Save Time By Writing An RFP (Request for Proposal)

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."
Michael Jordan

So you want to build a website or redesign the one you have. You want to create a team who will lead you to success, but how do you go about finding a team within the budget you have? Hiring a developer who gives you a price based on a conversation is a risky approach to web development.

An RFP (request for proposal) gives you a way to get comparable bids from different developers, plus it saves you time and headache during the development process. By having a definition of the project, the developers can closely estimate time required based on very specific tasks that need to be accomplished. Plus, everybody involved in the project has a clear understanding of the requirements, so there is no confusion down the line about what you desire.

What should you include in an RFP?

1) Who is your company?
Give a brief overview of who your company is and the type of clients you have. It is beneficial to include how your internet presence plays a part in your business.

2) Project Synopis
Provide an overview of the project. Answer the following questions:

• Are you redesigning an existing site, enhancing an existing site or building a brand new site?
• What is the reason for making these changes now?
• Who from the company will be involved in this project?
• What are the technical challenges that may be faced in this project (i.e. company has an in-house CRM system that must be integrated into the site)

3) Information Architecture
Defining the site flow, or information architecture, is a critical piece towards getting a firm bid. While the information architecture will likely change as the project evolves, the initial information architecture gives the developer a firm idea of how many screens are involved and what sort of functionality those screens entail. Using a program like Visio is an excellent way to create a flow chart of the information architecture.

4) Detailed Screen Requirements
If your site involves interactive functionality (like forms that are submitted, user profiles, etc.), it's a good idea to define these screens so the developer can plan how they will build them. Defining the screens means laying them out and defining how the fields function. Without this information, the developer can only guesstimate the cost of development.

5) Interfaces
Will your website interface with any other systems? How do they interface and what is the functionality you are expecting? Perhaps your company has an in-house CRM (customer relationship management) system, or perhaps you use a manufacturer's database of products for your store. These need to be spelled out for the developer. It would be even better if you include a contact name that the developer could speak with about these systems so they can get an understanding of the technical composition of these systems.

6) Design Requirements
Here is where the company shares its thoughts on what sort of site they are expecting. Giving URLs of sites you like, or discussing functionality you prefer, helps the developer understand what you want from this project. If you are not redesigning your site, you would also explain what aspects of the current site design will be retained, and what tweaks may be desired.

7) Project Deliverables
What do you expect the developer to provide you when the project is complete? Here you should let the developer know your requirements for code ownership, hosting and ongoing-site maintenance. You may also include information about a desired warranty period and any training that can be provided for in-house site maintenance.

8) Project Timeline
Here you define what you want the finish date to be for this project. If you can phase your project, you could also define the intermediate milestone dates.

9) Proposal Requirements
This is your opportunity to make it very clear what you expect from the developer when they deliver their estimate. How well the developer follows these guidelines gives you a good idea of how well they will take your input during project development. You could include the following here:

• Whether you want a fixed-bid proposal or just a general estimate
• How you want the prices broken up (one price for the whole project, or do you want to see project costs split out by functionality included)
• Request for technical recommendations. While you may have made some requests, you want to hear from an expert what they would recommend as a solution.
• Proposed project timeline
• Brief write-up of why their company is the right company for this project
• Backgrounds on the individuals that would be working on this project
• References from other clients
  
• Date you want the estimate returned -- important!

10) Basis for Award of Contract
Here you have an opportunity to explain what you are looking for in the company you would hire.

11) Contact Information
Don't forget to let them know who is overseeing the RFP process and who should be called if there are questions. There should be one appointed person in your company who manages the entire RFP process.

While the process of creating an RFP may seem daunting, it is the best way to assure you've received a solid estimate. It also gives you an opportunity to interact with the developer and get a feel for what it would be like to work with the company. Hiring a web developer does not have to be challenging, and the RFP process will ultimately save you time when your project is developed.

Are you ready to win?

Four Keys To Time Management

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden, Former Head Basketball Coach, UCLA

Time Management. We all struggle with it, both in our business and personal lives. We work too many hours and then feel guilty about not spending time with our families. Then we go home early one day and feel guilty about not finishing every project on our desk. Time management affects everyone, because our lives take place in time.

At Possibilities Unlimited, I work with clients who are constantly challenged to get everything done. I break down time management into four key concepts:

The Radar Screen: Your Radar Screen is the big picture of everything that wants or needs attention in your life – business projects, family, your dentist, books you want to read, even sleep. Everything that wants a piece of you appears on your radar screen. You have to filter all those events into a manageable system. You have to have a calendar, which becomes the scoreboard of your business. You have to have an agenda. You also need reliable data and project management systems where you can place the events on your radar screen so that they get handled.

The Task Collector: You have to have a way to collect the events or activities that you select off the radar screen. You can’t possibly do everything on your radar screen, so you have to select the things you will do. You can use a computer calendar system like Outlook, or you can use your PDA. Some people still resort to the written “to-do” list. And some people use their mind for their task collector. All the appointments and projects and needs stay in the mind. I do not recommend this approach to task collecting, as you will surely drop something out that was vital for you to remember.

Putting Things in Time: Now that you have your task collection mechanism up and running, it’s time to put your selected tasks into time. First you have to estimate how long each task will take. For instance, I estimate that it takes me one hour to write and publish this blog every week. Estimate how long each activity will take. Then you have to schedule those estimates in the calendar. If sales takes five hours and your production run takes six hours, you may not want to schedule both those tasks in one day. You may need to break sales apart into several days. You need to be realistic about estimating time and diligent about scheduling it. Next you have to manage the schedule. You have to do sales when you have it scheduled and write your blog when you have it scheduled. And when emergencies or changes come up, you have to reschedule tasks for another time in the week. Everything has to be put into time.

Determine What Not to Do: People never stop to consider what they are NOT going to do. What you’re not going to do is very powerful. It gives you the liberty to let go of some things that you are probably fooling yourself into thinking will happen. Like the 50 books you plan on reading. Pick five and tell yourself you will never read them. You are never doing that task. Let it go. Pick another five and say you’re not doing them right now. You reschedule them into the future and realize that you are not doing that now. Some things you are never doing, and some things you are not doing. You also need to delegate tasks to others on your team. They may not do them just like you would or as well as you would, but you need to determine what can be done by others to a standard. Finally, you need to schedule periodic “do-nothing” days, where you have nothing on the schedule and the day is yours. That’s right, you need to schedule time to do nothing if you ever really want to have a “do-nothing” day.

Practicing these four concepts will help you build a strong relationship with time and will ease the pressure on you. You can successfully manage your time and win the game of business/life.

Are you ready to win?

Biggest Money Mistakes Series - 2

"Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period." - Lou Holtz, Former Head Football Coach, Notre Dame

Many people have gone from broke to multi-millionaire by following some simple concepts that allow anyone to move from debt to wealth, on any income. In this series, you will see that the following money mistakes deal more about attitudes, beliefs and values, versus failing to reconcile your checkbook.

Mistake # 2: Emergencies always show up and ruin my savings goals.
In studying the spending habits of thousands of people for over 20 years I discovered that many people live on 105% to 115% of what they earn. They didn’t plan financially for their vacation, back to school clothes for their children or for the car to break down. But it happens, and when it does they turned to their credit cards to solve the problem and the balances grew and grew.

Solution: In addition to saving for retirement, set aside 10% of your income to spend later on the emergencies you didn’t plan for that will happen anyway. This will also cover back to school clothes, vacations, and possibly property taxes. The goal is to live on 75% to 80% of what you earn after taxes.

Are You Ready to Win?

Rennie Gabriel – Rennie@RennieGabriel.com
Author of Wealth on Any Income: 12 Steps to Freedom

Prioritizing Your Schedule for Work/Life Balance

"Today, you have 100% of your life left. " - Tom Landry - Former Head Coach, Dallas Cowboys

How you address your day today is up to you. You can decide to be happy, angry, etc. The bottom line is that your disposition on any given circumstance is based on expectations.

As an example, if you expect to complete a specific task by 6:00 pm and you find yourself at 6:15 pm without the task completed, you will feel stressed. However, had you expected to complete the task at 8:00 pm and nothing else changed, at 6:15 pm you would be completely relaxed and satisfied with your progress. So, if you manage your time and you manage your expectations, you can manage your life.

"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." -Stephen Covey

Understand your priorities in all aspects of life - family, work, socializing, relaxation, fitness, community, etc. If you want to lead a fulfilling life, you must be able to devote time to all aspects of your life.

The four elements to managing time and expectations are:

• Your Radar Screen - the big picture of all the things that command your attention.
• Collecting the data and events that you will put in your calendar
• Scheduling specific times for all your work and life activities
• Deciding what you are not going to do and letting go of those tasks.

Next week on our radio show, Consulting2Win Radio, we will spend the hour delving into the components of good time management. We'll talk about how successful people allocate their time, and how to balance time between business and life and still get everything done. Be sure to listen to Consulting2Win Radio on Wednesday June 24th @ 11:00 am. http://www.newdaytalkradio.com/.

Are you ready to win?

Sales & Marketing, The Heartbeat of Business

“You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the mark of a true professional.” Joe Paterno, Head Football Coach, Penn State University.

Never stop selling. Selling is the heartbeat of your business. If you stop selling your company will flat line.

There are four basic elements, or consistent action steps, of marketing and sales:

1. Create A Marketing Network: Create opportunities to meet new people. You have to have a system in place to create enough opportunities for making sales. Anyone can make lots of sales if they have lots of opportunities for sales. Your system might include monthly chamber of commerce meetings or leads clubs. You should also be asking for referrals all the time.

2. Create A Sales Plan: The sales plan is really a schedule for sales activities. Schedule time for phone calling each week. Schedule time for networking groups, for getting referrals. Put these activities in your calendar and stick to it! Create measurements of performance for your sales efforts - how many calls, how many new leads, how many new clients, and how many actual sales you need on a weekly basis. Have a system for reporting these results to a sales manager or business coach.

3. Selling: You must spend time engaged in the act of selling. You have scheduled the time to sell and you must follow through. You have to be having conversations with current and potential clients every week if you want to sell anything. Most importantly, you want to be having conversations with people who have the potential of buying your product.

4. Your Unique Sales Approach : What is your commitment to your customer? What makes you different from your competition? How are you going to deliver your service? All these things need to be part of your marketing and sales plan. You must distinguish yourself to the customer in order to develop a relationship that will lead to sales.

If you want to learn more about how to craft a sales and marketing plan, listen to Consulting2Win Radio where we discuss this and other important business techniques every Wednesday from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon PST.

Are you ready to win?

Building Your Online Business Network

"One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team."
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA Center

It seems with all the hype around social media, once you hop on the bandwagon your online network will just build itself. Unfortunately it's not that simple. Unless you're the one who posted the latest video of Susan Boyle, or you have the only key to some long-needed remedy, it's unlikely you'll have content that will spread virally (on its own).

What does this mean? To build a solid online network, you need to put in the time in effort just like you would offline. The main difference is that online you can use your content as a means of getting the word out, and hopefully it will do some of the work for you.

How to Spread the Word
Anybody would get overwhelmed reading the incredible variety of ways you can share your information online. Here is a simple program, if followed consistently, that will see a natural growth in your online attention:

1) Write a blog or online articles. Generating content gives you some fuel to spread the word. If you have a site that has been the same forever, time to start adding fresh information. This content will be a tool for getting notices.

2) Sign up for Twitter. It's not hard, and at first just watch. Use searches to find people of interest in your domain, and begin to interact with them. Thank them for their tweets, answer their questions, offer information to them. In the beginning, self promote only once in a while. As you become established, you can self-promote more. Every time you do a blog post, share it here. If you launch a product, have a great sales day, or anything that promotes your company, share it here. If you read another blog of interest to your customers, share it here. Let it be casual and fun, but mostly have it be a give and take exchange.

3) Sign up for Digg.com and StumbleUpon. Add your blog or articles and comment on other blog and articles.

4) Share your content with people you know. It's simple to send out an email when you have a new blog post. Tell people about it when you talk. You must promote your content.

5) Comment on other blogs. Use a reader to track these blogs and comment on them regularly so you become known by them. Choose 3-5 that you will read daily. Choose ones that are of interest to you, and you want to be noticed by the owner or other comment authors. Better yet, write a blog post that refers back to a blog you like, and let the author know you have linked back to him/her.

6) Join one online community. Choose one that is of genuine interest to you. Make sure to post at least once daily. Set up your signature so it always links back to your site and blog.

7) Choose 1-2 successful social networkers, follow them and learn from what they do.

Creating a network online is just like in person. You need to give in order to receive. Let people get to know you. Don't just sell, sell, sell. Give away tidbits for free, help people out when they ask for it. By creating online relationships, those people will then promote you.

How much time does this take?
Social media could be the black hole of time consumption. It's best to set aside a specific amount of time each day to do social media. An effective schedule that should allow you to get all of the above done might be:

• 20 minutes in the morning to read blogs, write blog, post on Twitter, make comments on sites
  
• 5 minutes mid-afternoon to post on Twitter and make comments on sites
• 5 minutes end of day to post on Twitter and make comments on sites

That's a half an hour a day of time invested. And if you use a mobile device, that time doesn't even have to be at your desk. It's worth the effort because when you finally have that big idea and want to launch it, you will have an established network that will spread the word for you.

Are you ready to win?

Keys to Profitability

“Success demands a singleness of purpose.” - Vince Lombardi, Former Coach, Green Bay Packers

Most of the entrepreneurs we work with need to strengthen their relationship with profit. We all know we need profitable businesses. But what does that really mean? In nutshell, income less expenses equals profit. Profit earns you the right to do business. If you don’t earn a profit you will eventually lose the right to do business.

So what are the keys to making a profit?

A good accounting system. Every business must have the systems in place to track the numbers and generate reports. Managers should have access to income and expense information on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.

An estimating/pricing system. You must be able to estimate the amount and cost of material and labor that it will take to produce your product. With an accurate cost accounting system, you can determine your gross profit margin, deduct your expenses, and calculate your net profit. Without an accurate system in place you are just guessing as to your bottom line.

Projections and plans. The plans for sales and expenses provide a road map of where the business is going. Without the projection you are being run by the circumstances. That is a condition for uncertainty. You don’t want the market to determine where your business will wind up. You want to be guided by your own ideas and knowing that you are heading down your chosen path.

Measure for profitability. You have to stay on top of the progress of every department in your company. When things start slipping in production, you need to step in quickly to find a solution. Conduct weekly meetings with your accounting, production, sales, and estimating departments. Develop reports that show each department’s impact on the bottom line. If you are a sole proprietor, you still need to schedule time to measure for profit and make adjustments for things that aren’t working.

Remember, profit is the key to a winning business. To learn more, listen to our radio show on the Keys to Profitability.

Are You Ready to Win?

Biggest Money Mistakes Series

"Champions keep playing until they get it right." - Billie Jean King, American Tennis Champion

Many people have gone from broke to multi-millionaire by following some simple concepts that allow anyone to move from debt to wealth, on any income. One thing you will note about money mistakes; they deal more about attitudes, beliefs and values, versus failing to review a restaurant receipt for errors.

1. There is no reason to track my cash spending because it doesn’t add up to enough money.
People have the attitude that only large amounts of money are important and that small amounts of money are not. They will not be concerned about how invest a few hundred dollars, but only thousands of dollars. They will think nothing of spending $5 a pack of cigarettes or a cup of coffee and muffin at Starbucks when they can make the same things at home for 50 cents. The fallacy is you can’t get to the large amounts of money to invest if you spend all the small amounts. You must have respect for the small amounts too. Over a 30-year time frame, $5 per day can create a $1,000,000 portfolio when invested appropriately.

Solution: Use a small notebook or spending register to track all cash spending. You cannot create a change in your behavior you are unaware of it. Create awareness by tracking your cash spending. Track everything from 25 cents in the parking meter to a fancy dinner and tip.


Rennie Gabriel – Rennie@RennieGabriel.com
Author of Wealth on Any Income: 12 Steps to Freedom

Breakfast of Champions!

"If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health". - Hippocrates

It's a good idea as an employer to promote healthy balanced lifestyle habits among your employees. There's a lot you can do to encourage and support employees to follow such a lifestyle. Having a physically fit workforce has the potential to enhance performance, reduce the number of trips to the doctors' office, and helps motivate creativity. This benefits both the employee and the company!

Many people complain about feeling low energy, having headaches, and lower productivity around 2:00 to 3:00 pm each day. These feelings are tied to the fact that they do not eat often enough and don't eat the right nutrients. One key to eating well is to avoid getting too hungry. Studies show that eating small meals spaced a few hours apart offers the best balance to your metabolism to keep your body using fuel efficiently. Encourage your employees to have a healthy "breakfast of champions" and a "power lunch" and snacks to keep from hitting those low blood sugar levels that effect mood and performance.

How can employers create an energized work environment? You can provide education on the subject, a refrigerator to store their meals and snacks, a microwave to heat foods, a blender to make healthy shakes, vending machine with healthy snacks, and bottled water to prevent dehydration. These easy steps will go a long way toward keeping employees more productive while at work. By keeping them from getting too hungry you help maintain a happier, healthier workforce.

Are you ready to win?

You CAN Take a Vacation

“You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself…when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave – win or lose.” – Gordie Howe, Four-Time Stanley Cup Champion

Summer is almost here and everyone’s thoughts turn to the possibility of taking a vacation. The kids are out of school, the weather is nice, and the beach is calling. Many business owners and managers, however, feel guilty about taking time for themselves, especially in an uncertain economy.

This year, we started a new business, and took on a host of new responsibilities and challenges. Coincidentally, I have had more opportunities for vacation travel than ever before. Special events and family gatherings just seemed to all fall together, and I didn’t want to miss any of it. But how do you justify stepping away from a business that is operating at such a crucial juncture?

Get in tune with your calendar. I looked months in advance, and planned for how much time I would need to accomplish tasks. I estimated how much time I would need for each project, and made sure I had them done before I left town. I analyzed which ones could be put off until after I got back. I left nothing to guesswork.

Prepare your boss for your absence. I left detailed comments and notes on what would be happening while I was gone, along with any actions I needed him to take to keep things moving forward.

Be accessible for important deadlines. My boss has been very flexible with my vacation schedule. In return, I am making myself available to handle some important projects while I am on the road. The trick here is to really prioritize what is important. We have a few monthly deadlines cast in stone. I plan on handling only those projects by taking a few hours of my vacation near a computer.

Let go of guilt! Vacations are a time for you to relax and get inspired. Your family time should be as big a priority as your business time. The two must compliment each other or why are you in business in the first place? If I plan carefully for my absence, I can better enjoy my time away, and return to work a more productive and creative employee, ready to get back on the playing field.

Are you ready to win?

Create a Traffic-Driving Budget

"I found out that if you are going to win games, you had better be ready to adapt."
~ Scotty Bowman, retired NHL coach, holds the record for most wins in league history


Everybody who has a website wants more visitors, and if you peruse the Internet, there are thousands of gigabytes of articles telling how to gain just that. But with all that information out there, how do you begin? What approach is best to get the new eyeballs to see your site?

The Traffic-Driving Budget
It takes a lot of time to implement strategies that drive web traffic, and time is not something most people have. So instead, you need to come up with a traffic driving budget that is going to create the greatest return for the most time you can invest. To create your budget you:

1. Familiarize yourself with the best practices for increasing site traffic
Start by asking people who have a successful website, or searching online for blogs to talk about SEO (search engine optimization) or website marketing. You can also hire a web consultant who can give you a few hours of time to discuss your site and your audience and they can help you determine what best practices would be optimum.

2. Choose 6 techniques that you have seen evidence of effectiveness
There is a lot to choose from. If you don't narrow it down, it will become overwhelming. So choose the 6 strategies that sound best to you. You might choose one or two that sound easy, since easy=quick success=motivation to do more. You might choose the ones that are easy to delegate since you don't have the time to implement or supervise.

3. Create a 6-month calendar, implementing one new strategy each month
Look at your strategies and come up with a logic for organizing them. One may be more successful if implemented after another, so save it for month 4 or 5. One might be really easy, so perhaps use it for month one to kickstart the project and get into the habit.

4. Create a weekly calendar, scheduling in time to implement your strategy
Determine how many hours a week will be required to implement the task for that month. Will you be doing it or delegating it to a staff member? Put it in your calendar, or the staff persons' calendar, and commit to setting the time aside.

5. Honor your commitment
It takes time and commitment to sucessfully implment an online marketing campaign. Honor your commitment as you would any other business meeting. Just know that following through is the only way to get the results.

Get a Basic "Web Traffic Driving Budget"!
Listen to Bonnie Landau and Ralph White on Consulting2Win Radio
Wednesday, May 17, 2009 at 11 am to noon
Bonnie will share details for a basic 6-month, step-by-step strategy for increasing your site traffic that you or your staff members can easily implement.

Are You Ready To Win?

The High Performance Team

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”
-Babe Ruth

When it comes to building a high performance team for your business, it helps to think in sports terms. Sports teams are the perfect model for productive businesses – they have rules, goals, the proper equipment, players and coaches.

Anything that is present in a sports game can and should be present in your business. When someone goes out of bounds, the play is over. When someone violates a rule, there is a penalty. When the players are well-coached, well-trained and working together, they will move the ball down the field and score points. The longer and better they work together, the more often they will win.

So how do you use this analogy to build your winning team? Take a look at your business just like it were a team for your favorite sport. Let’s say it’s baseball. Do you have enough players on the field? If not, you need to hire more. Are they the right players? Are they trained to play baseball or tennis? If you’re playing baseball, you need baseball players. Are they getting the coaching they need? Do they have the right equipment? Baseball players don’t need tennis racquets, they need bats. Employees need the right resources to help them produce results. Don’t spend money on a new copier if you really need a new website.

Assessing your company like it is a sports team helps you identify what’s missing, what’s keeping your business from winning. Do you have the right people in the right jobs? Do you have a deep enough bench? Are you coaching them to win or just to get by? Are you giving everyone some playing time? Employees who feel their jobs don’t contribute to the win will not give you their best effort on the field. You need the right players, in the right positions, with the right coach.

Start thinking today about what might be missing in your team playbook. Could your team use some extra coaching? Give us a call and we’ll show you how to turn your players into champions in the world of business.

Are you ready to win?