I run a company called BizgetIT and we help SMB's create RFPs for IT service providers. These are short and sweet documents that lay out all the information that is needed but nothing more. They give the vendors what they need and organize the thoughts of the SMB.

I run a company called BizgetIT and we help SMB's create RFPs for IT service providers. These are short and sweet documents that lay out all the information that is needed but nothing more. They give the vendors what they need and organize the thoughts of the SMB.

I run a company called BizgetIT and we help SMB's create RFPs for IT service providers. These are short and sweet documents that lay out all the information that is needed but nothing more. They give the vendors what they need and organize the thoughts of the SMB.

For starters, one would hope/think that your business offerings are clearly defined enough so that you a: only bother with RFPs that are in your area of expertise and b: you'd have enough boilerplate about what you do to answer at least 50% of any RFP of interest without even reading the RFP. It's your business – you should know what you do. If you've got to recreate documentation about your line of business every time you write a response, spend a little time on the old whiteboard figuring out what it is you do. Service companies that are all things to all people suck.

If you are spending hours writing responses for work that you know you won't get who had got the problem here – you or the client who sent an RFP/RFQ? And if you are just trolling and sending out a response to every RFP… well, you're a meathead.

You can often use your response to RFPs as a way to frame your discussions with potential clients. We use them regularly as a means to properly determine scope and as a gentle way to help clients remove their heads from their asses.

Lastly, and this totally reflects my contractor-whore bias, but there are more than a few times where the SOW and contract get so mangled over time with mods that going back to the RFP is the only way to get the work effort back under control. Go through a couple of years, have a few COs change and it's quite possible the client has no idea what they really want anymore. In that case the RFP almost becomes like a document from the Founding Fathers, and a great way to save your ass.

On an unrelated note – It was great to see you Rich. Any luck in finding Bula?

For starters, one would hope/think that your business offerings are clearly defined enough so that you a: only bother with RFPs that are in your area of expertise and b: you'd have enough boilerplate about what you do to answer at least 50% of any RFP of interest without even reading the RFP. It's your business – you should know what you do. If you've got to recreate documentation about your line of business every time you write a response, spend a little time on the old whiteboard figuring out what it is you do. Service companies that are all things to all people suck.

If you are spending hours writing responses for work that you know you won't get who had got the problem here – you or the client who sent an RFP/RFQ? And if you are just trolling and sending out a response to every RFP… well, you're a meathead.

You can often use your response to RFPs as a way to frame your discussions with potential clients. We use them regularly as a means to properly determine scope and as a gentle way to help clients remove their heads from their asses.

Lastly, and this totally reflects my contractor-whore bias, but there are more than a few times where the SOW and contract get so mangled over time with mods that going back to the RFP is the only way to get the work effort back under control. Go through a couple of years, have a few COs change and it's quite possible the client has no idea what they really want anymore. In that case the RFP almost becomes like a document from the Founding Fathers, and a great way to save your ass.

On an unrelated note – It was great to see you Rich. Any luck in finding Bula?

For starters, one would hope/think that your business offerings are clearly defined enough so that you a: only bother with RFPs that are in your area of expertise and b: you'd have enough boilerplate about what you do to answer at least 50% of any RFP of interest without even reading the RFP. It's your business – you should know what you do. If you've got to recreate documentation about your line of business every time you write a response, spend a little time on the old whiteboard figuring out what it is you do. Service companies that are all things to all people suck.

If you are spending hours writing responses for work that you know you won't get who had got the problem here – you or the client who sent an RFP/RFQ? And if you are just trolling and sending out a response to every RFP… well, you're a meathead.

You can often use your response to RFPs as a way to frame your discussions with potential clients. We use them regularly as a means to properly determine scope and as a gentle way to help clients remove their heads from their asses.

Lastly, and this totally reflects my contractor-whore bias, but there are more than a few times where the SOW and contract get so mangled over time with mods that going back to the RFP is the only way to get the work effort back under control. Go through a couple of years, have a few COs change and it's quite possible the client has no idea what they really want anymore. In that case the RFP almost becomes like a document from the Founding Fathers, and a great way to save your ass.

On an unrelated note – It was great to see you Rich. Any luck in finding Bula?