Vendor selection and the RFP/RFQ process

'Tis the season for identifying your vendors for the upcoming calendar and fiscal years. This can be a daunting process for some, but nothing to get too worried about. Here are three tips to selecting the right vendor for your upcoming economic development or municipal marketing project.
1. Expertise
When you line your vendors up head-to-head, you want to compare them on the same criteria. Create a scorecard listing the things important to you and ask each vendor about those topics. If at all possible, quantify their responses in order to get a clear result. For example, if having a vendor with at least 10 years experience or a staff of 12 that can be dedicated to your project is important to you, then ask those questions. You're in charge, so don't settle for a vendor that doesn't meet your criteria.

2. Relationship
How are you greeted by this vendor? What was your first interaction like? What impression did you get from visiting their web site? Could you work with this person? Many people de-emphasize relationship in vendor selection, but it can make all the difference in the end. I recommend working with vendors you feel comfortable with, trust, and enjoy working and speaking with. This makes the process more enjoyable up front and in any bad situations, you know your vendor will do right by you.

3. Communication
Before contacting any vendor, know what you want to accomplish specifically and ask the vendor plainly if they can help you get there. Contact Lancing Direct for more information on documents you can use in this process such as creative briefs and user requirement documents. These formal outlines will ensure that you get exactly what you want with no deviations and most importantly no surprises!

The RFP/RFQ process is larger than the scope of this blog entry, but look for more information on this in a future post. In the meantime, I hope these basics can get you started! Good luck in your searches.