Based on reader’s responses and feedback from my post on LinkedIn, when it comes to RPFs, most people seem to fall into the “necessary evil”.
Fellow reader Nicole wrote a LinkedIn article about this topic, I recommend you check it out as it goes into much further depth than I did.
My overall impression from all this feedback is:
- Some vendors can create a very strong business due to RFPs. If this is you, congrats. You must have a winning formula
- Most vendors don’t like open RFPs, as too much work is involved for a too small chance of closing the project
- Most vendors like closed or short-listed RFPs, as they have a high chance of success
- Sometimes the RFP process takes so long, the project could have been finished (or close to being finished) if a single vendor was chosen from the start
FYI, I recently participated in an open RFP. While the potential client was wonderful through the process, I didn’t win the project. Not sure whether I’ll try again in the future.
The takeaway
Hopefully people on both sides of the RFP table treat each other with kindness and transparency through this challenging process.
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Salesforce