How To Write The Perfect Request For Proposal (RFP)

Chapter 5: How To Write The Perfect Request For Proposal (RFP)

At CertaPro Painters® of Indianapolis, we know just how important a perfect RFP is for finding the right partner for your project. To help you do this for your multi-family property project, we’d like to share 5 actionable steps you can use.

Determine Your Scope

Determining the scope of your project is important because it will help you better understand the specific painting and repair needs that need to be addressed during your project. Some things to make sure you identify during this step include:

• Areas & surfaces to be painted – If they are previously painted, you’ll likely want them included again.
• Repairs needed – If you need help identifying needed repairs, let you contractor know that
• Color scheme – Changing the color scheme and placement of colors does impact the labor hours and material needed

If you’re unsure of what your building’s needs are, you can always consult with a trusted industry professional. They may even be able to help you find the best color schemes and options for your community.

Know Your Purpose

Knowing the purpose of your project is critical because if you don’t know the reason for wanting your project completed, you won’t be able to share that with potential painting partners in your RFP. Providing detailed information about why your community wants a project completed is useful because professional painters can then understand how to give you the best results.

Note: This section of your RFP doesn’t need to be super long and may be smaller than other sections. By keeping this portion shorter, you can provide potential partners with a more straightforward understanding of what you’re looking for and hoping to gain.

Provide Detailed Descriptions

Providing detailed descriptions throughout your entire RFP is essential to make sure your bidding partners have as much information as possible about your needs. For example, if you note that your multi-family property needs a specific type of repair, bidding partners will be able to share their expertise or recognize that they might not be the right fit for your project. Without intentional and detailed descriptions, you may end up with a partner who doesn’t have the expertise to provide you with the highest quality results.

When writing this section of your RFP, you can write high-level statements that describe what’s needed across your property.

Indicate What You Want

Making sure you clearly and concisely indicate what you want to gain from your project can help ensure bidding partners know what’s expected of them. For example, this may be indicating the transformations you want to see or the improvements you’d like to enjoy once your project is completed.

Note: You can also use this portion of your RFP to indicate what you don’t want throughout the duration of your project or the types of results you don’t want. For example, if you don’t want disruptions to your daily operations or you don’t want results that look a certain way, ‌you can indicate these expectations.

Highlight Your Timeline

Highlighting your preferred timeline is also important to include in your RFP, especially if you need your project completed within a tight timeframe. Sharing your timeline is also beneficial, even without time constraints, because it still allows your bidding partners to understand what the schedule might look like for your project’s duration.

Taking the time to write your community’s RFP thoughtfully can help your multi-family community more easily select and find a partner who’s the right fit.

Now that you know how to write the perfect RFP for your multi-family property’s painting and repair project, it’s time to make sure you know what questions to ask your potential partners.

Go to Chapter 6: Questions To Ask Potential Painting Partners