Create a request for proposal (RFP)

Planning lets you easily send requests for proposals (RFPs) for your projects, and organizes them for easy viewing and any later actions (such as adding or deleting recipients) you need to take.

When you send an RFP in Planning, you automatically create a negotiation channel, which is a secure space in which you and a publisher can privately discuss inventory and pricing. Using a negotiation channel, you can manage who receives your RFPs and control who has access to respond to them.

Please note that the following instructions assume you're waiting for the publisher to start the negotiation in terms of what inventory they'll offer you.

Step 1: Edit properties

1. In the left menu bar, click “RFP”.
2. At the top of the summary page, click NEW.
3. Enter a name and optionally, a summary, your email address (or the address you’d like to be attached to the RFP), and a due date for the response. This summary will appear in the notification email sent to recipients.
4. To attach one or more files, click Add attachments. Then drag and drop your files into the pop-up window, or use the menu to select files from your computer.
5. Click Continue to go to the next step.

Step 2: Add recipients

1. Click Add recipient.
2. Enter the recipient's name. Press Tab or click to move to the Organization and Email fields. You must fill both fields for each recipient. Note the following key points about the Organization field:
   1. Each organization will be assigned its own negotiation channel.
   2. if you add multiple recipients in the same organization, these contacts will share the same negotiation channel.
3. Click Continue.
4. Optionally, choose to send an email notification to one or more recipients. You can add a personal message to any of the emails.
5. Optionally, choose to receive a copy of every email that you send.
6. Click Save to send the RFP or Cancel to delete it. Sending the RFP will share a unique, private link with the publisher which they can use to offer inventory to you.

To remove one or more recipients, select the box next to each name you wish to delete, then click Delete.

TIP: If you have existing inventory you'd like to start the negotiation with, first create inventory, then create an RFP, and finally add the inventory you've created to the negotiation channel associated with the RFP.

What happens after I've created an RFP?

Once you create an RFP, it becomes part of the project, visible through the RFP summary page. Here you can see the following for each RFP:

• The name you gave the RFP
• The publisher and individual to whom you sent it
• The date and time you sent it
• The date and time it was last accessed
• Its status, currently one of the following:
  • Not sent: The invitation has been generated, but has not been sent to the recipient.
  • No response: The recipient has not yet clicked on the link.
  • Viewed: The recipient has clicked on the link.
  • Revoked: This invitation has been revoked. The recipient won't have access to the negotiation channel via this token.

Following up on an RFP

After an RFP has been sent, you can edit the name, summary, and attachments for an RFP at any time by clicking its name in the summary page.

You can send email to one or more RFP recipients by selecting the box next to each recipient’s name and clicking Send email at the top of the summary page.