I believe strongly in Requests for Proposals (RFPs) as a tool for companies to find the best products and services at competitive prices, but also as an evaluation method for finding that elusive "best fit". However, too often the RFP process is run by people who have never experienced the process before, either from the issuer or vendor side, and essentially don't know what to say or what to ask. My goal in this article is give you the basics that you might need to create your own RFP and run a RFP process without too much frustration. As an example I'm going to use a small website redesign project (because that's what we do), but I hope you'll be able to extract the concepts you need for your own project.

Step 1: do your research and define what you are seeking

Don't jump into the RFP without doing your own internal homework. After receiving your RFP vendors will be beating down your door with dozens of questions; you're not going to want to be scrambling to find out answers which could then derail your timeline (more on that later). Defining your project as best you can will enable you to pass that information on to potential vendors, but also receive proposals that are tailored to your needs (pricing and project plans) by vendors who understand the project they are bidding on.

Example:You say you want a website redesign. Do you have existing brand material that will be used in the design or does that need to be created? Do you have the content for your new site written, or will that need to be created by the vendor or through a collaborative process? Do you envision this as a 5 page website or a large, 100+ page website? Who will be handling upkeep of the site, hosting, etc.? Do you need a Content Management System for maintaining the site and keeping it up to date or do you think it's going to stay fairly static? Are there any interactive pieces you need in the site or specific functionalities that will need to be implemented? Does the website need to interact with any database or 3rd party software?

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the types of questions that vendors will be asking you. The more you know about your project, the better the answers you'll be able to give to guide the vendors into great proposals. Yes, vendors will also be asking you questions you've never considered (which is a good thing), so be prepared to do additional definition work once you've received the questions from them.

Step 2: decide your distribution strategy and information publication

How will you be distributing your RFP, how will you be collecting information from potential vendors, and where will you be providing project updates?

My first recommendation is to create a project page or project site that will house your project overview, contact information, timeline, the RFP for download, and all other project documentation that you need to share with vendors. Include a link to this page in your RFP and direct people to it as a central repository for the project.

My second recommendation is to think long and hard on whom you'd like to be bidding on this project. For example, are you only going to entertain proposals from companies local to you, or does location not matter so much? Do you only want to receive proposals from a specific number of vendors that you invite to participate, or do you want to open the process up to

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