The linked song “Break it to them gently” has nothing to do with subject of letting the vendors know what is happening during the contract negotiation phase of a software selection project. By this time, the vendors have worked hard in responding to an RFP, prepared for/conducted demonstrations and have spent a lot of time trying hard to win your business. At some point, you need to let the vendors know what is happening. You could wait until the very end, but in our opinion, that’s not the right way.
Preferred Vendor
You want the preferred vendor to be competitive all through contract negotiations. But at the same time, you will be asking them for references, contracts, a schedule, bios… By telling them that they are the preferred vendor, they can allocate more attention and resources to finish the contract negotiations. But they also need to know that there is still a lot of work to be done to earn your business.
Rejected Vendor(s)
You should tell the vendors what is happening for multiple reasons:
- Professional courtesy
- Making the right decision – your decision may be based on faulty assumptions or misinterpretations.
- Provide useful information to the vendors
- Competitive intelligence – They may give you some useful information about the preferred vendor
You should do it in a meeting and not just by email to give them a chance to ask questions. Good luck.