More On RFP Sins...

I got a slew of responses (some positive, some not) on my post, "Top 8 Sins For RFPs". The best response came from Chelsea Pierce, an Associate Planner with the City of East Providence, Rhode Island , who offers a few of her proposal pet peeves. Chelsea writes: Great list of RFP sins! I'll keep those things in mind when I write my next one. I have a few proposal submittal pet peeves I'd like to share - small things, really, but also things that drive me bananas.

2 minute read

December 28, 2005, 5:14 PM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen

Great list of RFP sins! I'll keep those things in mind when I write my next one. I have a few proposal submittal pet peeves I'd like to share - small things, really, but also things that drive me bananas.

Among her list of submittal pet peeves:

Starting the response letter with Dear Gentlemen.

Binding the submittal with a spiral that is too small for the number of pages included, and therefore extremely difficult to read.

Not including a binding and simply using a clip to hold it together.

Noting projects that are very similar to the project at hand in the similar projects pages, but not giving a reference name and number. If you are going to reference the project as being something of quality that you have worked on, it is my opinion that you should always include a reference.

Using a boilerplate for submittals and not changing important wording - i.e. change "experience in Massachusettsâ€ to "experience in Rhode Islandâ€; change "we are looking for to working with the City of Providenceâ€ to "we are looking forward to working with the City of East Providenceâ€.

Chris Steins

Chris Stines is Planetizen's former Editor and the founder of Urban Insight, a leading digital agency. Chris has 25 years of experience in technology consulting and urban planning and has served as a consultant to public sector state, county, and local agencies, Fortune 500 private firms, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations.

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