Most software RFPs waste everyone's time. They're long, vague, filled with requirements that don't matter, and attract exactly the wrong kind of agency response. Here's what a good RFP actually looks like.
What most RFPs get wrong
Too long. 50-page RFPs signal a client that doesn't know what they want and is trying to compensate with volume. Good agencies filter these out.
Feature checklists. "Must support 47 integrations" tells the agency nothing about what problem you're solving. Good agencies want context, not requirements.
No budget disclosed. "We'll consider your proposal" is code for "we don't want to reveal our budget so we can shop." Serious agencies won't quote against undisclosed budgets — the process becomes adversarial.
Fake deadlines. "Responses due Friday" and then no decision for 4 months. Agencies remember and stop responding.
Bidding as a first step. RFPs asking for pricing without a discovery conversation guarantee bad estimates. Every price will be wrong; the client picks based on lowest.
What a good RFP contains
1. Business context (1–2 pages). Who you are, what you do, why this project exists, what business outcome you're trying to drive. Not features. Not requirements. Context.
2. The problem you're solving (1 page). Specific. Measurable. "Our sales team spends 3 hours a day copy-pasting data between Salesforce and our warehouse system." Not "we want a better system."
3. Success criteria (half a page). How you'll know the project succeeded. Ideally with numbers. "Order fulfilment time drops from 48 hours to 4 hours."
4. Scope, roughly (1 page). The boundary of the project. What's in, what's out. Broad strokes. Detail comes in discovery.
5. Budget (1 paragraph). Realistic budget range. Yes, tell the agencies. Without this, every response is a shot in the dark. If you don't have a range, ask 2-3 agencies for ballpark before writing the RFP.
6. Timeline expectations (1 paragraph). When you need to launch, when you need decisions made, when you'll evaluate proposals. Realistic. Not "yesterday."
7. Selection criteria (half a page). How you'll pick. "Best price" is fine but transparent — say it. Otherwise: quality of similar projects, team composition, process maturity, cultural fit.
8. Process (1 paragraph). "You send a written proposal by X date. We invite 3 shortlisted agencies for 1-hour discovery calls. Decision by Y date."
That's about 5-6 pages total. Enough context to write a serious proposal. Short enough that quality agencies will actually respond.
What to skip
- Long lists of preferred technologies you don't understand
- "The vendor must have 15 years experience" (excludes good newer agencies)
- Requirements for team certifications that don't matter (AWS, Google, etc)
- Massive compliance sections copy-pasted from procurement templates
- References required in the RFP (they come after shortlisting)
The alternative: skip the RFP entirely
For projects under $150K, a written RFP is usually overkill. Better process:
- Identify 3-5 agencies via referral or portfolio review
- Have a 30-minute intro call with each — mutual fit assessment
- Invite 2-3 to submit written proposals (much shorter, response to a shared brief)
- Pick, negotiate, start
Total elapsed time: 2-3 weeks. Written RFP process usually takes 8-12 weeks.
What agencies actually respond to
When you send us an RFP, we look at:
- Is the problem well-defined?
- Does the client know what they want?
- Is the budget realistic?
- Is the timeline realistic?
- Are we the right shop for this?
If any of those is a no, we politely decline. If all are yes, we invest real effort in the proposal.
Vague, over-scoped, under-budgeted RFPs get boilerplate responses from agencies who bid on everything. That's not who you want to work with.
Our RFP response process
Our proposals are 8-15 pages. Cover: our understanding of the problem, proposed approach, team, timeline, itemised pricing, assumptions, and what's not included.
We only respond to about 20% of RFPs we receive. The rest either don't fit or aren't serious enough to invest in.
If you're preparing to send RFPs and want a second opinion before you do, book a consultation. We'll tell you honestly whether your brief is agency-ready — even if you don't hire us for the build.