RFP Essentials: Tips and Checklist for Landing the Right Sales Partner

As a service provider to professional and trade associations, YGS Association Solutions has received hundreds of RFPs. There are times when YGS Association Solutions is the incumbent partner receiving an RFP, and after reading through the document, I find myself thinking “The other companies answering this RFP aren’t getting the full picture from the information provided here.”  A recent instance of this inspired this blog post.  

Creating a comprehensive and well-structured RFP is crucial to laying the groundwork for a successful relationship. Soliciting a quote for some services, like printing, for example, is fairly straightforward; however, finding a partner to handle your non-dues revenue sales warrants a much more detailed RFP that clearly outlines expectations, key deliverables, and the specific outcomes you want to achieve.

To help streamline your RFP process, we’ve created a downloadable PDF with a comprehensive list of what information to include and recommended questions to ask potential partners. Download the PDF here.

We recommend structuring your RFP to include the following sections:

1. Background Information on the Association

Your sales partner is truly an extension of your association. The partner’s sales and support staff will work closely with your team members and the advertisers, exhibitors, and sponsors that support your association. Provide information about the history of your association, your mission and values, and member demographics.

This information helps your future sales partner to understand “the why” – why companies should want to reach your targeted audience of members and support your mission.

2. Scope of Work

Be transparent in the information you provide. You may be hesitant to show data that points to a decline in sales or engagement rates, however, this information allows a potential partner to show through case studies and other information how they’ve been able to turn around similar situations for their association clients. Err on the side of providing more detail about sales history, click and engagement rates, audience size, advertiser and reader survey results, and other data.

If the RFP is for a combination of services (for example, advertising and event sales), break the scope into separate sections to make it easier for vendors to understand what is required.

3. Objectives and Goals

What are the measurable goals for the partnership? Are you aiming to increase non-dues revenue through the development of new opportunities, provide a higher level of support to your advertisers, exhibitors, and sponsors, or leverage technology to streamline processes? Be sure to clearly outline the outcomes you hope to achieve from the relationship and what KPIs you will use to measure the success of the partnership.

4. Timeline and Deadlines

Once a decision on the RFP is made, how soon do you need your new partner to be ready to start selling? If the partner should plan to attend an upcoming event or conference, outline specific event dates so they can begin to think about staffing resources.

Ask for a transition plan in the RFP based on that projected start date. What you get back from that partner in their proposal can be eye-opening. Did their plan cover each important component— lead generation, media kit and prospectus development, sales, contracts, reporting, accounting, marketing, ad/asset collection, and  stakeholder communication?  There are a lot of moving parts that ultimately need to work seamlessly together to ensure your staff and current advertisers, exhibitors, and sponsors don’t experience a rocky transition.

5. Compensation

It may feel obvious that you’d ask how the partner will charge for their services, but if you wait until you’re drafting the actual contract between the association and the partner to iron out details, you may hit some roadblocks.

Your RFP should ask for a detailed breakdown of all potential costs— commission versus fee-based, one-time versus recurring, items charged only if requested, etc. Items that I typically don’t see in RFPs include:

• Travel to the association’s conference by the partner sales team
• Event exhibitor “thank you” or printed promotional handouts
• Business cards for the partner sales team
• Hard costs associated with executing advertiser retargeting and geofencing campaigns
• Costs associated with Google Ad Manager and other technology that supports the sales program

6. Vendor Qualifications

Ask for a detailed description of the partner’s experience and capabilities. Do they sell for other associations in your industry that provide them with valuable experience to leverage? Request case studies of past work that demonstrate their expertise and references that you may contact to hear firsthand what their experience has been working with that vendor.

7. Terms and Conditions

Outline any legal or contractual requirements, including payment terms, confidentiality agreements, and any compliance regulations. Specify the duration of the contract and any provisions for contract renewals or terminations.

What Comes Next

By following these tips and asking the right questions, you’ll be well-equipped to find a partner like YGS Association Solutions who can drive results and enhance the ROI for your advertisers, exhibitors, and sponsors.