Imagine you’re buying a house. Your first step would be to create a list of criteria for your realtor. These criteria might specify a particular location, price, size, floor plan, or feature, such as a fenced-in yard. Imagine what would happen if you didn’t specify any details and just said “show me houses.” What are the chances you would find your dream home?
Now, imagine that instead of buying a house, you’ve been handed the daunting task of writing a telecom vendor RFP for your business. Much like the home-buying process, you’ll need to spell out the details in order to have success!
How do you start writing a detailed RFP? Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself that will help you get the results you are looking for:
What is My Current State of Telecom?
What services do I have now? How much am I paying? Am I happy with my current services and pricing? Before you begin your RFP process, you need to first understand your business’s current state of telecom and then determine the shape of your telecom future.
What are My Telecom Needs?
It is important to put some honest thought into your telecom needs before you write your RFP. What services are the most valuable when it comes to running my business? An RFP can help explain these services and help vendors clearly understand what you are looking for, and will help you obtain proposals that are on target to meet your needs.
What Will My Telecom Needs be in the Future?
Where do I see my business in a year? Five years? Ten years? Creating a long-term technology road map will help you plan now for your future telecom needs.
Who Are the Telecom Vendors?
Before you submit your RFP, you need to research which vendors offer the services you need. From your research you should aggregate a list of 5-8 vendors who span the 3 tiers of telecom. As you create this list, consider customer testimonials to learn what current customers are saying about your potential vendor. This will help differentiate between the vendors that are worth your time, and potentially your business.
What is My Timeline?
When you write your RFP, be sure to set a deadline for your potential vendors to respond. By establishing a deadline, you’ll receive vendor responses in a timely fashion which will help speed up the decision-making process.
The RFP is indeed critical to getting the services you need to run your business. The more detail that you can include in your RFP, the better.
C3 can create your RFP in a way that allows you to get the services you need with the best pricing structure. If you have questions about our RFP writing process or would like assistance from an industry expert, contact C3 today.
