What Implementation Teams Wish Organizations Knew About Enterprise RFPs
RFPs are common in the world of enterprise software. Truly successful ones, less so.
Well-run RFPs get right to the heart of requirements, match enterprises with the right solutions, and build solid plans to launch those solutions. Disorganized RFPs significantly lengthen the decision-making process without adding the intended value.
So what separates an effective RFP from the rest?
Let’s delve into a systems integrator’s perspective of what can go right, what can go wrong, and what purposes the whole process can actually serve.
Throughout this article, “RFP” means the document a business creates to solicit responses from vendors. “RFP response” means the reply to an RFP from a vendor.
Why do organizations still run RFPs?
According to Michael Andrion, account executive and partnerships for BASE1, “There are really three different reasons for running an RFP: to select a vendor, to describe the problem that needs to be solved, and to end up with a well-scoped plan for solving it.”
Let’s break that down in a bit more detail:
- Select a vendor: You’d be surprised at how many RFPs end without a vendor decision being made. An RFP may fail to result in a decision for multiple reasons, including an unexpected business acquisition, a change in budget, timeline issues, and more. Thorough preparation and buy-in from stakeholders can help ensure a successful outcome.
- Describe the problem that needs to be solved: An RFP can be a highly effective tool for internal interrogation, so you can clarify what problems stakeholders truly want to address.
- Build a well-scoped plan for solving it: When done well, the RFP process will give you answers to questions about timelines, pricing, and staffing.
RFPs can be driven by compliance requirements or internal governance, but can also act as useful early discovery activities. Organizations use RFPs as a sort of first gate, or first hurdle, to see which vendors are worth having deeper discussions with.
What makes a good RFP, and what makes a bad one?
What often separates a good RFP from a bad one is finding the right level of detail.
If the RFP questions are completely generic, the business might not learn what it actually needs to know. Simultaneously, too many questions can easily result in counter-productive situations where RFPs written by AI receive responses written by AI, which are then summarized by AI.
You need well-crafted questions that are unique to your business. That way vendors can supply responses that your experts will actually read, helping them reach the right decision for your business.
How can an RFP achieve a level of open communication?
Open communication between a business and prospective vendors creates better outcomes.
However, there’s a challenge that comes with finding the right level of detail: highly detailed, nuanced questions often invite exactly the kind of deeper, looser discussion that a formalized RFP process precludes. To whatever degree possible (and that degree varies for good reasons, especially for regulated industries), think about whether the formality of the process is preventing the kind of honest dialogue that ultimately leads to better decisions.
Two tips when it comes to RFPs:
- Ask yourself and your stakeholders whether you really need to go through the complete RFP process or whether 1:1 meetings and demos may be the right route.
- If you do go through the RFP process, plan on doing a follow-up question and answer session afterward, and/or down-select to vendors from which you’d like a more personalized demonstration.
What does a business need to know before starting an RFP process?
RFPs run more smoothly when the issuing company has already done some data gathering.
Come to the table with:
- Key metrics
- Expectations around SLAs
- A ballpark sense of budget
With this information, you’ll be able to qualify (and disqualify) the right candidates more efficiently and effectively.
Before starting an RFP, be sure you have time to run one. It’s a time-consuming process, so start with your preferred go-live date and work backwards from there. Here’s a general timeline from the Martech RFP Guide:
Do all RFPs have to follow the traditional format?
In the past couple of years, there’s been an interesting trend in the field: namely reversing or inverting the traditional RFP process. Rather than beginning with a detailed spreadsheet of requirements before moving to a demo phase, organizations first hold short demonstrations, introductory meetings, and high-level pricing discussions.
This demo-first approach allows both sides to evaluate cultural fit, communication style, technical dealbreakers, and business understanding before investing significant time in detailed documentation.
What distinguishes a strong vendor?
After the RFP response comes the evaluation. The right vendor isn’t just the one who ticks all the functional and technical boxes and the lowest price tag, important as those factors are.
The right vendor is willing to become a student of your business and dig into a day in the life of your stakeholders. A well-structured RFP can show you which vendors are willing to do exactly that and to step outside of their comfort zones when and where you’ll need them to.
Ask yourself if the vendor just went through the motions, or if they actually understand your unique business needs.
What distinguishes a strong implementation partner?
The strongest implementation partners demonstrate a clear understanding of the customer’s business before tying those requirements to any specific technology.
Here are the green flags to look for in a strong implementation partner. The partner should:
- Arrive prepared
- Ask thoughtful questions
- Share relevant customer stories
- Focus on being true partners rather than rote order-takers
If you’re involving partners in your RFP process, challenge them to do some real analysis. Challenging questions are a good indicator that the business is truly invested in making the implementation a success.
Final takeaway: it never hurts to ask a question!
At its best, an enterprise CX RFP is an opportunity to improve communication, surface assumptions, encourage honest dialogue, and make better-informed decisions before implementation begins. Enter the process with eyes open and schedule planned, gather your key data and metrics before kicking off, and build a core set of meaningful questions.
Have deeper discussions as soon as they’re relevant. Don’t be afraid to ask for numbers. And to whatever degree you’re able, shape the process to your organization’s specific priorities. Asking the right questions goes a long way toward getting the best possible answers.
For even more insights, watch this podcast session, and for more RFP process best practices and sample questions, check out the Martech RFP Guide.
Joe Devine is partnerships and alliance manager for SAP Engagement Cloud.
Drew Messinger-Michaels is head of Sales at BASE1.
