The World Education Congress, which was held this spring in Louisville, KY, is the signature annual North American event for Meetings Professional International. Courtesy of Melinda Burdette

The RFP process is the classic sticky wicket: A meeting planner may submit a thorough, thoughtfully written RFP to a prospective vendor only to have that vendor provide inaccurate pricing information in in a timeframe that was long and complicated. If the meeting planner provides a less thorough RFP with the hopes of getting responses in a timely fashion, they may not receive the specific information required to make a well-informed decision.

As Catie Duhon, CMP, president, International Meeting Managers explains, event planners have made it clear there are certain frustrations, including accuracy in pricing and response time during the RFP process.

Duhon finds that the biggest challenge in the RFP process is response time. Planners understand there are multiple steps, and often multiple players who have to be consulted, and a proposal can’t always be turned around in a day. However, the same is true on the planner’s side, and every day that a response isn’t received, a day of decision-making is lost.

“The best way to mitigate this is with timely communication,” Duhon says. “An RFP recipient should let the planner know the RFP is received, what phase it is in, what portions are still being considered, and any factors still in the works. Staying in touch also shows the supplier is committed to the project and working toward a win for everyone. When it comes to pricing, if the offer in the proposal isn’t accurate or final, share that information, so everyone can evaluate the proposal from the same vantage point, rather than speculating or stressing about costs. Knowledge is power.”

As a meeting planner, Duhon has learned the value of detailed information and transparency in the RFP process. She suggests event planners try to provide a clear picture of the event and list needs with detail and clarity. For example, in an RFP for AV services, don’t list “microphones for speakers,” list “six wireless lapel mics for a panel discussion.”

Additionally, if there is sensitive or complicated information you don’t want to include in writing in your RFP, Duhon suggests reaching out and talking through those nuances with the potential provider.

“This is also a great way to really make sure all parties are on the same page about what a successful event looks like, how funding can (or cannot) be allocated, and where the boundaries are,” Duhon says. “Every event has some uniqueness — when you talk through the goals together, suppliers will often surprise you with an idea or an option that would never have come up otherwise. Be on the same team, and bring your prospective suppliers onto your team, for the best outcomes and most accurate proposals presented.”

Matthew Byrne, CSEP, certified live events specialist and founder of Byrne Production Services, also believes the RFP process needs to be a collaboration between the vendor and the planner.

“As the industry continues to get busier and busier, some compromises need to be made,” Byrne says. “Planners should stress the deadlines, but also remain flexible to work with partners and suppliers to be able to set deadlines.”

Steps To Take

When planning an event, Melissa Johnson, CMPE, vice president, at Cameron Mitchell Premier Events, starts working on a deadline as time clicks towards the event day. When an RFP is sent out, a deadline date of response is always noted.

“The response date is chosen to ensure timely coordination of all event details that make up the full scope of planning,” Johnson says. When a vendor is slow to submit their response or fails to submit a response that addresses the requirements in the RFP, it can halt the planning as the planner has to decide if they want to take the time to remind a vendor for a response or proceed without their submission.

“The goal is to produce the best event with a dream team of vendors that not only bring the event to life, but do so with a certain budget and stated parameters,” Johnson says. “The submissions not received could be from a very desired vendor, thus stopping the progress of planning to reach out to the vendor and wait for their proposal. In addition, we need to be fair to all who submitted on time. Often on an RFP it will also be noted if submissions will or will not be accepted after the deadline.”

Accuracy of information, pricing and complete information is essential to responding to an RFP, says Melinda Burdette, CMP, CMM, HMCC, senior director of events at Meeting Professionals International. “It also matters how that information is presented. Planners are continuing to do more with less and need to be able to have excellent summary information in order to quickly make more informed decisions,” she says.

Burdette tries to provide a single page of the requests, like a summary, in order for the venue, property, etc. to be quickly know if they meet the qualifications of the RFP. It is also important for planners to indicate their budget ranges in their RFPs and it’s important to be as transparent as you can in order to receive more thorough and accurate information.

She also typically tries to reach out to remind potential submitters of the upcoming deadline one week in advance.

“It is also important to remind those that have submitted of your deadline for review and/or decision so that they are not waiting to hear back from you,” Burdette says. “Open communication is key. And do not be afraid to go back to negotiate. Inform those that are “short-listed” and those that you are not considering in a timely manner. Stick to your deadlines. If for some reason you can’t, then inform those impacted. Again, open communication is key to the success of any event RFP.”

Of course, advance planning is the best way to ensure the RFP process stays on time. Whenever it is possible, do your research, get your team/client on board with the deadlines, back-up your timeline, submit early, and leave room for long turnover time.

Duhon adds this helps all parties avoid last minute rushing and stress. It is also a good idea to include key dates with your RFP, including a due date, and a timeline for when the decision will be made, even if subject to change.

“This allows the supplier to work the RFP into their to-do list in a realistic way and return a reply on time,” Duhon says. “All that said, we know real life (and event life) happens, and the best plans often get shuffled around. A confirmation that the RFP is received and in progress goes a long way, so no one is left wondering, and so action can be taken sooner if it did get lost in the shuffle.”

In our modern world, phone calls are less and less common, but it is still a great way to confirm the process is on track and communicate expectations. If and when you get in a rush, Duhon recommends communicating what you need, and work together to get the most critical information cleared up first while the rest comes together.

Byrne also stresses the importance of being as detailed as possible. Planners should also be aware of what type of buyer they are – either a technical buyer or a budget buyer.

“That is not to say, budget means trying to get lowest pricing. Rather are you someone that needs very meticulous line item pricing and want to review the specific equipment, labor pricing, etc. (technical buyer) or are you looking for an overall picture of your total project scope (budget buyer)?” Byrne says.

RFP Issues To Watch For

Online form RFP submissions can be a challenge for planners. Often, the form asks questions that solicits information that doesn’t quite fit the check-box options available. The answer isn’t ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ it’s ‘only for the VIP ticket holders.’

“The date, among other details, may be flexible, while the form responses might quickly merit a response that the venue or service is not available. Having a way to directly contact a person by email and phone is ideal and can sometimes lead to an RFP that would have otherwise been sent to another company,” Duhon says.

The biggest change Duhon has seen in the last few years is the use of more technology in the RFP process. RFPs are submitted, shared, and sometimes even discussed through a portal. There are extra buttons, links, and logins required to download the proposal, ask a question, or view a simple reply.

The worst cases Duhon has been involved with were being stuck in a loop with a supplier who didn’t have great attention to detail.

“We had to follow-up repeatedly and revisit the same items multiple times. It became a nuisance and took our planners’ valuable time to get everything done on time,” Duhon says. “Respecting everyone’s time and effort may be one of the most important parts of a successful process.”

For Johnson, the task of comparing the RFP submissions for relevant detail, creative thought (if required), syncing with the event mission, and price is not an easy or quick task. The company submissions are not “apples to apples” in the way they list their pricing and services so there may be follow ups needed when reviewing.

“It is important to know the client’s priorities as one vendor may have a better budget, but another may have a better allover grasp of the mission and event experience,” Johnson says. “So imagine this detailed reviewing process happening and a late submission comes in and the process begins all over again. This is not efficient and may cause problematic delays in the production schedule.”

Johnson says the best RFPs will have a template structure to try to make the information submitted as similar as possible for ease of comparison. There may be an open-ended question about a component’s description so a full picture may be painted by each vendor.

“This would help line up the information being received, while also allowing for individual personality and detail to be represented efficiently,” Johnson says.

When Cameron Mitchell Premier Events sends out an RFP, they will include the vendors who have indicated they would like to be reminded of deadlines, so they send calendar invites – one will be a reminder seven to 10 days from the due date and one will be the morning of the due date. This helps the event planning team ensure everyone is aware of the deadline and keeps the RFP top of mind for them.

It’s also imperative to make sure the point of contact of who submitted the RFP is the same contact for the event to ensure things go smoothly. Johnson strongly recommends keeping all commitments in writing so if something extra is asked for or something extra is volunteered, there is written confirmation.

“We had an experience with an event where the AV company that was awarded the event contract had a personnel change and a new contact was assigned to the event. The understanding of the needs of the event became lost and personalities were not clicking as they had before,” Johnson says. “There was a challenge to ensure what was awarded was happening and to politely ask for a different contact. We make great relationships with our vendor partners and a change mid-stream can definitely cause some ripples that can be hard to smooth out in some cases.”

Continuous Evolution

As the online RFP process continues to take hold and as artificial intelligence is used in all facets of the meeting and event planning process, streamlining the RFP experience will continue to evolve.

Duhon believes meeting and event planners will continue to see even more technology and automations in the workflow process.

“As our ‘old school’ sales friends become fewer, and the tech savvy young professionals flood the scene, I worry we will lose more and more of the personal touch and communication. That isn’t a judgement on the GenZ contingent – it’s an observation about the world they know, and the norm for how they communicate with their peers,” Duhon says. “I also believe that the added tech and AI may be able to ease some of the RFP challenges and be a tool for suppliers and planners alike.”

Byrne and his team at Byrne Production Services have been advocates for shifting the RFP process to a more precise and curated process as too many planners and organizers will blanket multiple vendors in hopes of finding a good price.

“What that leads to is vendors feeling they can’t get in front of a client, ask questions etc. in the best case scenario. In the worst case scenario, this means to differentiate vendors, buyers are asking form free creative, additional work and inclusions that is taxing an already frayed industry,” Byrne says. “Invite a short list of vendors that you know can handle the event and keep your time and energy commitment to a reasonable level.”

Looking ahead, Johnson also believes technology may come into play and assist with the RFP process. “Eventually there may be an app or platform that offers different templates to be able to quantify who the best match would be,” Johnson says. “This along with an open-ended question and referrals could then be folded into the decision-making process to create the event dream team.” C&IT