Responding to RFPs is not like shooting fish in a barrel.  It’s more like trying to find a lost contact lens in the dark.  There are many factors as to why it’s so hard to respond to an RFP, but the two factors I see the most include:

• RFPs that contain too little information in the RFP on which to hang your hat on, leaving a service provider scratching her/his head and saying “huh?”
• RFPs that contain the kitchen sink leaving the service provider rolling his/her eyes toward the ceiling.

In both cases, the writer of the RFP isn’t sure what he/she wants, and so he/she takes a stab in the dark rather than take the time to stop and think about what he/she needs.  This tends to be caused by waiting too long to put out the cry for help. So, for the uninitiated, here are three steps for writing an RFP that will get you what you need.

Step One:  Take the time to sit down with a pen and pad of paper and make a list of what you want.  Do you want someone to post your writings to your blog?  Do you want someone to help you with marketing or business development?  Now, go through that list and put an asterisk next to each item that you need (not want).  What’s the difference?  As humans, we tend to want everything, but we don’t necessarily need everything.  Put only your needs in the RFP, and put the wants aside for later.  (Just a wee lesson in prioritization from ExtraOrdinary Assistance.)

Step Two:  Communicate your needs clearly.  If you need someone to set up your website to accept money/payments, but you don’t know what that’s called (it’s called e-commerce setup and implementation, by the way), then say “need someone to set up a payment system on my website.” Don’t know what payment system you want to use?  Then your RFP needs to say “need someone to recommend and set up a payment system on my website.”  Don’t say “website updating or technical work.”  Both phrases are too vague and encompass much more than “set up a payment system on my website.”  Vague forces service providers to search for a lost contact lens in the dark.

Step Three:  Include contact information.  This means your full name and email address, website url/address, social media urls and possibly your telephone number (unless you want to hear your phone ring nonstop, I suggest leaving your telephone number out of the RFP). 

That’s it.  A little extra time and effort, and you too can create an RFP that will gather targeted responses instead of every man, woman and child emailing you with responses that are so off-base you’ll wish you had never issued the RFP.

Want to use this blog post on your blog or in your ezine?  No problem.  Just email me at va@extra-assist.com, and I’ll be happy to send you a copy that you can cut and paste into your ezine or blog.