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Enterprise sales is so... so... so broken. Prepare for an ongoing slow rant. I have a lot to teach you.
#1 There is no such thing as one size fits all when it comes to community platforms. If a vendor gives you a fixed price for a solution based on the excel spreadsheet of requirements you gave them, they’re not only ripping you off, they’re also laughing at you. More tomorrow...
#2 If you want a platform solution that is going to be the best fit for your community, sending out a generic RFP without at least one intro call makes no sense. If you ask vendors to sell to you (which is essentially what you're doing) it will end in tears – for your users.
#4 Rather than spending hours putting together your 50 page RFP doc, spend the time on calls with vendors, building a relationship. Do you want to work with the team that is best at completing RFP docs, or the team that has the best understanding of your needs?
#5 If you insist on an RFP doc, be flexible. Spreadsheets that assume all vendors price to the same model are naive. We charge for traffic served and development time. If you want a fixed price I'm going to have to triple my estimate to cover my arse. That won't go well for you.
#6 Do your own due diligence. Asking vendors to compare themselves to competitors isn't ok. Asking for references doesn't make sense either. No one is going to give you the name of someone that it didn't go well with. Find someone that uses the platform yourself and hit them up.
#7 Don't ask what integrations are available and how much they cost. Any integration is possible and the $ depends on what you need it to do. Your community (and your member's needs) are not the same as anyone else's. There should not be a generic solution at Enterprise level.
#8 I get that RFP processes streamline things for the business, but that is pretty shortsighted if the end result is a product or platform that isn't best suited to your community. Your business isn't truly the customer, your community members are.
#9 Don't shortlist for demos after the RFP docs have been submitted. You've just wasted hours of vendor time without even taking a look at their product. Send through your prioritised feature list prior to the demo so you get one that is tailored to your needs.
#10 When you have selected a vendor, give feedback to those that weren't successful. It's the least you can do after the time you asked them to invest in your process and it contributes to the growth of the industry if you support vendors to improve their product.
And... that's a wrap. Note that although I was referring to community/forum platforms specifically, I imagine the process is just as fraught for other sectors.
