in our project proposals, we've ensured that vendors concentrate on what really matters — achieving our desired results. This focus has helped us avoid unnecessary complexity and kept the project aligned with our strategic goals. Vendors who understand the importance of outcomes are more likely to propose solutions that are tailored to our specific needs, leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness in project execution. The clarity provided by this approach has also reduced misunderstandings and scope creep, allowing us to stay within budget and timeline constraints.” The more information upfront, the more likely your vendor can provide you with a price that a) meets your budget and b) meets the price with the full scope. Another way to reduce or eliminate surprises is to explain exactly what you’re looking for in potential contractors. All you have to do is outline what matters most to your project (i.e., time, solution, budget, etc.) and show how you’ll evaluate their proposals. Brett Ungashick, CEO and CHRO of OutSail, has some advice on crafting your questions to vendors in a way that allows them space to demonstrate their USPs. Ungashick uses RFP for software selection as an example. He says, “We avoid generic feature-based queries because most platforms have similar capabilities, which can result in nearly identical responses.” “Instead, we ask about areas where there can be meaningful variation, such as cost structures, service models, innovation cycles, and product architecture. This approach not only streamlines the evaluation process by cutting down on redundant information but also draws out richer, more revealing responses that showcase each vendor's unique strengths and approaches.” If you‘ve issued an RFP and are collecting responses, you might be wondering what you should look for in effective RFP responses. Here, let’s look at a few examples of impressive RFP sample responses. Dear [author of RFP]: Regarding your request for proposal (RFP), [our company] is thrilled about the opportunity to provide you web design services. Having worked with [brief list of past clients], we believe a partnership with [company you're writing to] would have a tremendous impact on your customer satisfaction and bottom line. As one of [client‘s industry] leading providers of [client’s main service], you know just how critical this time of year can be for your customers. On average, the cost to deliver is $[xxxx.xx], and [client name] is committed to “[client's mission statement].” As these challenges become more common, it is increasingly important to provide customers with a powerful, SEO-optimized website to attract new leads. With this in mind, [our company] intends to help [client's name]: As stated in the executive summary, [our company] intends to help [client‘s name] [brief allusion to client benefits outlined in executive summary]. To do this, our team has outlined a proposed set of deliverables, an order of operations, division of labor, and expected dates of completion to ensure the partnership between [your company] and [client’s name] is successful. [Your company] can‘t wait to work with you to help [client’s name] in addressing [client's challenges described in Executive Summary]. To recap, please see below a brief overview of the services included in this partnership. This sample response clearly and succinctly explains how the vendor‘s service will solve the buyer’s critical pain points when it comes to creating a strong website. By outlining the key benefits, you‘re showing the client how you’ll put them first and focus on their needs to get the job done. Download a free, editable RFP template. To use this template, simply download it here or fill out the form below. You can remove sections or pieces of information that don’t pertain to your project and add whatever else you need for your RFPs. You can also use this tried-and-tested proposal formula to ensure your RFP is professional and polished, too. For those responding to RFPs, there are amazing tools that help you manage and create professional-looking proposals in less time. Below are five tools to improve your RFP response. Responsive solves the problem of responding to RFPs, from project management to collaboration to integrating with other software. Their solution includes reporting dashboards, auto-response features, and automated generation of proactive proposals from within your CRM. Responsive also includes an intelligent answer library that turns previous RFP responses into on-demand intelligence that empowers revenue teams with enterprise content at their fingertips wherever they work. And what's better? Responsive has an integration with HubSpot that will automatically sync your RFP with your portal, making it easy to share information with your team. To create customized RFPs with your own branding, consider using the proposal software PandaDoc. Here, you can set up your first RFP within minutes and even collaborate with team members using real-time updates in the document itself. Similar to other proposal software on the market, Nusii uses a drag-and-drop editor that makes building RFPs a breeze — especially for beginners. Thanks to its clean, modern, simple design, it’s also really easy to figure out. One of Nusii's most helpful features is its ability to rework existing RFPs, which can save you time. You can copy the content from an RFP you like and edit the information to fit your new request. How do you plan on organizing all the responses to your RFPs? One standout feature withLoopiois its RFP response library, which gives you instant access to all your answers from previous RFPs. This saves you the hassle of digging around to find what you need in a crowded inbox. Their magic feature will even help you auto-populate a response if it appears similar to one you've already done. Plus, you can manage your entire RFP process — including sending automated responses — and collaborate with your team all in one place with their intuitive dashboard. And if proposal tools are out of the budget right now, or if you’d like to try your hand at creating your own first, use one of these templates as a starting point. Proposify makes creating proposals effortless. You can create proposal templates to reuse content and pages for future proposals; a great feature for pages and content that won’t change is your company overview, for example. Proposify will alert you when your proposal has been viewed and allow recipients to sign digitally. It also offers analytics so you can see which pages are viewed and for how long. This data can be used to optimize your proposal template for maximum engagement. Now that you have a better idea of what an RFP is and how to create your first one, you’re ready to get started. I recommend first sitting down with your team to narrow down your project’s specifics, goals, and scope of work. Then, determine when the project needs to be completed and your budget before moving on to the drafting phase. With this intel, you’ll be ready to plug everything into our template. Follow these steps, and you’ll have an RFP template you can quickly update. Your next project will be a success that much faster. Editor's note: This post was originally published in August, 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
What exactly is an RFP?
What is an RFP?
RFP vs. RFQ
What is an RFP in marketing?
What is an RFP in sales?
Why issue a request for proposal?
RFP Benefits
When to Issue an RFP
RFP Use Cases
Technology Procurement
Marketing and Advertising Services
Event Management
The RFP Process Explained
5 RFP Stages to Get the Best Bids
1. Assess what you need.
2. List any technical specifications.
3. Distribute the RFP.
4. Evaluate your offers.
5. Select the best vendor for the job.
How to Write an RFP
1. Project Overview
2. Company Background
3. Project Goals
4. Project Scope
5. Target Deliverable Schedule
6. Possible Roadblocks
7. Budget Constraints
8. What You’re Looking For in Potential Vendors
Sample Responses to RFPs
Example One: General RFP Response for Web Design Services
Free and Editable RFP Template
Proposal Software Tools to Help You Manage RFPs
1. Responsive
2. PandaDoc
3. Nusii
4. Loopio
5. Proposify
Create an RFP With Ease
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