Over the years I have not gotten a lot of RFPs, but but I did last week and I now remember why many companies don't like them. If they look like the last one I saw, there are two areas that should be of concern:
1) If you are at the point where you need a product or service, but really don't know much about it, you may appear unaware of what the issues and details connected. This can make you seem unprepared to deal with the responses you get from those responding to your RFP.
The results of this situation may be that a) Companies don't want to spend the time educating you without billing for the time needed. They may also be concerned that they could provide you with something that you are not satisfied with because you didn't understand what you wanted, what you asked for, or both. Or b) a vendor may take advantage of your lack of knowledge to tell you what you need, and that may or may not really be in your best interests, depending on the ethics of the vendor.
2) This last RFP not only had requirements for the work required, but also requested things like references, other examples of work for similar clients, staff profiles, and a statement about your company's financial stability.
This request for information about your company is mostly reasonable if you are going to hire one of them, but if you are just trying to select a vendor for a specific project, I think it is premature. Getting bids on a project first should allow you to select some for consideration and then they can be further qualified for final selection. Since you need to know they can do the work at a price you can afford first, it makes sense to me that you not ask them for the other information which may or may not make any difference on their ability to do the work.
Putting together an estimate for work to be done takes enough effort as it is without "requiring" a company profile at the same time. You can ask for one, but I don't think you should put off potential vendors by demanding it or you may miss some good ones.
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