The Hidden Cost of RFPs: How They Derail Your Best Projects

A nonprofit puts out feelers, looking for a vendor to handle two days of video production. They find someone they like, sign the contract, and everything seems to be going smoothly until the vendor, now familiar with the details of the project from the inside, tells them that what the client thought was a two-day affair will actually need five.

“Also, now that you’ve shared some materials,” the vendor tells them, “I think we’re focusing on the wrong story. There’s a much more compelling angle we haven’t even touched.”

The simple plan is out the window. No one is getting what they expected, and costs are rising. The mess is causing uncertainty and anxiety. Tempers, at this point, are starting to fray.

RFPs and proposals — the villains of the story

The video professional in this example is just doing their best to deliver what the client needs. The nonprofit, for their part, made the best estimate they could of the work and put out their request in good faith.

Both of them are victims of the industry norms that put them in this position in the first place: RFPs and proposals.

As you probably know, RFPs, or  “requests for proposal,” are posts soliciting bids from potential vendors, commonly put up when an organization starts a new project. (This is standard practice in a lot of different fields, but in this post, we’re just going to focus on video marketing.) Proposals are the other half of the picture: documents that vendors put together outlining what they expect to deliver and what the project will cost.

Seems pretty straightforward, right? You say what you’re looking for, they make an offer, you make your choice. These are such a standard part of doing business that nobody gives them a second thought.

But when you break it down, it turns out that there are some serious drawbacks to this arrangement.  

Undermining your bottom line

The truth is, clients and vendors both suffer from this system. It’s just become so routine that the flaws and obstacles fade into the background, unquestioned. They come with the territory. 

Think about it this way: In an RFP, you — the client — try to explain what your project is all about. 

To a certain extent, no one will know the answer to that better than you. You want a video for a reason, and it’s on you to communicate what that is.

But at the same time, your whole objective here is to hire a pro: someone with experience and expertise who can guide you, helping you to work smart and avoid costly mistakes, not to mention opening your eyes to new and improved options you’d never consider without their insight.

Meanwhile, the vendor only knows what you’ve told them. Before they’re hired, they’re hardly going to do a deep dive into your organization to tailor a plan specifically for you. Their proposal is going to be extremely rough at best.

At worst… Well, they may come back to you once the project is underway with a completely different, much more detailed and thought-through plan at a brand-new price point. 

Alternatively, they might never give any thought to the bigger picture, assuming you really do know what you want and following your lead without question — so you never get the benefit of their expertise after all. 

They might even try to work around the flaws in your plan without telling you, cutting corners to stay within the expected budget.

In the end, what is their proposal even worth?

Is this really the best way to start a video project? For some reason, we expect nonprofits and creatives to come up with a whole plan before doing the work to make sure it’s a good one.

Flipping the system upside down

Here’s a question for you: What if you invited vendors to handle the planning stage together with you?

You’d be working in a completely different landscape.

No more wasting time on RFPs that may not really capture what you need. No more sifting through meaningless proposals, or being blindsided by budget limitations or new costs later on.

Instead, you bring in a vendor to create what I call a roadmap – a plan custom-built for you from the ground up. For a relatively minor fee, they review your audience, your messaging, the state of your fundraising, whatever’s relevant to your situation. With this information, they put together a report with specific, targeted video recommendations — format, concept, utilization, further market research if needed, the whole package.

The report may also include a video price tag. But this is vastly different from your usual proposal. Here, you’re actually getting a detailed and accurate look at what’s on offer. And if you like the plan they provide? That means you’ve already put a huge dent in pre-production research and strategy. You can get right into production without worrying about surprises.

Is there any risk?

If you’re very budget-conscious, I realize it may go against your instincts to pay for an extra service on top of the video itself.

While this is understandable, I actually tend to feel that going into a video without a roadmap is a much riskier proposition. Roadmaps create a space for asking questions, getting everyone on the same page, and making sure that the video will actually meet your expectations.

If you jump into production without doing this work, any problems that come up will have to be solved mid- or post-filming, sending you into overtime (and therefore over budget) or even reshoots. In other words, a relatively small investment in a roadmap up front can save you thousands later on.

I know some clients are wary of bringing in consultants. This is because traditional marketing or management consultants have a reputation for being a lot of flash and not a lot of substance. They’re hired for their big names and expertise, they come in and make a lot of recommendations, but they don’t stick around for the hard work of seeing it through.

A roadmap, on the other hand, is the exact opposite – it’s not a report that will sit on a shelf, but a plan that the vendor will immediately execute once you give them the go-ahead.

Is it right for you?

If you’re working with a trusted vendor that you know can deliver regardless of what they say in their proposal, or if waste, late adjustments and higher costs don’t concern you, maybe the RFP system doesn’t bother you much, even if you’re aware of its imitations.

But is it really no biggie when unexpected costs come up mid-project? Or when you realize halfway through that a vendor just isn’t the right fit?

Are proposals really doing the job they claim when so many projects go over budget and off-course? Have your previous attempts really been such smooth sailing, with such satisfying results, that you have no interest in the potential for improvement?

Maybe it’s worth trying a different way of doing things. On your next project, see if the vendor is willing to do a paid consultation before you jump into a video together. Yes, it’s a change from the conventional approach, but it’s a change for the better, giving you the chance to avoid mess and come out swinging.

If you’re interested in working with me on a roadmap, I’m excited to hear from you! You can check out the service page here.