- What is the project budget?
- What are the end goals of the project?
- What factors are crucial deal breakers?
- Which factors of the product or service are most important?
- Will the RFP be a multi-step process?
- How will vendors be evaluated and scored?
Common Proposal Writer Interview Questions
In this blog, you’ll see our top 101 sample questions to use in any RFP. This list includes a range of questions from general information to very specific inquiries. While closed-ended questions are easiest to score, open-ended questions evoke thoughtful, creative answers. Ideally, your RFP should contain a balance of both. Many of these questions are best suited to an RFP or RFI rather than an RFQ. The sample RFP questions included below are most useful for indirect or strategic sourcing projects where the primary goal is overall, long-term partnership value.
And there you have it — 101 sample RFP questions to help ensure your next RFP is a success. If you’re interested in more ways to improve your RFP process, consider exploring RFP management software. Sourcing software, like RFP360, centralizes the RFx process and makes it easy to create, save and edit templates for any information request.
Writing a request for proposal (RFP) isn’t easy, especially if you don’t do it every day. Indeed, it’s hard to know what to ask and there’s a lot of pressure to cover all your bases. Even if you start from an RFP template, it is always helpful to quickly review a list of the most popular sample RFP questions.
These sample RFP questions should be customized to meet the needs of your project. For instance, along with question 28, consider including a table with a list of all of your minimum requirements. Also add a corresponding column that allows prospective vendors to indicate their ability to comply with each requirement with yes, no or partially.
This section of sample RFP questions addresses the vendors’ current customers. Again, these questions are informative, but they likely won’t be pivotal in your decision. Afterall, what’s the ideal answer to a question like ‘how many customers do you serve’? Accordingly, they may not have an assigned value in your weighted scoring.
Questions to Ask Before Starting the RFP Process
Another way to approach this question is: Why are you starting the RFP process? What does your company or organization hope to improve?
Outline the problem your company is facing, including the particular pain points you encounter and areas where there is room for improvement or growth. Next, think about where you want your company to go and the steps needed to get you there.
Having a thorough understanding of the problem will help you see which vendors are suggesting a feasible solution.
Example: “I am familiar with the Uniform Commercial Code because I’ve used it in my previous roles. The UCC governs many aspects of business transactions, including sales contracts, leases and loan agreements. As an RFP specialist, I often work on projects that involve these types of agreements. For example, when working on a project for a client who needs to lease office space, I would use the UCC to ensure they are getting the best deal possible.”
Example: “I start by reading through the entire RFP document to understand what the client is looking for in a vendor. Then I compare my notes from the RFP to the qualifications listed on each vendor’s proposal. This helps me determine which vendors are most qualified to meet the client’s needs. If there are any questions that I can’t find answers to in the RFP or the vendor proposals, I reach out to the client to get clarification.”
Contract management software is a common tool used by RFP specialists. Your answer to this question can help the interviewer determine if you have experience using similar tools and how comfortable you are with them. If you do not have experience using contract management software, consider describing your comfort level with other types of software programs.
Example: “In my current role as an RFP specialist, I had to negotiate with a vendor who was asking for more money than we were willing to pay. We already paid them quite a bit, so I knew they wouldn’t want to lower their price much. Instead, I asked if they could offer us any other discounts or incentives that would help us save money while still keeping our budget in mind. They agreed to give us a discount on future orders if we placed another order within 30 days. It saved us quite a bit of money, and we didn’t have to change our budget at all.”
Example: “I first read through all of the information in the RFP, including the requirements for vendors and any other important details. I then compare this information with my notes on the client’s needs and expectations so that I can make sure everything is accurate. After confirming the accuracy of the information, I send it back to the client for review.”
Questions You Should Be Asking
Occasionally, we receive an RFP that’s missing what we believe are critical questions. These questions are important because they can help identify important differences among vendors. This is especially true when the answers are not readily available.
To help you submit the best possible RFP, we’ve assembled the top 20 questions you should ask when beginning your RFP process for third-party Oracle and SAP software support.
The questions below can help you get to the heart of how vendors operate and what kind of service you should expect from them. The questions are grouped into broad categories, including staffing, support response, services, security, compliance, onboarding, contracts, and reputation.
FAQ
What is an RFP interview?
What is RFP in vendor management?
What is an RFP checklist?
How do I prepare for an RFP?
- Write your background and introduction. …
- Define your project goals and scope of services. …
- Detail your anticipated selection schedule. …
- Describe the time and place for the submission of proposals. …
- Clearly define your timeline. …
- Specify the key elements of a proposal. …
- Make your evaluation criteria clear.
