One of the biggest reasons I’m offering this website is to help new consultants to understand RFPs or requests for proposals. When I was first starting out, I found them really intimidating. Picture little old me, a newbie in the consulting business, clicking my way through an 80-page document full of opaque requirements, legal jargon, and dense policy statements. Honestly, none of it made any sense. My god it was stressful. I don’t want you to go through that.
And now? Here I am, six years later, eating RFPs for breakfast. They still don’t make much sense, to be honest. But nowadays I don’t care as much.
Let me explain.
Easy ones and hard ones
First, RFPs come in two flavours. There’s the lean, thin, bare-minimum request for proposals that usually come from some poor overworked manager in a nonprofit. They have the thinnest of details. They describe what they’re trying to do in some rudimentary fashion, broadly outline the kind of talent they’re looking for, and then give you an address to send your proposal to. And they usually leave out some kind of crucial data, like what their production timeline is. But it’s not too hard to understand RFPs like this nor to process them, an it’s not too hard to email and request specific information if they’re leaving something out.
No, what I’m talking about here are the giant government RFPs. They are big enough to stun an ox, with appendices galore and links to online policies and clauses and god knows what else. I hate them.
So here’s how you understand RFPs.
First, you’ve probably been sent the thing because a) they know your work or b) you’ve matched up with a keyword on a list that you signed up for. So you can assume that you are at least peripherally connected to the subject matter. Which is good, right?
But that’s the first thing to double-check. What exactly are they asking for? And is it within your line of work?
Find the statement of work
So do not read that thing from cover to cover, unless you have a great deal of extra time on your hands—which you don’t. Instead, open that document and do a search for “statement of work.” That’s the only thing that matters. Sometimes they bury it in an attachment or an appendix, but it will be in there somewhere. Find it.
Give it a read. Does the statement of work align with what you offer? Is it the kind of work that you’re good at? That excites you? That you quit your day job for? If so, get your digital highlighter going and start underlining all the things that your’e going to need to respond to when you write your proposal.
Now, before you go too far with that (and before you get too excited and mentally spend all that money you’re going to make) you need see if you qualify. So now you’re going to do a second search for the words screening criteria or qualifications or required experience. (It may take some searching to find the right keyword).
Next find the screening criteria
That’s the section of the RFP where they outline exactly how they’re going to screen your portfolio and resume.
This one is important. Sit yourself down and use their criteria to screen yourself. (Government bids are usually quite specific here. Private companies and nonprofits tend to be less specific and more subjective, but they should still outline a set of requirements.)
Be as objective as you can here. Take a good hard look at your qualifications and experience and see if you have a reasonable chance of making their cut.
I often find that my screening exercise puts me in one of three categories.
- I am a shoo-in for this one. If I don’t win this contract I want to meet the person who does.
- I have a shot. I’m not a 100 percent fit, but I think I can demonstrate that I have what it takes.
- Hoo boy this one is a long shot.
Now if I land in number 3, I usually give it a miss, unless I think I have something to learn by going through the bidding process.
Proposals are exhausting.
Nobody is paying you a cent to do them, and they can be ridiculously time consuming—particularly when you’re just starting out. Once you have a few proposals under your belt, you’ll have chunks of boilerplate text that you can paste into future proposals with a minimum of change. But until you have that text on file, you can spend a lot of time composing a proposal. My record was four solid days of work—long days. I busted my ass on that proposal, and when I was finished I discovered they were only accepting it via hard copy. I had no time left to send it via post—so picture me schlepping across the city to drop the thing off personally, only to discover a couple of weeks later that they changed their mind about the project and weren’t proceeding. (But hey, thanks for your proposals, everyone!) Am I bitter? Taste me.
So don’t waste your time on RFPs.
If the statement of work doesn’t scream your name, and if you can’t objectively screen yourself in to within at least spitting distance of a good match, file it away and move on.
Once you’ve made a decision to pursue the proposal, you’ll need to actually read the rest of the RFP, as tedious as that may seem. I mean, if it’s an organization that you’ve done contracts for in the past, you’re probably already familiar with their policies and ways of doing things. But if the organization is new to you, get that highlighter ready to go and make sure there aren’t any nasty surprises in there. You really do need to understand RFPs in depth before you commit to the organization.
RFP Red Flags
The first thing to look on your third pass of the RFP is confrontational or adversarial language. Look for any indication that this client has had a negative experience with contractors in the past.
“Late submissions will have XX dollars per day subtracted from invoices.” “Failure to attend meetings punctually will result in penalties of XX” etc.
These are a large red flag. They indicate that somebody hurt them in the past and you’re going to pay for it.
I’m not saying that the client needs to be a pushover, or needs to put up with unprofessional behaviour from you the contractor. Of course not.
I’m saying that an RFP should come with a reasonable expectation of professional behaviour on your part and on theirs. The tone of their RFP should be businesslike, positive, and professional—and the tone of your response should be the same. If the subtext of their RFP is screaming DON’T SCREW WITH US WE ARE ONTO YOU CONTRACTORS, I think you should think twice about dealing with them. Nobody needs to work in that kind of environment.
What about intellectual property rights?
Another thing to search for in the RFP are clauses about intellectual property rights. What are they expecting you to sign over? Are you licensing your work to them for a period of time, and for a specific use? Or will they claim full rights to everything you produce for them, in perpetuity and for all uses?
Don’t make any assumptions about intellectual property. You need to make sure you’re fully comfortable with assigning them the rights that they want. The greater the scope of the property they’re claiming, the higher your price should be.
When and how are they going to pay you?
Now, search for “basis of payment”. Or, just do a search for dollar signs. (A metaphor for life, really.)
Somewhere in the document they just might tell you what their budget is for this thing. I find that happens in maybe one in ten RFPs in my line of work, but it’s a beautiful thing when it happens. It allows you to make a call as to whether or not it’s going to be worth your time.
“Basis of payment” also refers to how they intend to pay you. Will you get a percentage when you sign up? Or are they planning on paying you when the whole thing is delivered and accepted? Be aware that that can be months and months after you start a project. Can you live with that? In a perfect world, longer projects always come with milestone payments. Phase 1, 20%, phase 2, 20% and so on. Otherwise the bank accounts can get pretty strained.
Summing it up: Understanding RFPs
- Just read the statement of work. See if the job is for you.
- Screen yourself against their criteria. Do you have a fighting chance?
- Look for any red flags like adversarial language or unreasonable timelines.
- See if there’s a budget. Check the basis of payment.
- Read everything else before you submit your proposal.