Setting up Vendor RFP Process for your Marketing Automation
Adding a new automation tool to your Martech stack is an important decision, and you won’t want to take it without a proper plan. Here, we will look at three steps to help you choose the best available option and implement it properly.
Preparation of Request for proposal (RFP)
This step is essential to ensure you have correctly evaluated each vendor’s capabilities. An RFP cover letter, feature matrix, and two documents will significantly help you in your evaluation process. The vendor submitted these documents and usually offered much-detailed information than that present on their websites.
You can also easily edit the letter according to your organization’s needs. To start with, you would want to find out the present capabilities of a vendor, and their roadmap for a specific time in the future, say a year.
Also, lay out why you are looking to switch from your present vendor and how fruitful you predict your transition to be. Some common reasons for a vendor shift include technical issues, inefficiency in work capability, and cost-related matters.
Management of the Sales Process
Effective questioning will ensure that you have cleared all your doubts regarding the automation tool you will buy. Many marketers don’t ask enough questions from their vendors, making them victims of the “shiny object syndrome” and persuading them to purchase tools they don’t even want.
A good vendor will reply positively to all your questions and try to clear all your doubts. Also, if a salesperson is getting irritated by your questions, it is best to keep them away from your team.
As you narrow down your vendor list, you may ask the remaining few to give a full presentation with their marketing, sales, and other technical teams. In case you are a more significant organization, you can hold separate vendor meetings with each group and let them ask questions and whether the tool would be able to fulfill their expectations or not. Also, pre-coaching your teams before the official meetup will help you cover more ground and make the most out of your meetings.
Tips for Negotiation
You can use a vendor’s sales pressure to ask for extra concessions such as additional months, free trials of add-on services, email IP addresses, more personalized training, etc.
Many vendors will eventually offer your free trial months to check whether the tool is integrating well with your system or not. This is usually only provided after they are assured that you will buy their solution.
However, you should remain careful if you wish to check their tool efficiency with your own data. Use lead scoring systems and test campaigns to evaluate the whole process. No solution is absolutely perfect. So, make sure you use those minor drawbacks in persuading the vendor to negotiate with your terms and crack the deal.
In conclusion, establishing a Vendor RFP process for marketing automation involves crafting a comprehensive RFP, thorough vendor questioning, and strategic negotiation. These steps ensure informed decisions, aligned partnerships, and optimal tool integration, enhancing marketing efficiency and growth potential.
If you want to kickstart your marketing automation journey, Marrina Decisions can help you get started. You can simply write to us via our Contact Us page, email us at info@marrinadecisions.com, or get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
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