The request for proposal is the most underused tool in software buying. Done well, it forces every vendor onto the same questions and makes their answers genuinely comparable. Done badly, it produces a stack of marketing prose that tells you nothing and takes a week to read.
Why most RFPs fail
The typical RFP asks open questions -- “describe your reporting capabilities” -- and gets open answers back. Every vendor sounds capable because the question never demanded proof. You end up comparing adjectives.
Ask questions only one answer can satisfy
Replace broad prompts with specific, testable ones. Instead of asking a vendor to describe their integrations, describe your situation and ask exactly what you need to know.
Weak question: “Tell us about your API.” Strong question: “We sync 40,000 records nightly from system X -- show how your API handles that volume and what happens when a record fails.”
What every RFP should contain
- Context. Your size, industry, current stack and the problem in plain language. Vendors answer better when they understand you.
- Scenario questions. Real workflows described in detail, with a request to walk through how the product handles each.
- Hard constraints. Budget range, deployment model, timeline and compliance needs stated up front -- so unfit vendors can decline rather than waste both sides’ time.
- A pricing template. A fixed table every vendor fills in identically, so you compare totals rather than decode quotes.
Keep it proportional
A two-hundred-question RFP for a mid-market tool signals a buyer who does not know what matters. Strong vendors may simply opt out. Twenty to thirty sharp questions beat two hundred generic ones, and they respect everyone’s time -- including the people who must read the responses.
Score before you read
Decide how you will weight the answers before responses arrive. Scoring after the fact lets the most persuasive writer win, which is rarely the best product.
The bottom line
An RFP is not paperwork; it is a filter. A precise one tells you which vendors can do the specific job in front of you -- and quietly removes the ones who were only ever going to sound good.