A Request for Proposal, also called an RFP or RFQ, is a document issued by a company when it wants to buy something and

chooses to make the specifications public. This usually is done to have several companies bid on the work, thus producing more competitive prices. However, if it is not done correctly, it can produce no bids or bids that are a waste of your time. The steps to a successful RFP are detailed below. Difficulty: Average Time Required: Often takes several days

Here's How:

1.

Do Your Homework Before you start to write an RFP, figure out what you really need, what you want, and what is possible. For example, don't issue an RFP for a machine that can produce 1500 widgets per hour when you have never sold more than 25 a month. Likewise, there is no point in issuing an RFP for a flying car when a messenger can get through traffic just as fast on a bicycle.

2.

Distinguish Between Needs And Wants If you want an application that can transmit pictures between headquarters and the vans at the job site, you may specify the number of images per second, the maximum size of the image, and the resolution needed. It might be nice to have the images in color, but you need to decide if that is necessary. Things that are needed are identified in the RFP but using words like "will", "shall", and "must". These are the "requirements". Those things that are merely "wants" are identified by works like "may", "can", and "optional".

3.

Decide What The Winner Will Look Like The proposals you get back in response to your RFP will differ. Each company that responds will have different strengths. Some will focus on lowest cost; others on best quality; still others on most complete feature set. You should decide up front whether you are looking for the lowest cost, the fastest delivery, or some combination.

4.

Organize the Document Anything you write for business should be thought through and organized. An outline is a good place to start. You will need sections, at least, for introduction, requirements, selection criteria, timelines, and process. Many of these will have subsections. For instance, the requirements section will also include the optional items. These may be blended into the individual requirements or placed in their own section.

5.

Introduction This is where you explain to potential bidders why you are publishing the RFP and what you hope to achieve by doing so. The introduction may also include a summary of the key points from the other sections, including due date. Continuing with the example above of an RFP for an image transmission system, the introduction might read something like this: "XYZ Company requests proposals for a highly-reliable, easy-to-use system capable of transmitting images from the main office to vans anywhere in the metropolitan area. Responsive bids must be received by Monday, March 5, 2007 at 8AM PST."

6.

Requirements This section is one of the most important and it usually takes the most time. From the example above, you would need to specify the size and clarity of the images to be transmitted and the necessary speed. Be sure to specify what you need, not how it is to be done unless that is essential. You might want to break this up into subsections by system, for example a) image size and quality, b) transmission (which could include both desired speed and any requirements that the transmission be secure), and c) desired options (where you might list color as a desirable option).

7.

Selection Criteria In this section you tell the bidders as much as you choose about how the winning bidder will be selected. It is a good idea to include a sentence like "The winning bidder, if any, will be selected solely by the judgement of XYZ Company." Some government RFPs are very

specific on the selection criteria. Most commercial RFPs are less precise. You may want to create a spreadsheet that awards each bid a certain range of points in each category and then have a team make a choice of the "best" bid from the ones with the top three scores.

8.

Timelines This section tells companies who want to bid on your RFP how quickly they must act and how long the process may take. Be reasonable when you set you deadlines. Don't ask for proposals for complex systems and only give the bidders a few days to respond. The larger your RFP, the more complicated the desired purchase, and the more detailed the required response, the longer the time to prepare the bid should be. This is also where you tell the bidders how long the evaluation process will take, when the bidders will be notified whether they were successful or not, and how soon they will have to deliver.

9.

Process In this section you explain how the process will work - from sending out the RFP to awarding the contract and starting the work. This section might say, for example, "bids are due on the date specified in step 8 above. All bids will be reviewed to make sure they meet all the requirements, i.e. "are responsive". All responsive bids will be scored in X categories (name the categories if you wish), and the top three bids will be evaluated by by the proposal team to select the winning bidder and an alternate. Negotiations with the winning bidder are expected to result in a contract award in 2 weeks."

10. Decide How To Send Out The RFP Most RFPs are mailed, but they do not have to be. You can send the RFP by email or post it on your company web site. Be sure to specify the name or number bidders should use to identify which RFP the are answering.

11. Decide Who To Send The RFP You may already know who the suppliers are for what you want to purchase. Your company may even have a list of acceptable vendors. If not, you can find possible vendors through your professional network, by searching on line, or by asking trusted vendors of other material for their recommendations. Don't limit the list of who you send the RFP to only "large" companies or "established" vendors. You may find better ideas and even better pricing from smaller vendors who are more interested in winning your business.

12. Send The RFP

13. An RFP offers your organization the invaluable opportunity to recruit the best possible vendors for your particular project. Many technology projects must satisfy a large list of requirements, most of which will have a variety of possible solutions. Understanding just how each vendor will approach your specific requirements helps you to understand which vendor and solution is the best fit for your needs. Asking potential vendors to provide detailed information early on can save your organization a lot of money and headaches down the road.

14.

Elements of an RFP

15. Before you circulate your RFP, ensure that it is comprehensive by considering the following elements.

16. Organizational Overview

17. Provide a short description of your organizations mission and projects. This gives the vendor some background and focus as to the needs of the project.

18. Project Goals

19. Identify the programmatic goals of the project. This allows the vendor to see how the project will serve the needs of the organization, and whether it fills a particular niche or program area or is a system that offers general support to numerous organizational goals.

20. Target Audience

21. Describe who will be using the project deliverables and how large that audience is. Include any significant technical needs your audience may have. Describe how they will interact with the site, the organization, and each other throughout the project.

22. Project Deliverables and Specifications

23. Identify the major components of the project. Describe the required features and design of each component, along with the support services you will require from the vendor both during development and after the project launch. The more details here, the more accurate the cost estimates will be. For areas where there are few rigid requirements, outline your goals and invite proposals for creative solutions.

24. Project Requirements

25. Describe the administrative requirements and guidelines for the project, including completion dates, expectations on project testing and evaluation during development, intellectual property rights, billing requirements, and the maximum price range vendors should bid within. (Note that this price range should be lower than your internal budget for the project. Always allow yourself space to negotiate up if necessary.) Indicate where you want vendors to contribute their own recommended solutions, and where they should adhere to your exact specifications.

26. Proposal Format

27. Describe the elements required in vendor bids, such as budget and cost breakdown per deliverable; tasks and timeline chart; staff roles and responsibilities; and vendor description. Outlining these elements ensures that vendors will give you what you want, and allows you to directly compare (and filter out) vendors.

28. Request for References

29. Describe what information you require in references, such as how recent or long-term the clients were, what kinds of clients you would like to hear from, what kind of contact information you need, whether they are current or past clients, and so on.

30. Proposal Delivery Instructions and Contact Information

31. To whom should proposals be addressed? How many copies should be sent? How should they be delivered (fax, email, mail), and who is the point of contact for phone inquiries? Is this a closed by invite only RFP or open, meaning you allow (or encourage) vendors to share this proposal?

32. Proposal Evaluation Timeline

33. Identify the vendor selection process and timeline. Consider that vendors may provide useful feedback during phone calls that necessitate changing a part of the RFP schedule this in so bidders know when to expect more clarifications. Adhering to a set process communicates to

vendors that you know what you are doing. Vendors often spend non-billable time on proposal writing, so managing their expectations of your process helps build harmonious relationships.

34.

Beware of the Feature List

35. Dont over-rely on feature lists of the specific functionality you are looking for! While it is important to outline what you need, too much detail can result in bidders who simply deliver to your specification, without thinking strategically. Overly detailed features lists discourage vendors from offering their best approach to meeting your goals and can lock you into particular solutions or approaches. A feature list moves you away from goals and toward technologies the expertise of the vendor you hope to hire. In insisting on a specific collection of web tools, you risk missing out on the best-considered solutions for your particular project.

36.

Disseminating Your RFP

37. Depending on your project needs, you may choose to target your RFP to specific firms, or broadly to attract more responses. A closed RFP approach targets a smaller group of known firms vendors that have come recommended from trusted sources or that you have worked with successfully in the past. By closing the RFP, you are indicating that only invited firms may respond. This approach works well if you have a network of vendors already and the project is an overall match to their skill sets. Working with a consultant can help if you still want a closed process but need help identifying recommended vendors. 38. Following an open process helps to attract more responses. An open process can help especially in situations where there may be a wide variety of approaches to meeting your needs, which can result in bigger cost and timeline disparities between responses. There are many resources for listing RFPs, some general and others that target specific industry sectors. Some example resources include The RFP Database (which you can access through its main website as well as via LinkedIn), The Foundation Center(which lists philanthropy/nonprofit RFPs), and FindRFP (which helps connect government contractors and buyers).