10052016 ssp seminar2_harley

SSP FALL SEMINARS 2016: Successfully Executing an RFP Process

RFP Dos (and some Don’ts) Pam Harley SENIOR CONSULTANT, CLARKE & COMPANY 5 October 2016

TEL 202 545 7258 EMAIL [email protected]

PUBLISHER—Long tenure in publishing division at American Psychiatric Association, where I held various roles that involved RFP management from the publisher perspective.

SOFTWARE VENDOR—Stint at Silverchair, where I was involved in responding to a LOT of RFPs for semantic services, online product development, and platform hosting. Including a “Bakeoff”!

CONSULTANT—Currently with Clarke & Company, where we help clients manage various types of RFPs as well as respond to RFPs for our consulting services.

Why Me?

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DIGITAL / CONTENT STRATEGY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

CUSTOMER / INDUSTRY INSIGHT SALES / MARKETING STRATEGY

BUSINESS OPERATIONS ANALYSIS

C L A R K E & CO M PA N Y

RFP Dos and Don’ts

Make sure the Request for Proposal (RFP) process is the right tool for your needs. §  Do you have a clear understanding of the business needs the solution is

intended to solve? Is your scope sufficiently focused?

§  Do you have detailed requirements with internal agreement around them?

§  Do you have a good understanding of the solutions on the market? Do you have a good sense of the viable vendors/partners?

§  Do you have multiple internal stakeholders and need an inclusive and unbiased approach to decision making?

§  Are you ready to make a decision/purchase?

RFP Dos (and some Don’ts)

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When is the RFP process NOT the right tool? §  As a replacement for doing your own research (into potential solutions on the

market)

§  To vet dissimilar solutions (where “apples to apples” comparison is not possible)

§  To get high-level cost estimates for budgeting

§  When your business goals are unclear

§  When you lack a clear understanding of your requirements


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What if you aren’t sure? Start with a Project Charter. §  Project Charter = statement of scope, objectives, and stakeholders in a project.

§  The Project Charter defines: •  Situation/problem and how it fits into company strategy •  Desired outcomes and results •  Value of taking on the project •  How success in meeting objectives will be measured •  In-scope and out-of-scope items •  Project team and decision-makers •  Parameters such as business-critical dates and budget that impact the project

§  Use the Project Charter to help decide what tool (RFP, RFQ, RFI) is best for getting at what you needed.


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Remember: The RFP is a process, not a document. §  Design a process that helps you evaluate the potential solutions and select the one

that best fits your needs.

§  Keep lines of communication with potential vendors/partners open throughout the process (don’t disappear after the RFP is released).

§  Be responsive to requests for more information/clarifications.

§  BUT—give vendors a deadline well in advance of the proposal due date for questions/clarifications. Otherwise you’ll have a frantic last-minute rush of requests.

§  Ask for expressions of interest from vendors before you release the RFP. On release of the RFP, ask for confirmation that vendor will be submitting a proposal so you’ll know how many proposals you’ll get.


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Structure the RFP process so that it allows you to identify true differentiators between vendors/partners and allows you to focus on what matters most to YOUR organization. §  Prioritize requirements internally. §  When evaluating solutions, weight business needs based on priority (all

requirements are not equal!) §  Avoid asking vendors for things that you know you won’t use in your evaluation. §  Look beyond “table stakes”—how do the solutions differ? How do those differences

align with your business priorities? §  Beware vaporware (“Show me on a live site.” “How many times have you deployed

this solution? For which clients?). §  Do not discount cultural fit.


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Allow sufficient time and breathing room in the RFP schedule. §  Plan ahead—it’s much easier to make good decisions and negotiate good

agreements when you have enough time. •  Time to create the RFP documentation and process •  Send a “save the date” so vendors can set aside time •  Time for vendors to respond to the RFP •  Time to winnow to finalists •  Time for vendors to prep for finalist presentations •  Time for your organization to analyze responses and make a decision

§  Be aware of internal resourcing constraints (e.g., annual meetings). §  Stick to the schedule and keep the momentum going—don’t let any phase

languish. Rushing any phase of the process can put the outcome at risk.


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Think strategically about what information about your business to share as part of the RFP process. §  What information is “must have” in order for vendors to prepare proposals/

offers? Should any information be held back (e.g., certain category of revenue, current number of subscribers) to allow you to better evaluate proposal responses?

§  Clarity and accuracy in information provided in the RFP are critical. (This can be more challenging that you think, as the RFP may aggregate information from different parts of your organization.)

§  Your budget?


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Remember: You are not done until you have an executed contract. §  Have general agreement on financial/business terms, roles/responsibilities before

contract negotiations begin. §  A consultant can be helpful as a “buffer” between staff and vendor/partner during

negotiations. §  Get good legal input (from someone knowledgeable about publishing). §  What happens on termination of the contract? (Do you get your content back? In what

form? What about subscriber data?) Write exit conditions into the contract. §  Watch out for contract term lengths that extend too far into the future—what seems like

a good deal now might not be 7 years from now. §  Watch out for auto-renewals as well—they can be timesavers, but if they specify more

than a year you risk locking yourself into a too-long agreement by default.


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Get help (from a consultant) if you need it.


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Working Effectively with Consultants

§  High-value, mission-critical initiative and you want to accelerate speed of the project

§  Seek a broad view of the market and what similar organizations are doing §  Insufficient industry/technology experience on internal team to properly

complete a comprehensive RFP §  Extra bandwidth—just can’t do it in house because not enough time §  Need a fresh perspective §  Provide a non-partisan authority, objectivity, impartial third party (i.e.,

“politics”…) §  Counterbalance information asymmetry when dealing with vendors,

commercial publishers, or other organizations

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When Should You Consider a Consultant? C L A R K E & CO M PA N Y

§  Reach out to your network—who have they worked with to solve similar problems?

§  Look for a consultant who •  Has a good track record with similar organizations •  Has repeat clients •  Understands the nuances of your market

§  Consider whether consultants from outside your professional space will need extra time (and more of your money) to get up to speed in understanding your business.

How Do You Pick the Right Consultant?

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§  Engage actively with consultants as part of the selection process. •  Does consultant understand your business? Your challenges? Does consultant solicit your

input? •  Engage in dialog about your questions, challenges—what is consultant’s proposed

approach? Does it resonate? •  Is the consultant responsive? •  Do you have good rapport with the consultant? Respect his/her input? •  Look for a consultant who acts like a peer, or a partner—not a vendor.


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§  Unless schedule, budget, and scope are well defined up front, an RFP is likely to not be your best tool to select a consultant.

•  Proposals that result from RFPs can be difficult to compare as they may assume very different scope, approach, timeline, and budget.

§  Don’t hesitate to negotiate with a consultant if you like their approach—they may be able to adjust approach without loss of results if they have a better idea of your budget.

§  Be on the lookout for bias—e.g., does the consultant have a vested interest in a particular vendor or software?


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