A thin briefAnswers 3 of 10
We need a new website. It should be modern and help us grow. Budget is flexible, and we need it as soon as possible.
Missing: the outcome, the audience, how success is judged, a budget band, a fixed date and the decision.
Send a brief or RFQ to the lead who would run the work.
One form takes a quick question, a project brief or a formal RFQ, and asks only what each needs. Every message is read in full and answered with questions, a time to talk or a clear no.
An example brief for "Your company", scored by the same brief check the form uses. Project brief: Problem, Demo requests come from companies too small to serve; Scope, Website rebuild and an SEO programme; Outcome, Double qualified demo requests in two quarters; Audience, IT directors, 200–2,000 people, UK and India; Budget, 50,000–100,000 USD; Timing, Live before the March trade show; Files, rfp-website.pdf · guidelines.pdf. Brief strength 84 percent, Strong — enough for a first scope. Next most useful: How you will judge it.
What are you sending?
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The brief
One form, as short or as full as you need.
Choose what you are sending. Only your name, a work email and one line about the work are required; each optional answer makes our first reply more specific.
How to write a good brief1 answer needs a look
Before this can be sent
Writing a brief
What makes a good brief: the checklist our leads use.
The brief check beside the form scores against this list. You do not need every answer: five clear ones beat ten vague ones.
Fig. 01Each brief is read for what it asks and for what it leaves out.
Show weights for
Each answer's share of the brief-check score, adjusted for the kind of brief you send. It matches the form until you choose here.
Every message 3 answers
Three answers any enquiry can give in two minutes.
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Who is asking
A work email and a company tell us which lead should reply and what we can check before we do.
A strong answerYour name, Head of Digital at Your company (400 people, B2B software).
10% of the score
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The problem today
What is not working, in your words. Symptoms are fine; we will find the cause with you.
A strong answerOur site explains features, not outcomes, and most demo requests come from companies too small for sales to serve.
14% of the score
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The scope
The services you think you need, or the package you prefer.
A strong answerA website rebuild and an SEO programme, bought as a fixed-price project.
12% of the score
A project brief adds 7 answers
The answers a lead needs to start planning the work.
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The outcome
The business result you want, ideally with a number and a date.
A strong answerDouble qualified demo requests from mid-market IT buyers within two quarters.
14% of the score
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Who it is for
The people who have to notice, trust or use the result. The narrower, the better the work.
A strong answerIT directors at 200 to 2,000 person companies in the UK and India.
8% of the score
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How you will judge it
The measure you will report upward, and where it is tracked today.
A strong answerDemo requests from target-size companies, tracked in the CRM, reviewed monthly.
10% of the score
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A budget band
A range lets us propose one right-sized scope instead of three.
A strong answer50,000–100,000 US dollars.
10% of the score
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Timing
When you want to start, and any date that cannot move.
A strong answerStart next month; live before the March trade show.
8% of the score
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How the decision is made
Where you are in the decision and who else signs it off, so nobody meets the work for the first time at the end.
A strong answerBudget approved; the CMO decides and IT signs off security.
6% of the score
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What exists already
Your current stack, brand assets, research and the references you admire or want to avoid.
A strong answerThe current site runs on WordPress; brand guidelines are attached.
8% of the score
A formal RFQ adds 1 answer
The rules a proposal is judged against, up front.
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The rules the work must meet
Procurement steps, the proposal deadline and your security and compliance requirements. Only an RFQ needs these up front.
A strong answerVendor registration and a security questionnaire; GDPR; proposals due 14 November.
—% Not counted for this kind of brief
Template
Write it offline first
The checklist as a plain-text file, with an example for every answer. Fill it in, then paste it into the form or attach it.
Download the brief templateFor an RFQ, attach
- The RFP or RFQ document and any response template
- The evaluation criteria and their weighting
- The Q&A deadline and the submission format
- Security questionnaires and vendor forms
- Your NDA, if it must be signed first
The same brief, two ways
Same company, same need. The second takes a little longer to write and saves rounds of questions later.
A brief we can scopeAnswers 9 of 10
Double qualified demo requests from mid-market IT buyers within two quarters.04 Our site explains features, not outcomes, and most demo requests come from companies too small for sales to serve.02 It is for IT directors at 200 to 2,000 person companies in the UK and India.05 We think we need a website rebuild and an SEO programme.03 Success is demo requests from target-size companies, tracked in the CRM.06 Budget: 50,000–100,000 US dollars.07 It must be live before our March trade show.08 The CMO decides; IT signs off security.09 The current site runs on WordPress, and our brand guidelines are attached.10
Numbers point to the checklist above. The tenth answer, who is asking, comes from the first step of the form.
How it works
What happens next, in four steps.
A project brief and a formal RFQ follow different timelines. Each step below shows when to expect it.
If you send it now
The office is closed: it is 05:25 IST, Fri 9 Oct. The clock starts at 10:00 IST on Fri 9 Oct.
Working days are Monday to Friday, India Standard Time, excluding public holidays. Every date is a target.
A project brief
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Received
Instant
Fri 9 Oct, 05:25
Your reference appears on screen and the brief lands in our inbox with its files.
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Read and routed
Same working day
Fri 9 Oct
The lead for the discipline reads it in full. A brief across several disciplines still gets one lead.
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A reply
Within one working day
By Mon 12 Oct
Questions or a time to talk. If we are not the right fit, we say so and refer you where we can.
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A call, then a scope
Within a week of the call
5 working days after the call
Thirty minutes, then a written scope with options, a team and a pricing model. NDA signed first if you asked.
The first call
- 01Thirty minutesBy video or phone, during your working day.
- 02With the lead who read itThe same person would run the work if you go ahead.
- 03A next step, in writingA scope with options, or a clear no with a referral if someone else fits better.
A formal RFQ
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Receipt confirmed
Within one working day
By Mon 12 Oct
We confirm receipt, name a bid lead and check that every document opened.
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Bid or no bid
Within three working days
By Wed 14 Oct
If we will not bid, we tell you early and say why.
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Clarifying questions
By your Q&A deadline
The date in your pack
Questions go in the format your process asks for, to the contact you name.
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Proposal
By your due date
In your template, with the security and procurement answers in the forms you sent.
Illustration: an agent-drafted RFQ summary awaiting the bid lead's sign-off. It shows the due date, format and scoring weights, plus three open questions with their source pages.
Agents help
For a long RFQ, an agent drafts a one-page summary and lists open questions, each with its source page.
People decide
The bid lead reads the original documents, edits the questions and decides whether we bid. Nothing goes to you that a person has not read.
Inboxes and offices
The right inbox, and when to expect a reply.
Not everything belongs in a brief. Each inbox goes straight to the team it names.
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New work
Projects, proposals and anything you would rather not put in a form.
connect@xterraedze.comAim: 1 working day
Or send a brief -
Careers
Questions about roles. To apply, use the careers page.
careers@xterraedze.comAim: 5 working days
See open roles -
Press
Interviews, commentary and speaking requests.
press@xterraedze.comAim: 2 working days
Or use the form -
Security
Report a vulnerability in anything we run. Please do not test live client systems.
security@xterraedze.comAcknowledged: 2 working days
Read the security policy
01 · Office Closed now · 05:25 IST
New Delhi
6 Worldmark, AerocityNew Delhi 110037, IndiaMonday to Friday · 10:00–19:00 IST
Open in Maps — New Delhi (opens in a new tab)02 · Office Closed now · 05:25 IST
Ludhiana
SCO-2, LGFSCO-1, 3rd Floor Noble Enclave, Opp. Hotel Park PlazaFerozepur Road, Ludhiana, Punjab 141001, IndiaMonday to Friday · 10:00–19:00 IST
Open in Maps — Ludhiana (opens in a new tab)03 · Office Closed now · 20:55 ADT
Saint John
120 University AvenueSaint John, NB E2K 1Z3, CanadaMonday to Friday · 09:00–17:00 ADT
Open in Maps — Saint John (opens in a new tab)By appointment
Talk first
Thirty minutes, booked directly in our calendar; the booking service emails a confirmation. Meetings at any of our offices are by appointment. Say so in your brief and we will send directions and a time.
Book a callQuestions
Before you send: NDAs, budgets and files.
Something else? Write to connect@xterraedze.com.
01Will you sign an NDA before we share details?
Yes. Turn on the NDA option in the documents step and attach yours, or ask for ours. We sign before any detailed discussion, so your brief can stay high-level until then.
02What if I do not know the budget?
Choose "Not sure yet". A band helps us propose the right size of work first time. Without one we come back with options at two or three sizes and say what each buys.
03Can you answer a formal RFQ or RFP in our format?
Yes. We answer in your template and keep to your Q&A and submission deadlines. We also complete vendor registration and security questionnaires as part of the bid.
04What happens to the files I upload?
They are stored privately on our own server, outside the public website, and are opened only by the team through our admin. Ask and we delete them.
05Which files can I attach?
PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Keynote, RTF, plain text, ZIP, PNG and JPG. For spreadsheets or anything larger, zip it or paste a link to a shared folder.
06Is the brief check an AI model?
No. It is a rules check that runs in your browser. It scores your answers against the checklist on this page and picks out details such as amounts, dates and services. Nothing is sent until you press Send.
07Do you work outside India?
We take briefs from any country, with budgets in any currency, and arrange calls in your working hours. Tell us where the work will run and we will say if a local firm would serve you better.
08How do I apply for a job?
Use the careers page: each open role has its own application with a CV upload. This form is for business enquiries.
Tell us what you need built.
You will speak to a lead who would run the work, and get a straight answer on fit.