Agency – Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada

Interviewee – Joanne Gaudet, Communications OFficer

Interview Date – 10/19/2016

Outcome – Lost

Proposal Bid – $53,285

RSM - Adam

Proposal - originally dated 8/9/2016

Background

• City received 9 RFP proposals
• Vision was one of 3 finalists along with 2 Canadian companies (ESolutionsGroup and Aon)
• We were the most expensive, but they really liked our methodologies
• It was really close call and they spent an extra month to make a decision
• Followed up with references at Medicine Hat, Sandpoint, ID, Lacombe and San Marcos

Why did we lose?

• ESolutionsGroup won because:
  • They did a better job of showing how easy it would be for staff to add and update things in CMS
  • Their proposal was really clear about for existing customers
  • They were less expensive than Vision
  • Our annual fees were higher and had 5% annual growth built in
• EsolutionsGroup - https://www.esolutionsgroup.ca/en/index.aspx
  • eSolutionsGroup is an award-winning digital agency that develops engaging web and mobile solutions for leading governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations.
  • 75-person company based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

What could we improve?

• Do a better job of showing the nuts and bolts of CMS and how easy it is to use
• Make it easier for prospects to see what they're getting 

Other points

• Sales team was responsive
• Adam got kudos for quickly turning around the proposal - even though Adam found out about the RFP at the last minute, we were the first vendor to submit the final proposal
• Robert did the demo, and it was in the period before the new Dashboard was launched

Takeaways

• Demo
  • Gauge how important it is for the prospect to see the CMS or what they want to see
  • Show them how easy it is to add and make changes for regular users
  • Our new demo flow will likely address this issue
• Proposal
  • Make it clearer about what is included or is an option in the summary section of the proposal