I came across an RFP today for a web site project which made me sigh with puzzlement and frustration, which is generally what happens every time I see an RFP. We’ve all seen them – they are usually full of draconian rules and stipulations that make it practically impossible for the company requesting work to actually learn anything useful about the vendors it is considering. One thing that I found particularly offensive in the RFP that I received:

“Proposals shall not be submitted electronically or by FAX.”

In the 21st century, I would think that email would be a reasonable method of delivery.

Some other things that I see in many RFPs include restrictions on the type of paper that must be used, the size of the margins, whether the text is double-spaced, etc. Is this really necessary? Later on in the RFP, a greal deal of space is spent explaining exactly how the sections are to be structured, effectively boxing the proposal into a format that may or may not be useful at all and serves only as an annoyance.

In some cases, I can understand how a structured RFP is useful, but when it comes to a creative project like a web site, here is what a restrictive RFP does:

It deters serious agencies from even answering your RFP. The really good creative agencies who can truly do great things for your brand are most likely going to be disgusted with all the restrictions and stipulations in the RFP and will (rightly) see it as a representation of the requesting company’s lack of creative vision. This automatically lowers the quality of the end product.

It assumes that you (the requesting company) have all the answers. A web site is a creative asset to your company. You should be open to new ideas and paradigms and hungry for process improvements and marketing ideas. Draconian RFPs basically say “Despite the fact that you are a team of experienced, creative professionals, we don’t care what you think. We have determined what our paradigm is and you will fit your service into our box.”

It makes the whole thing take longer and cost more. Somebody had to write that huge RFP. This takes time and money. Next, people have to read through all the boring proposals based on the RFP. How about actually interviewing agencies first, rather than after all the time is spent doing RFPs. How about asking probing questions of the actual people that you may be working with? How about taking a good look at what they have done for other companies to get some fresh new ideas? If you actually listen to recommendations from experienced agencies with a good track record, you may be surprised at how much you can learn.

Don’t lower the quality of your new web site – say no to RFP hell and instead start by actually talking to qualified agencies before going to great lengths to push them away.