Our clients love the use case approach for RFPs because it focuses everyone on their desired destination instead of a stale requirements workbook that no one reads. Use cases tell the story of what a client’s ideal process would look and feel like, and it allows everyone to be more intentional with what is truly needed. Providers who demonstrate a client’s use cases within their platform tend to be the most successful (screenshots and “Trust us!” only go so far). 

The short answer is no, because it doesn’t ensure parity. It’s extremely important for the RFP process to be as fair as possible, which isn’t possible if sales teams have an open door to the client team. Clients also explicitly request that all communications from included providers be funneled through IA so they can focus on evaluating everyone equally.

We have found this timing to be best because it increases collaboration. In a standard RFP, providers are given a huge list of requirements and are expected to qualify the opportunity and respond without a true collaborative discussion or understanding of the client’s point of view. This lends to unaligned expectations, too many assumptions, and a stale starting point for a long-term relationship. A client should have a point of view, with the RFP as their hypothesis, and once a provider receives the RFP, they need the time to review and digest the materials to be prepared for a workshop.