Internet Building Codes Blog

If you’re about to scream, “I need help with my RFP,” you’ve come to the right spot.  Creating an RFP is usually a daunting task because you probably don’t know what you don’t know.  Here’s  likely scenario.  Your boss shouted, “Peterson.  Come here.  I need you to write an RFP for our new website.”  You say you’ll get right on it and then you head back to your desk wondering what an RFP is. After finding out that it’s a request for a proposal, you realize that you’re supposed to get a few proposals from website design companies so they can bid on your company’s new website design.

Then it hits you.  You don’t know anything about how to create a good website.  You’ve just been tasked with something tht you know nothing about.  Now what?   If you don’t find a great company that does a great job, your butt is on the line.  But you don’t even know which questions to ask.  If you knew anything about website design, they’d probably have asked you to design the site.

It’s a real quandary.  If you don’t know enough to design the site, then how are you supposed to know enough to hire the right person to do it.

That’s where the RFP consulting services come in.  Recently, we got a call from the government.  It was one of the branches of the military.  I can’t say which one.  They needed RFP assistance.  They wanted help writing their website RFP and help reviewing the proposals once they were submitted.  I just kept hearing from them that they had no idea that should be asking questions like this or like that.  Ignorance is a scary thing, especially when your job is on the line.

To discover more about our consulting services, visit our RFP Assistance sections.

http://www.internetbuildingcodes.org/services/rfp-assistance.shtml

The investment that many organizations make in their websites is significant, at times exceeding $100,000. The assistance that the IBCC provides, assures that your vision for your web development project is communicated effectively to potential vendors through the request for proposal.  But for many, writing the RFP or request for proposals is the easy part.  Once the proposals start to roll in, then the process of selecting the right website developer with the best qualifications begins and if you’re not versed in the technical aspects of website development, that can be a daunting task.

So how do you know you’re making the right decision.  On paper, all of the companies look similar.  They all claim to have the experience to handle the work.  They all have great testimonials and their prices may even be similar.  After receiving dozens of proposals, comparing apples to oranges can be a difficult task. Because no two proposals are the same, the evaluation process often proves to be as tricky as the writing of the RFP itself.

So how can you choose the right one?  It’s difficult.

You’ll probably wind up speaking with many website experts throughout the process but who can you trust? While each of the vendors you interview will undoubtedly offer great advice, only the IBCC can offer completely unbiased advice because the IBCC doesn’t have a dog in the fight, so to speak.  You’ll have piece of mind knowing that the experts at the IBCC are on your side, holding your hand as you make these important decisions for your company.

Website RFP assistance provided by the IBCC was developed to serve small businesses, non-profits, government agencies and NGOs as they begin the daunting process of finding a qualified vendor for their website development project.  But the help doesn’t end after the selection of the vendor.

The IBCC can help from start to finish, even offering an unbiased review of the website after it goes live.  Our unparalelled website review looks at more than 190 different points in a website to determine if it’s meeting its full potential in areas such as initial impressions, marketing, sales, SEO and more.  This 3-part custom audit will reveal the weak areas within the site that can be silent killers while also highlighting the most successful areas of the site so that they can be capitalized upon.

For assistance with your RFP, website vendor selection or post-production website audit, please call the IBCC for more information.   Our toll-free number is 888-674-0079.  Remember, we’re here to help.  Can you afford to make a decision as important as this one, on your own?  If you’re thinking that you may be dealing with a subject that’s a little beyond your comfort zone, then give us a call and we’ll walk you through the process.

Have you recently been asked to develop an RFP for your organization’s website? Do you have the experience necessary to handle the writing of the RFP and then evaluate the vendors that respond with proposals?

If you’re like many people who have been charged with the task, you may feel like you’re being asked to do something for which you’re not qualified. And not only is the success of the project on the line, so is your reputation. In an economy where new jobs are hard to come by, your success is important to your career.

But what if you knew you had an expert to lean on to assure that you were making the right decisions on something as important as your organization’s website?

We know how you’re feeling. And that’s why the IBCC began partnering with companies and government agencies, offering unbiased consultative services geared to help in the creation of the initial RFP and then evaluate the list of respondents. Since each vendor is likely to make a case for why they’re the strongest candidate, only an unbiased expert can identify potential red flags and read between the lines to determine the best fit for your project. With the IBCC’s RFP assistance, you’ll have peace of mind, knowing that you’ve made the best decision for your organization when choosing your next website development vendor.

If you’re in the market for a new website and you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of choosing the right website developer, let a qualified member of the IBCC be your guide through this complicated process. Call 888-674-0079 and let one of our representatives answer your questions.