[consulting] "How to write a RFP"

[Sam Tresler]

I pretty much take it for granted that an RFP is going to be nothing 
more than an general indication of someones needs.  Its not their job to 
keep on top of new technology, its mine.

I include two hours free consultation, which may sound extraneous, but 
if you weed out the people who aren't serious it goes a very long way to 
getting accounts.

What you need to avoid are what a colleague of mine calls 
'Brainpickers'.  The two hours is to provide information about my 
services and ultimately 'sell' them on me, not to offer up free ideas on 
how to make their IT better - that comes later, with money.  Most 
salesman would kill for two hours with a potential client.

That said, to me, an ideal RFP should avoid any talk on the tech side. 
Tell me what you want to achieve with your website, your end goal, I'll 
tell you how... and how much.

We want to build an online community to do X. is so much more 
informative to me than someone who doesn't know social networking 
saying, "We want to have forums", when they really want buddylist and 
don't know it.

Just my $.02