Property Management

October 2021 — Property Management Quarterly — Page 21 www.crej.com Vendor Relations A h, the request for proposal. No one likes them, accord- ing to surveys and my own anecdotal evidence. Ven- dors believe the RFPs they receive from prospective clients are repetitive and poorly written, and procurement and vendor manage- ment are not always on the same page. Many vendors believe clients flip straight to the pricing page of the RFP response. Clients say most RFP responses they receive are cut-and-paste jobs with numerous grammatical errors in the responses, contain mostly fluff and lack creativity. Most clients admit they do not read the respons- es from cover to cover. In short, clients and vendors both would prefer to avoid doing RFPs altogether. But most people believe they are necessary. So how can we be more creative to find ways to truly evaluate vendors? Of course you could follow the same tried- and-true formula or your corporate template. Most of us know what the process is, but let’s review the cur- rent standard. n The RFP. At its core, an RFP must include the project timelines; an introduction; company and project history; a definition of the proj- ect, needs and requirements; an explanation of how vendors should respond; and an outline on the selection criteria. Once it’s created, a list of vendors, often without much prequalification, is gathered and the RFP is emailed out. Typi- cally, you then receive novel-length responses and go right to the pric- ing page, skimming or skipping other pages, to select a short list, which is followed by site visits, after which you pick a vendor. n How about a reboot? The famous quote “the defini- tion of ‘insanity’ is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” certainly applies to the RFP process. Let’s face it, business as usual is just not cutting it in the RFP process. Cut-and-paste questions result in cut-and-paste answers. If you are shopping for more than price, often you end up choosing whoever can best fill out an RFP. In the end, if all else is equal, what are you truly searching for in a partnership from your vendor – culture, trust, creativ- ity, accountability? It’s time to try a different approach that isolates the problems you have and the solu- tions they may bring to the table. n Quick RFI. Often you may come up with a large list of vendors, especially for a service, product or location that you have never dealt with before. Narrowing down your vendors first is never a bad idea, even before you get to the proposal or pricing conversations. Sometimes it is good to eliminate those who you would never do business with as soon as possible, wasting less of your time and theirs. Send them a brief request for information that requires basic information. Then schedule a videoconference that poses a series of additional ques- tions to the vendor. Give them a maximum of two to three minutes to respond verbally to specific ques- tions. This helps gain a bit of familiar- ity and understanding of vendors and their capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. This can test their abil- ity to clearly explain their position and solutions in a real and genuine conversation. You also may find indications of their authenticity, or lack thereof. Consider it a job inter- view for the vendor. Do they show confidence, intelligence and trust- worthiness? n Pre-RFP meeting at their office. Once the list is narrowed down, try visiting their offices for a pre-RFP meeting. During the visit, the client can visibly see the business envi- ronment that the vendor creates for its employees. After the meet- ing, you’ll be able to share the RFP with more clarity of the pluses and minuses of each vendor. n Scenario-based test. After you narrow your list of vendors, cre- ate a test with a series of plausible what-if questions. Then, brain- storm internally to develop a series of situational questions that will help to extrapolate the “inner ven- dor,” instead of the typical gloss and shine responses. For example, “What if you are staffed at X agents and your service levels are X when they should be X? What is your pro- cess to take corrective measures, and who is responsible for execut- ing your plan and communicating with the client?” n Vendor Q&A. Perhaps you may be buying a product or service for the first time or first time in a long time. Allow the vendor to drive the process. Ask a short list of vendors to submit 10 questions about the business needs, then provide a pro- posal. Evaluate the vendors not only on the quality of the proposal itself but also the process and the types of questions asked. n Video RFP. With face-to-face meetings less common, ask vendors to submit a video responding to a list of RFP questions. This permits the vendors to inject their own personality and story with their own creativity. Create guidelines on required topics, suggested topics and parameters on the length of the video, but beyond that let it up to them to show you how they can be the vendor of choice. n Midnight special. At the end of the day, what you want is a vendor who is not only responsive, trust- worthy and reliable but also some- one who will help when there is an emergency. During the RFP process, obtain the cell number of the per- son who you will deal with if there is an off-hours emergency. Call the individual at midnight on a Friday or Saturday night, see if your call is answered. Note how long it takes for that person to return your mes- sage. Harsh? Maybe, but this can expose those who say they want your business but aren’t prepared to deliver when you need them. s kcarter@kastle.com Rethink the standard request for proposal format Kevin Carter Security consultant, Kastle, and vice chair, ASIS Denver Mile High Chapter