Evaluate signal platforms by the work they actually create.
Use this RFP template to compare Reputably with social listening, review management, sales intelligence, local SEO, AI visibility, reporting, and reputation workflow tools without reducing the decision to generic feature boxes.
RFP decision pack
Evidence to inspect
Detect
Source-backed lead, reputation, competitor, and AI/search signals.
Explain
Fit reason, source context, signal type, urgency, and next action.
Route
Owners, status, integrations, escalation rules, and report handoff.
Prove
Pilot scorecard, commercial scope, governance, and expansion criteria.
Best next step
Ask each vendor to show the exact evidence behind the score, then test the strongest vendor in a narrow pilot.
A useful RFP reveals whether the vendor can find real public signals, explain why they matter, route them to owners, and prove the workflow is worth keeping.
Buyer context
RFP questions need to reflect how buyers actually evaluate now.
Vendor lists are getting shorter
Procurement teams are pushing vendors to prove why they deserve a place in the software estate instead of adding another overlapping point solution.
ITPro vendor consolidation coverageBuyers compare before they contact sales
6sense reports that buying groups rank shortlists before seller conversations, and LLMs are being used for vendor comparison, RFP drafting, and implementation planning.
6sense Buyer Experience ReportAI capabilities need clear answers
Buyers are asking more direct questions about AI features, training data, privacy, security, basic capability, and cost before they commit.
6sense Buyer Experience ReportSelf-service proof matters
Gartner reports that many B2B buyers prefer a rep-free buying experience, so the RFP path answers core questions without forcing a discovery call.
Gartner sales surveyRFP sections
Ask for evidence across the complete signal workflow.
Business problem
What business problem does the platform solve, and what work does it replace or improve?
Evidence: Missed demand, review backlog, AI/search gaps, manual monitoring, reporting burden, and owner map.
Source coverage
Which public sources, review sites, communities, video platforms, web pages, prompts, and competitors can be monitored?
Evidence: Source list, source limitations, match rules, example source links, and first-profile setup requirements.
Signal quality
How does the platform classify lead intent, reputation risk, competitor context, misinformation, proof gaps, and reporting notes?
Evidence: Signal type, source link, fit reason, sentiment, urgency, topic, competitor, location, and suggested action.
Workflow ownership
Where does each signal go after detection, and who owns the next action?
Evidence: Routing rules, owner map, status model, integrations, escalation paths, and report handoff.
Review and reputation workflow
Can the same workflow manage reviews, response status, review requests, recurring themes, and public conversation risk?
Evidence: Review inbox, reply workflow, request campaigns, themes, locations, campaign metrics, and human approval.
AI visibility workflow
Can the platform show how AI/search answers describe the business, cite sources, compare competitors, and expose missing proof?
Evidence: Prompt tracking, cited-source review, visibility trend, competitor presence, sentiment, and recommended fixes.
Reporting
Can stakeholders understand what changed without reading raw mentions or dashboard exports?
Evidence: Executive summary, client-ready report, lead signals, review work, AI/search gaps, completed actions, and next priorities.
Governance and trust
How are access, public replies, outreach, customer messaging, sensitive source context, and data categories controlled?
Evidence: Security notes, privacy notes, access model, human-review workflow, data categories, procurement path, and terms review.
Question bank
Replace yes-or-no software questions with evidence questions.
Weak RFP answers create late-stage ambiguity. Strong answers show what the buyer can inspect before selecting a vendor.
Category
Question
Weak answer
Strong answer
Category fit
Question
Is this a social listening tool, review platform, sales-intent tool, local SEO platform, AI visibility tool, or connective signal workflow?
Weak answer
Claims every category without explaining the workflow boundary.
Strong answer
Explains which adjacent tools it overlaps with, where it is stronger, and which specialist tools may still be needed.
Source proof
Question
Can the vendor show sample signals with source context and why each signal matched?
Weak answer
Shows volume charts or generic mention counts.
Strong answer
Shows source, language, fit reason, signal type, urgency, location or competitor context, and recommended action.
Action routing
Question
Can the vendor route different signals to sales, marketing, operations, agencies, or leadership?
Weak answer
Sends every alert to one inbox or dashboard.
Strong answer
Supports owner mapping, status, handoff format, escalation rules, and integration paths.
AI use
Question
How is AI used in detection, classification, drafts, reports, and search visibility workflows?
Weak answer
Uses broad AI language without explaining controls or review points.
Strong answer
Defines AI-assisted areas, human review, source grounding, privacy boundaries, and where users approve public actions.
Implementation
Question
What does the first 30 days require from the buyer?
Weak answer
Promises instant value without setup inputs or owner commitments.
Strong answer
Defines brands, locations, competitors, sources, prompts, owners, routing rules, and pilot success criteria.
Commercial fit
Question
How does pricing scale with brands, locations, clients, sources, reports, campaigns, and users?
Weak answer
Hides the cost drivers until late procurement review.
Strong answer
Explains plan fit, expansion triggers, billing assumptions, procurement needs, and what a pilot proves before expansion.
Scoring matrix
Score vendors on proof, not presentation polish.
Area
Business outcome
What a 5 proves
Problem, owner, value case, and decision criteria are specific.
Area
Signal relevance
What a 5 proves
Examples are useful, source-backed, and clearly separated from noise.
Area
Workflow fit
What a 5 proves
Signals can become owned work in existing buyer systems.
Area
Reputation coverage
What a 5 proves
Reviews, review requests, and public reputation risk are connected.
Area
AI/search visibility
What a 5 proves
Prompts, sources, competitors, sentiment, and proof gaps are visible.
Area
Reporting clarity
What a 5 proves
Reports explain what changed, what happened, and what happens next.
Area
Governance
What a 5 proves
Human approval, access, source context, data categories, and public actions are controlled.
Area
Commercial fit
What a 5 proves
Pricing, rollout scope, procurement needs, and expansion logic are clear.
Stakeholder prompts
Give each reviewer a question that matches their job.
A world-class RFP package makes the decision team more precise, not just longer.
Revenue
Show examples of public recommendation requests, competitor comparisons, urgent needs, and fit reasoning.
Marketing
Show buyer language, content gaps, competitor positioning, AI/search visibility, and reusable proof themes.
Operations
Show review risk, location trends, owner routing, public response workflow, and escalation rules.
Agency or client success
Show client-level separation, report outputs, white-label needs, account summaries, and proof standards.
Security and procurement
Show data categories, access model, public action controls, privacy links, terms path, and rollout scope.
Leadership
Show cost drivers, tool-overlap rationale, pilot scorecard, expansion decision, and business-case assumptions.
RFP packet checklist
Business problem and first workflow
Brands, locations, clients, services, and competitors
Priority sources, review sites, communities, and AI/search prompts
Signal categories and noise boundaries
Owner map, routing paths, escalation rules, and integrations
Reporting audience, report cadence, and proof standard
Security, privacy, public action, access, and procurement questions
Pilot scorecard, commercial scope, and expansion decision criteria
FAQ
RFP questions buyers ask first.
Is this a legal RFP document?
No. This page is a public RFP planning template. Formal procurement, legal, privacy, security, and contract requirements are handled through the official buyer process and the applicable customer agreement.
Who uses this RFP template?
Use it when comparing Reputably with social listening, review management, sales intelligence, local SEO, AI visibility, reporting, or broader reputation workflow tools.
How do vendors be scored?
Score vendors on evidence, not claims. Ask for source-backed examples, owner routing, governance controls, reporting outputs, implementation requirements, commercial fit, and proof from a narrow pilot.
What makes this RFP different from a generic software checklist?
It focuses on the work after detection: whether public signals become sales action, reputation work, AI/search improvement, client reporting, or accountable operational follow-up.
See it on your signals
Turn the RFP into an evidence-led demo.
Bring your source list, competitors, owners, review workflow, AI/search prompts, reporting needs, and procurement questions so Reputably can be evaluated against the work your team actually needs.
What you can set up first
Monitoring profile
Define the brands, competitors, sources, signals, and owners that matter first.
Action route
Separate lead intent, reputation risk, visibility gaps, and content opportunities.
Clear report
Show the sources checked, signals found, actions routed, and open risks your team should review.
Launch scope
Decide whether to start with one brand, location group, client workspace, or source set.