The Clients' Home Journal: How To Write an RFP: Part I

Over the last four months, some of the most popular posts we've published here have had to do with the care and feeding of consultants - tips to help you get the most out of the client/consultant relationship. 

Some of us here at the CCG have been consultants for more than thirty years. And we love each and every one of our clients, past, present and future - honest! But the client/consultant relationship is link that needs to be created and maintained on both sides. Like any relationship, it works best in an atmosphere of trust, openness, and clarity. And it starts when you first put out an invitation for service usually in the form of a Request for Proposals, or RFP.

Your goal in issuing an RFP is simple. You're inviting consultants to tell you clearly and succinctly who they are, what their experience and qualifications are like, how they will meet your needs,  and what it's going to cost you. A well-written RFP will elicit that information from qualified consultants, discourage those without the appropriate qualifications from wasting your time (and theirs), and give you a clear basis for selection. Many RFPs, however, ask for too much information, not enough information, the wrong information, or fail to provide the information a consultant needs to respond intelligently to your request.

We polled our team here and came up with a few hints potential clients who are issuing RFPs. We are convinced that following these tips will result in more and better proposals that are appropriately scaled to the scope of work and budget you have in mind; greater clarity on project goals and objectives. And yes, if you're wondering - they're all based on real experiences.

TIP No. 1: Avoid excessive stacking of mandatory requirements

Mandatory requirements are Pass/Fail essentials - miss a single one and your proposal is shredded. Some “mandatories” are essential: you need to screen out those who clearly do not have the qualifications and experience you need, and you need to let potential bidders know just what level of experience or skill is necessary.

But in developing your RFP, there's a tendency to add mandatories that may not actually apply. And piling up too many mandatory requirements on top of each other has three obvious and negative consequences.

1) You may rule out some otherwise highly qualified bidders who could do a great job for you – except you won’t even look at them because they can’t make one mandatory. For example, do all the relevant projects you want described absolutely have to be within the past two years? Couldn’t the bidder’s five, ten, fifteen or more years of relevant project experience count as well?

2) You're driving up your own cost. Sure, we can put together a team comprised exclusively of fluently bilingual people with twenty years consulting experience and doctorates in biology.  But that's much more costly than a team headed by senior consultant with that degree, working with folks who have all the necessary skills and knowledge, but not necessarily those twenty years.

3) You're probably excluding newer or smaller firms from bidding: and if part of your mandate is to promote Aboriginal expertise or local suppliers, you maybe ruling out some of the good companies you're trying to help out by including mandatories that only a huge consulting firm with a hundred year history can make.

The bottom line: mandatory requirements are essential, and help you separate the wheat from the chaff in your selection. But consider each one carefully, and ask yourself: is this really necessary? Or is there an alternative, or an equivalent qualification, that would do the job as well?

Tomorrow:Tell Them What You Really Want