Guide
How to compare RFP responses
An RFP gives you something a general proposal review does not: your own requirement list. The comparison should be built on it, not on the structure each vendor chose.
Start from the requirement list, not the documents
Number every requirement and make it the row key. When a response answers REQ-14 in a product overview rather than the compliance matrix, it still belongs in the REQ-14 row. Document-by-document reading produces three summaries; requirement-by-requirement reading produces a comparison.
Use a small, honest set of statuses
- Met — answered directly, in scope, with no attached condition
- Partial — answered with configuration, add-on cost, or a roadmap date
- Missing — nothing in the response addresses the requirement
- Differs — answered, but materially different from the other vendors
Four statuses are enough. Invented percentage scores make an evaluation look precise without making it more accurate.
Separate scoring from extraction
Extraction is a factual step: what did each vendor say, and where. Scoring is a judgment step that belongs to the evaluation team and its weighting. Mixing them makes it impossible to re-weight later without redoing the reading.
Send clarifications while there is still time
Collect every partial and missing answer into one clarification list per vendor and send it before the shortlist meeting. Written answers become part of the evaluation record.
Keep the audit trail
Record the page or section for every answer. Procurement decisions get reviewed months later, sometimes by people who were not in the room. Proposight keeps that reference attached automatically — see RFP comparison.
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