If you are getting ready to embark on a large Website project, or any project for that matter, you probably have some companies in mind whose work you admire. You also have probably short-listed these companies because they are experts in their field. These companies know more than you do about this process, and you are admiring of their work because this level of expertise and know-how clearly shows.
So, why on earth would you send them a 50+ page document, asking for time consuming and meaningless tasks to be performed like financial audits, staff resumes, exact response formats following your outline and 10 printed and bound copies making every environmentally conscious member of that company cringe at your insensitivity? Note: I realize the paper copy request may only offend those of us working exclusively in the digital realm.
Why would you force these companies you admire to answer pointless questions which hint at a misguided pretense that you know more about this soon to be embarked upon process than the company you are requesting a proposal from does?
Why wouldn’t you reach out, have a discussion, and then ask that company what the best next steps would be in order to get a proposal?
I don’t presume you should know the first thing about how to develop a successful Website project, after all, that’s why you are sending me the RFP in the first place correct? I am also much too busy to be anything more than annoyed at your RFP if it asks me to jump through multiple hoops and provide meaningless data. Why would you ask me to waste my time and my firm’s time doing counter productive things which will tell you little about us, our process, or what we would create for you, in response to a document which tells me very little about you?
And worst of all, how could you think these canned, dry, worried over and b.s. riddled proposals you might get back will truly help you make an educated decision?
To me – it’s a prime example of waste begetting waste. If you tossed the stupid RFP in the can and just got in touch, you actually might connect with the perfect agency for your needs. Then again, I’ve been called an optimist and told I should never seek employment in the government sector.
Post Rant Note – Yes I do realize some public institutions and organizations are required to follow a strict process to ensure fairness in the procurement process. But my point is that even within that sterile process, it’s pretty easy to let an agency know why you want them to give you a proposal, and make that extra effort to connect. If you don’t, people like me assume you are simply sending us the RFP to fulfill an internal requirement to solicit a certain number of responses, which people like me find quite annoying.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
You raise an interesting point on the typical RFP submission process. I believe that an initial phone call, before anything else, can really do wonders and can set a promising tone.
Hi Justin,
Thanks for your comment. I do believe something as simple as a preliminary phone call to get that human connection working would do wonders in getting more responses to a RFP. It’s often such a formal and cold process, which can be unsettling when you are providing a quote on a project which may require everyone working together for the next 2 years!
Tracey-
I couldn’t agree more. I know we had a brief twitter conversation about this. I recently was sent just such an RFP for a very small (by our standards) project. It was annoying and ridiculous.
I think the problem is that clients have been trained that the only way to get the best agency is to request proposals through this insane process. We have been trying to train clients in a different process since process since we started our business. It’s a relationship model. We talk, we interview each other, we go on a date or two, and eventually we decide that we want to do business together. We both know what we are getting into and what the process is going to look like. No surprises.
I’m not sure where the RFP process that many companies punish us with, but I do know that the company that creates the best RFP response is often not the company you want to do business with.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Greg
Hi Greg,
Yes – my brief Twitter rant turned into a blog post. I do hope the trend away from such insanity is something I can look forward to. While I do recognize businesses and orgs might use this process to narrow it down to finalists, who are then invited to meet in person, there is still a disconnect if no personal connection is made during the initial process. And honestly, I consider these RFPs that I describe as a clear indicator that we are a BAD potential match, which is why I rarely respond. One thing we aren’t is a bunch of bean counters, but I do realize some corporate structures and internal bureaucracies require this level of BS to give some credence to their own processes
Amen! I just spent the better part of the day on a large corporation’s B2B site, trying to access an NDA that will eventually (hopefully) reveal an RFP. The corp. obviously wants to consider us for the work — they have 3 dedicated people in “procurement” (that word is always a bad sign) trying to help me access the material — yet not one of them can just pick up the phone and tell me what the project is. If a relationship is this impersonal right off the bat, how can good design result? And I don’t think the potential client means to be this difficult, it’s just all they know.
Kurt,
Agree – you have to think the way a project starts, is often a great indicator of how the project will go if you do land it. I particularly dislike dealing with potential clients whose IT teams are purposefully making things difficult, learned behavior that arises out of a culture of job protection. I think IT people sometimes use their high tech lingo and the fact that no one else understands how to work with expensive equipment and software as a barrier to communication or to thwart change or progress. Hey! Sounds like a good topic for another blog post! Thanks for your comment, and good luck getting that RFP!