A document a buyer publishes describing a project and inviting professionals to submit competing proposals, used to compare options before hiring.
A request for proposal (RFP) is a document a buyer publishes to describe a project and invite professionals to submit competing proposals. It’s how organizations compare several vendors on scope, approach, and price before choosing one — common for larger budgets and public or corporate work.
For sellers, an RFP is a mixed blessing: it signals a real budget and a serious buyer, but you’re competing, often against many others, and writing a strong response takes real hours. Learn to qualify them — an RFP with a wired-in favorite or an impossible budget isn’t worth your afternoon. When you do respond, answer their stated criteria directly. For buyers, a well-written RFP gets you better, more comparable bids; a vague one gets you a pile of proposals you can’t compare.
The thing that makes an RFP useful is specificity. If you’re the buyer, describe the problem, the constraints, the budget range, and how you’ll decide — it’s the flip side of a good project brief, and it saves everyone time.