How to respond to an RFI

What is an RFI? If you’re interested in growing your business through public and private solicitations, you may be wondering what this is. Anyone from private companies to local, state, and federal governments could release an RFI.

Bidding for work can help you grow your business substantially and there any many forms solicitations can take. If you’ve come across an RFI, you may be wondering what it is and how to complete one. Luckily for you, our ultimate guide to RFIs can help put your mind at rest.

What is an RFI?

First, let’s start off with the basics. What is an RFI? An RFI is a Request for Information and can also be known as Sources Sought. It’s commonly used by procurement teams to help them understand the options available to procure a solution. An RFI is released allowing a buyer to carry out market research before issuing a solicitation.

For example, if a company needed a new IT solution, they’d send out an RFI. Businesses that offer IT solutions would then respond to the RFI about their solutions, educating the solicitation team.

An RFI allows a buyer to make better decisions from industry experts (vendors). The information received by buyers enables them to understand the marketplace better. This allows them to be able to refine the questions asked later on in the procurement process.

RFP vs RFI

An RFP stands for Request for Proposal and is another tool used when procuring a good, service, or product. Although they sound similar, an RFP and an RFI are quite different.

An RFI is an initial step a company takes to solicit information from potential vendors (see above). The primary objective is for a contracting authority to obtain information. Once RFIs are reviewed, the buyer will then decide the best way to proceed with the solicitation. This could be either by RFP, RFQ (Request for Quote), or IFB (Invitation for Bid).

An RFP is a formal request for vendors to submit a proposal for the contract opportunity. The scope will be detailed within the statement of work (SOW). Hopeful vendors will submit their proposal for carrying out the contracted work including the pricing for their product, service, or good. An RFP is supposed to sell your business and persuade and justify to the buyer why you’re the best business. You will answer some quality questions and likely need to meet certain eligibility criteria in order to progress with your application.

If you choose to respond to an RFI, there are a few things you should be aware of:

• You can’t win a contract by responding to an RFI. At this stage, a buyer isn’t looking to award a vendor – they are just reaching out for information.
• You shouldn’t respond if you have no interest in bidding for the contract once the solicitation is released. This creates a false representation of the industry and doesn’t help the buyer achieve their goals.
• If you are interested in winning the work, this can help you influence the type of procurement used. A buyer is looking to see if a set-aside procurement can be used. If multiple small businesses respond, they can classify it as a set-aside. This means only small businesses can apply, reducing your competition with larger businesses.

What to include in your RFI documentation?

So, you’ve found an RFI opportunity you think will be good to go for. It’s important you think carefully about what you put in your RFI document. It’s not as complicated as you may think. A lot of them tend to ask similar questions. It’s good to create a bank of responses you can turn back to and reference.

Here are 7 steps that allow for a smooth RFI response process:

1. Assess the opportunity: Before you begin with your response, you should realistically consider if this is an opportunity that’s worthwhile to respond to. You should assess whether your product/service will meet their needs.
2. Put your heads together: Review the requirements, put your team together and arrange a meeting.
3. Respond: Tailor content to the questions asked.
4. Ensure expertise: Assign the technical questions to your business’ subject matter expert to ensure optimum accuracy.
5. Review: Review your RFI for a consistent tone of voice if questions have been answered by multiple people. Proofread for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.
6. Submit: Send your RFI off to the issuer along with any support materials if relevant.
7. Save: Save your responses in a centralized location that can be used again.

Example RFI template

An RFI will likely be comprised of six sections. These are:

• Statement of need
• Background information about your organization
• Qualifications and credentials
• Information requested
• Evaluation criteria
• Deadline for response

You may be wondering if there are RFI writers like there are for RFPs. This likely is not the case. An RFP writer typically is an expert in writing proposals whereas an RFI writer would have to be an expert in that specific industry and your business.

An RFP writer works with you to submit an RFP. They are able to write a response because they know what’s expected and outlined by the buyer. Due to the specificity of an RFI wanting to get a business’s opinion, they wouldn’t be able to do the same. The issuer is looking for a business input, not for a solution at this point.

Remember:

• Upload your document in the correct format. Usually, an RFI is in a PDF, spreadsheet, or Word document.
• Keeping a bank of responses can be a huge time-saver. Try categorizing and storing responses in a library. This will allow you to pick and choose appropriate responses for each RFI you apply for. Ensure your library is up to date, reviewing and auditing it every now and again. Doing this quarterly is a good time period to allow for a review, update and discard approach to past responses.
• Try using RFP software integrations to coordinate the use of multiple applications. This will allow you to pull data and information from multiple platforms.
• Collaborate with your team! One team member may have more in-depth knowledge about a certain aspect than others. It’s good to hold an initial meeting and allow the specialists and experts to step up.
• Tailor your response to the specific needs of the issuer. Particularly when repurposing information from a previous RFI. Make the time and effort to ensure it’s all appropriate and relevant to the current issuer. RFIs may be similar, but each buyer may have unique and varying needs that need to be met. No two solicitation situations are the same.

Be specific in your RFI response. Provide context and offer your expertise and guidance to the issuer. Hopefully, you’ll now have a better idea of what to expect when it comes to writing your RFI.

Our services

RFP Writing

Our RFP Writing service is the perfect solution to ensure that you submit a high-quality bid, even when you’re busy. Our RFP Writers will break down the solicitation documents, allowing you to see what the bid and the contract involves. This will help to ensure that you have all the specified evidence and meet the requirements of the contracting authority. Our RFP Writers will then craft persuasive, high-quality responses, attach supporting evidence and even submit the bid on your behalf. Upload the solicitation documents for a free quote.

RFP Mentor

Have you already written a bid but need a second pair of eyes to review your work? Our RFP Mentor service will do just that. Simply send over your bid responses and the solicitation documents. Our writers will then assess your work, ensuring that your responses are in line with the specification. They will also check for any spelling or grammar errors. You can then submit your bid with confidence. Upload your work for a free quote.

Proposal Ready

Do you need help with preparing a bid proposal? Proposal Ready can help businesses that are new to bidding or those in need of rejuvenating their content. Our Bid Consultants can offer you proposal writing services, creating:

• 3 designed and company branded case studies
• 5 company branded and professionally designed resumes for key personnel
• 1 company branded bid proposal credentials document that can be used to respond to future RFPs.

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

• Working with RFP Writers
• Government bids
• Federal contract bids
• RFP cover letters
• Government RFPs
• Bid proposals
• Federal government RFPs
• RFP Consultants
• How technical Bid Writers can help your business
• State bids
• And many more.

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Because the information on this blog is based on Hudson Outsourcing LLC’s own opinion and experience, it should not be considered professional financial investment advice.  The ideas and bidding strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.  Hudson Outsourcing LLC’s thoughts and opinions will also change from time to time as the market changes and as Hudson Outsourcing LLC develops.