The Secrets of Successful RFPs

Secret #12 – In the RFP, identify your communications strategy with offerors.
 

Hear what the President of NIGP says about this book . . .

“I have found the Request for Proposal Handbook by Michael Asner to be a great training tool for my buyer staff. Although I have an experienced staff, they have had limited exposure in their careers to RFPs. The best practices information, examples and checklists all have proven to be wonderful tools. Thank you Michael.”
 

Ron Watkins CPPO, Purchasing Manager
City of Grand Junction, Colorado
President, National Institute of Governmental Purchasing
 

www.rfpmentor.com
 

This snapshot is taken from our new 400-page reference text, The Request For Proposal Handbook (Third Edition).  This book focuses on best RFP practices that will help you be successful. Chapter 5 of The Request For Proposal Handbook (Third Edition) identifies five excellent RFP manuals. 
 

Secret #12 – In the RFP, identify your communications strategy with offerors.
 

Chapter VII of New York State’s Procurement Guidelines deals exclusively with RFPs. In about 50 pages, they cover the process. And they do it well, transmitting large amounts of direction and advice to the reader. The document identifies both essential and optional policies and procedures. 
 

The Guideline discusses different ways in which the agency can work with the offerors to refine or revise the specifications. This is one of the few manuals I’ve discovered that offers this sort of discussion.
 

Here is the advice from New York state:
 

The agency may develop communication strategies with offerers with the aim of balancing the need to refine requirements, specifications and expectations of the agency with the need to disseminate information to offerers concerning the agency's needs. Strategies must be described in the RFP and usually scheduled after the issuance of the RFP, but prior to the submission of proposals. These strategies may include:
 

1. . . . meetings with each offerer to discuss feasibility of the program, the offerer's capabilities and limitations with respect to the requirements;
 

2.  . . . on-site walk throughs . . . 
 

3. . . . RFP clarifications to modify, eliminate or add requirements reflecting the availability of products and services or the lack thereof . . . 
 

4.  . . . the opportunity for technical conferences that would enable agencies to respond to offerer questions regarding the preparation of Technical and Financial Proposals . . .  
 

Learn how you can reduce the risks by developing a more effective RFP and a better process. Learn about this RFP Guide and four others. Learn about the best practices from more than sixty jurisdictions based on Michael Asner’s 20-years of experience. 
 

www.rfpmentor.com
 

Chapter 5 of The Request For Proposal Handbook (Third Edition) focuses on excellent RFP manuals. Those few publications which are easy to read and convey solid advice in terms of ‘best practices’. Chapter 5 features publications from New Mexico, New York, the Federal Transit Administration, Massachusetts and Montana.
 

The entire 400-page book focuses on how to create effective, low-risk RFPs. You will learn about best practices that will help you be successful.
 

 
www.rfpmentor.com