Article Idea:
RFPs: Just Say, “No!”
suggested by Kyle Soucy on 2008/04/10
After being a UX consultant for five years I’ve learned a lot about the Request For Proposal (RFP) process. Over the years, I’ve received a countless number of RFPs and it took a lot of guidance from mentors and a sales coach before I understood the pitfalls of the RFP process and how to avoid them.
This article is not just an exposé of the RFP process and a cautionary tale for UX consultants; the goal of it is to also educate prospective clients on a better process for reaching out and hiring us. As UX professionals I think it’s our job to increase client awareness on the dangers of RFPs and to help them understand why it’s not the right tool for them to use to solicit our services.
The article will serve two audiences: the people who write RFPs and the consultants/vendors that receive them. Topics covered will include:
~ The truth behind RFPs – why you most likely won’t win the bid
~ Why you shouldn’t respond to RFPs
~ Why companies use RFPs
~ Why RFPs are bad for UX professionals
~ Why RFPs are bad for prospective clients
~ How to respond to RFPs (if you feel you must)
~ What prospective clients should do – alternative options to the RFP process
Want to see this idea turned into a story?
7 people said yes. | 0 people said no.
John Ferrara
81 Reputation points
Posted 2008/04/27 @ 11:12AM with
I think this would be a great article. Kyle—it sounds like you’re planning to write it with the assumption that the reader is a complete novice on the subject. I think that’s a sound assumption.
I’m terribly uninformed on sales processes, yet I realize that they have very far-reaching implications for a project. I certainly wouldn’t know what alternatives to an RFP would be available. So having something like this to brush up on the more businessy side of design would, in my mind, be tremendously helpful.