The number one way to shorten the RFP Process
The number one way to shorten your RFP process? Use a Retirement Planologist. (Retirement Planologist: one who specializes in providing consulting and advisory to retirement plans.) Why?
They are educated buyers.
Much like buying a car, if you don’t know what’s under the hood, you have to rely on how the car looks and feels. It’s really important to know if that car’s engine has something lurking under the hood that will leave you stranded on the side of the road in a few hundred miles. Your company will change over time and so will the marketplace.
They can see around corners.
I’m not implying they’re mind readers or can see the future, but Retirement Planologists have worked extensively with retirement plans and know the common (and uncommon) problems. They’ll have a pretty good idea when you’ll outgrow your plan design or when pricing will need to be refined, or what's going to drive you bananas when working with certain vendors.
They will save you time.
I recently sat through a sales presentation from a vendor where they went on and on about having a rules-based recordkeeping system. It sounded really great to the plan sponsor, but I cut them off part of the way through and redirected the conversation. Why? Because every vendor that had answered the RFP had rules-based recordkeeping. (If you don’t, you shouldn’t be a retirement plan recordkeeper.) We would have been trapped there another 30 minutes hearing him blather on. Having someone to drive the process and the presentations will save you time.
{Download our white paper to evaluate the success of your plan, learn how to evaluate your must-haves, and determine your vendor questions.}
Your plan and your needs really are unique. Your company culture is a huge factor in determining how you craft your plan and involve vendors. A Planologist will significantly reduce the time needed to put together and review the results from an RFP by designing it with pertinent questions to your situation.
Additionally, how many calls do you want to field from these folks? Without a Planologist to help you, you’re going to be the one that gets all the questions, all the follow up phone calls, all the why didn’t we win calls, in addition to the “Can I have 15 minutes of your time” and “Can I ask you a question or tell you about…” phone calls and office visits too. You have more job responsibilities than just running the retirement plan RFP process.
They can be the bad cop.
That leaves you to be the good cop. You can be gracious hosts and hostesses to these vendors, and then blame the advisor for not hiring them, or use the advisor to ask the hard questions and perform the due diligence.
In short, you've got a ton of other things you'd rather be doing. Hire a specialist who will save you significant time and money in running your RFP.
Contact us today if you're thinking about changing vendors or starting a vendor RFP, or download our white paper to evaluate the success of your plan, learn how to evaluate your must-haves, and determine your vendor questions.
Related Articles:
Courtenay Shipley Named To 2019 Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Advisers
5 Important Questions To Ask On Your Vendor RFP
Plan Committee In Search Of Investment Comparison Really Needed RFP Assistance