Requests for proposals, or RFPs, are useful roadmaps to finding the correct agency partner for your brand.
As business development manager at a financial PR and marketing agency, I have seen dozens of RFPs come across my desk. Some are spot on while others are just plain confusing.
Here’s how to make sure you can set up your RFP for success and receive the best possible proposals:
- Know what you want. It is beyond challenging to respond to a brief without goals. Think about what would constitute success specifically for your brand. The entire team should be in agreement about these goals as well. Everyone involved in the decision-making process should be on the same page. Examples could include an increase in sales, greater awareness of company spokespeople, improving public image and attracting more investors. They are unique to each brand and are the crux of any communications plan.
- Timing is everything. Be specific about “when.” Are you looking for help with a one-time project for three months or do you have a multitude of projects that require a monthly retained relationship? List out time constraints and highlight events that will dictate tactics and actions moving forward. This helps you set up a system of deliverables, and helps your future agency to plan for resourcing internally.
- Who are you? Tell your story the way you it want it to be told. A detailed overview of how you internally and externally describe your brand is extremely helpful. This should include your mission, purpose and what makes you different. This allows agencies to provide tailored and creative solutions that align with your goals.
- Who is your audience? You likely have many audiences. These could include your current customers, a broad industry, the media and consultants. As an exercise, create a profile for each of these groups. Identify each target market segment so an agency can suggest appropriate messages for each.
- Talk budget. Placing a dollar amount in the proposal might feel like negotiating against yourself, but being transparent will make the process more efficient for everyone. Don’t give wide budget parameters—10%-15% is enough flexibility. Break down what you are prepared to invest in a monthly engagement or a lump sum for a project. This helps weed out expensive agencies before investing time. Nothing is worse than falling in love with an agency only to realize you can’t afford them later. You’ll also be able to evaluate agencies on a level playing field and find out who can deliver the most for a set amount of money.
- Allow questions. Even the best RFP may leave some open items. Include a time period in the middle of the response period for agencies to solicit information. Consider having one phone call each with agencies. I’ve also seen people ask for questions in writing and then circulate answers to everyone participating. Create a process, keep it fair and stick to it.
- Be clear and concise. If you want an agency that’s worked in a specific industry, note that. If you want to speak with agency references, ask for that too. Avoid making laundry lists covering every possible need. Every request should serve an immediate purpose. Consider outlining how you will evaluate agencies; you may want to give a breakdown of what factors are most important to you. This will help to make sure agencies highlight why they are the best partner for you on your own terms, and make a decision easier.
- Timeline. Set up a realistic timeline for you and the agencies to adhere to and list these out in the RFP to avoid any confusion. Make sure all of your team is available and able to dedicate time to review the proposals.
- Make responding easy. You want the ideas of your potential partners. Don’t make the process so complicated that agencies are focused on how to respond instead of what to say. Let everyone know how responses should be submitted and to whom. Make sure formatting requirements are kept to a minimum and easily identified.
RFPs can be complicated and time-consuming, so it’s best to try and get them as clear and concise (yet descriptive) as possible the first time around. My best advice? Just be transparent. Let agencies know where you need to go and then find the one to will help you get there.
Tara Lepelletier is a business development manager at Cognito. [email protected]