Comparing apples with apples How to get great

Comparing apples with apples How to get great responses to your Request for Proposal An webinar with

What we’ll cover… • What you need to think about and who you need to consult before you start to write your Rf. P • What potential suppliers need to know to provide an effective response • How to structure your Rf. P for completeness and clarity How to deal with questions How to evaluate the responses fairly Recipe for success

So you want some training… 3 1 Recipe for success Be open to ideas Training needs analysis 2 Do your homework 4 Budget 1. Defi ne yo before ur training r eq you loo k for so uirements lutions 2. Get a feel f or th differe nt opti e market and ons… look at … and their p rice tag 3. Wha s t you w a n t, what y y ou can get for ou need and might n you o … take t necessarily b r budget e a profess dvice from tr aligned… aining ionals 4. Be r ealist budget ic and set an approp riate

Before you start, think about… 1. 1 2 Recipe for success Have y ou project already scop ed , o guidan r do you need the ce? vendor If you d What can you do in-house and o project n’t know how what needs to be outsourced? should l be, ask ong the cost br eak do for a p wn er-hou r Do you have su b experti se or d ject matter o you n provid eed thi ed? s to be Do you h that ca ave any existi nb ng photo b e repurposed material anks)? (eg vid When does the project eo, 2. Plan as need to be completed? fa try not r in advance a to requ est a ru s possible – last mi sh job nute at the Be real ist of deve ic with your e lopmen x t time – pectations for one 8 hour is averag 12 weeks e

The quality triangle… Recipe for success £ Quality • • • Cost is cons cost timelin es scope trained by Be real ist cost wi ic – a long co th ur be high a short times se at low cale wo quality n’t. Quality Time Scope

Who to consult… Recipe for success 1. You ’ll ne inform ed to share te ati ch vendor on with the p nical s otentia l 1 IT or technical 4 Branding 2 Project managers 5 Finance 3 2. Wha t resou rce is a side? vailabl e Subject experts 6 Legal from y our 3. Will they be avai project and ha lable during t ve they he b e e n briefed 4. How ? much o versigh t do the y need? 5. Pay ment s chedul es? 6. Con tracts a nd process cureme es? nt

Structuring your Rf. P… 2 1 Recipe for success Response instructions Background information 3 Supporting resources 1. Intr oductio n, purp interac ose, n tiv specific ity, technical eeds, ation a nd deli very tim 2. Q& elines A and selectio respon n timel se form ines, at, scor criteria ing /weight ing 3. Sam ple c legal an ontent, brand d contr guideli n actual inform es, ation

Budget… Recipe for success • Stat e your bud get if p ossible • Be v ery c treatm lear on scope en an reveale t ‘level’ if bud d d get can ’t be Clarity w solutio ill ensure tha ns ty enablin that meet you ou receive g r apples. you to compa needs – re appl es with

Background… 1 Introduction 2 Purpose 3 4 5 6 7 8 Recipe for success Audience Needs Interactivity Media Tech spec Timelines 1. General inform ation about your organisation 2. What do you w ant to achieve? 3. Demographic s? Globally disperse Alternative langu d? ages required? Education and ex perience – beginners, experts of a mix? Constraints? 4. Generic, bespo ke, classroom, blended, resource cloud? Long, short, bitesized? 5. Complex or si mple? Game-based or g amified? Case studies or sc enarios? Branching? 6. Photography? Illustrations? Video? Audio? Animation? 3 D? 7. Learning man agement system? SCORM? X-API? Reporting requirements? Accessibility? Devices? Responsi ve? Preferred develop ment tool? 8. When is it req uired?

Response… Recipe for success 1 Timelines 2 Format 3 Evaluation 1. Make sure tim elines for response and eva luation reflect the amoun t of detail required in your response Include dates and rules for Q&A – for both re ceiving questions, and su pplying your answers Give plenty of tim e for vendors to complete their responses after questions an d answers have been circula ted If you want to ask shortlisted suppliers to prese nt, give them sufficient notice o f when and what you want th em to do 2. Giving questio ns to answer, headings/areas to complete or a general template helps make sure you can com pare apples with apples Word count or pa ge count, or no restriction? Cost matrix – ma ke it granular and consistent (eg per hour, specifying treatment levels) Ask for a training solution unless it’s a quick quote 3. What’s most im portant to you? Make this clear to vendors so they provide you with comparable answers. Make scoring tra nsparent so all vendors direct th eir answers accordingly

Resources… Recipe for success 2 1 Brand guidelines Sample content 3 Legal information 1. Giv e vendo rs a sa with so you can mple to work with lik compa re like e Provid ea materi s much acces al st unders as possible so o existing tand th v e conte endors xt 2. Don ’t mak e vendo ask for rs cont these – include act you to Rf. P or m th for a u ake it clear y em in your ou niq produc ue new bran are looking d for th t e 3. Sam ple c require ontracts and ge m speed u ents will assis neral tv p Beware the process la endors and ter on. of cutti ng and pasting.

Reviewing the responses… If you’ve included the recommended information you should receive a range of solutions that: • Are of a similar duration and complexity • Fit your budget • Meet your technical requirements You can now compare creativity, design, process and vendor profile – ie things that really matter

Summary… • Do your homework before you start • Set and work to a budget • Provide detailed information about your requirement • Give suppliers time to ask questions • Be transparent with your evaluation Recipe for success

Thank you for your time Why not download our white papers and other resources at www. walkgrove. co. uk/colourful-thinking/resources