To turn a strategy into vendor RFPs, split the strategy into separate jobs, write each one as a problem to solve with the result you expect, list your must-haves, and score every response against the same list.
How do I turn a strategy into vendor RFPs?
The steps:
- Split the strategy into jobs. "Modernize our customer experience" is not something a vendor can price. "Customers can book and pay online without calling" is.
- Write each job as a problem and a result. Describe what happens today, what should happen instead, and how you will measure it.
- List the must-haves. Who owns the data, where it is stored, what it connects to, who supports it, the budget range, and the deadline.
- Say what you are not asking for. Vendors pad proposals with things you did not want.
- Pick three to five vendors. Fewer and you have no comparison. More and nobody reads the answers carefully.
- Score every answer on the same sheet. Same questions, same weights, decided before the proposals arrive.
Why write problems instead of features?
Because a feature list picks the solution before the vendor has a chance to propose a better one. And because every vendor will say yes to every feature. "Must integrate with our CRM" gets a yes from everyone. "When a quote is signed, the order appears in the warehouse system within the hour, with no retyping" gets real answers.
If you have mapped the process first, the problem statements almost write themselves. Custom AI versus off-the-shelf tools helps decide which jobs even need a vendor.
Should I put a budget in the RFP?
Yes, as a range. Without one, you get proposals priced for a company twice your size or half the scope you need. A range lets vendors propose the best thing they can do for that money, and it saves a round of back and forth.
How do I compare the proposals?
On the scoring sheet you wrote first. Then call references for the top two and ask what went wrong on their project. Then ask each finalist to run a short demo on your data, not theirs. The red flags in an AI vendor lists what to watch for in the demo and the contract.
Who should write the RFPs?
Someone who understands the strategy and the technology and does not work for any of the vendors. In a small company, that is often the owner with help. Turning a strategy into vendor selection and then managing the winners is a core part of a fractional CTO or Chief AI Officer seat.
What should I not do?
Do not send a vendor's own template back to them as your RFP. Do not let one vendor help you write it. And do not award the contract to the best presentation. Award it to the best score, then negotiate.
If you have a strategy and no RFPs yet, a one-hour second opinion, $150, is enough to see how many jobs are in it. Start on the start form.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.