Toolkit
SFMC partner RFP scorecard
Score vendors on operating proof, not logo bingo. Print it, fill it in the room with marketing ops present, reuse it at day ninety.
Pair with RFP questions and how to hire a managed services partner. For the commercial de-risk pattern, see 90-day trial vs long SOW.
1. After-hours ownership
Named owner + response expectation when a journey breaks on Saturday.
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2. Cross-skilling
One path across data, email, and journeys, or three people for one send?
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3. Onboarding clock
Days vs weeks to productive work on your stack.
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4. Trial / discovery
Real queues before multi-year lock-in, not A-team pilot theater.
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5. Named bench
Who seats in week one, and what happens if someone rolls off?
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6. Operate what they build
Same people after go-live, or rotate-out after hypercare?
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7. Deliverability ops
Weekly ownership, incident path, who talks to mailbox providers.
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8. Data Cloud done (if in scope)
Activation into Marketing Cloud, not connector diagrams only.
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9. Multi-BU standards
Naming, suppression truth, orphaned BU policing.
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10. Clear “will not do”
Strong operators draw boundaries. Weak vendors say yes to everything.
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11. Operating artifacts
Redacted runbook, QA checklist, constrained before/after story.
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12. Failed-send war story
What broke, what changed, who owned the fix.
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FAQ
How should we score each row?
Use 0 (no answer), 1 (vague), 2 (specific but weak proof), 3 (named owners + artifacts). Score live with marketing ops in the room.
Can we print this?
Yes. Use your browser print dialog. This is an HTML checklist on purpose so you can start today without waiting on a PDF pack.
Next step
Talk to the Cell
Mid-RFP? Bring your draft scorecard. We will tell you which rows actually separate operators from body shops.