I have conducted agency searches for companies such as Jacuzzi, Jenny Craig, Villeroy & Boch, and Raley’s Supermarkets and also spent years developing successful New Business programs for agencies. I have seen life from both sides of the street and I believe the RFP process is broken.
I don’t know who homogenized who first but when I talk to clients they tell me that all agencies are the same. I was somewhat skeptical when I heard that but now I believe it is true. Advertising and PR firms have largely commoditized themselves. How did it happen?
I am sure that years ago clients got a copy of a traditional RFP. Please tell us about the size of the agency, relevant experience in the sector, key people that will be assigned to the account, etc, etc, etc. Not much has changed in years. The dance is the same and most agencies have learned the dance and perform the same way.
What I see in most Capabilities presentations that I receive in response to the first request for capabilities is submission to conformity. The majority of these capabilities decks have the mandatory logo page of current and past clients. Then you get their Org Chart. This is followed by the page of team profiles mentioning the largest agencies the individuals have worked at and the largest clients they have worked on even though it was probably somewhere else long ago. Then you have the agency discovery process which is mostly mumbo jumbo in the end. The acronym to describe them may be proprietary but the content is basically the same and the process is largely derivative. Interspersed are some cases which may or not be relevant. You see one you see them all.
When I send out my RFP to a list of agencies I don’t tell the agencies how to present or the order but it rarely changes no matter where the agency is located or the spec of the review which is always dramatically different each time. I tried to change the process by only sending out short 2-3 page RFP’s but while the input may be different the output is the same.
When we meet, the President or New Business person opens followed by the Research or insight person. Then the head Account person gets inserted in the process and then the Creative show. The media person may get some time with not enough time. And then the President closes. “We want your business. We’d be perfect for you. Yada Yada Yada.”
I think the RFP process is broken for both parties and it compromises the process. We need to do better today in an age where we have more tools.
What about a Request for Clarity and Interest Proposal. Please provide us with a one page summary of your agency matches our needs based on the following criteria we are looking for. If you are interested in pursuing our business and meeting you please provide a link to a You Tube video no longer than fifteen minutes on why we should meet. We look forward to your proposal.
The video will quickly make it apparent if these are the people you want to work with. One video is worth more than a thousand words these days.
Marketing has changed dramatically. Let’s change the dating process.
Hank Blank conducts agency searches for clients in a new and productive way and also helps agencies improve their New Business process and move it to today’s times. Hank speaks to agencies on Why Agencies Don’t Want New Business to help them change and to many companies and organizations. You can check him out by doing a Google search on Hank Blank or visiting his site at www.hankblank.com.
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Watch a video on this topic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6jEGgVHx_g&list=UUEigDTyDiFGXVfyg7sRErOg&index=8&feature=plcp
Hank Blank: Thoughts on Networking, New Business & Agency Searches 
Hank: Good approach– and it can work, particularly if the company can outline a specific problem or market challenge as a test. Last year I led a PR agency new biz pitch that featured a six-minute video discussing the launch of a mobile app. The video was fast, fun, and loaded with content– the prospective client was able to hear the pros and cons of different positioning and media options, and get a feel for the development process. The approach was a win-win for all concerned! /Michael
The ad biz is a giant slush pile and clients do indeed view agencies as replaceable cogs… and rightly so.
Most agencies (marketing firms of all stripes) are order taker generalists. Order takers are usually the ones wasting their time and money trying to win business from an RFP that’s been distributed to dozens of agencies. Order takers are the ones who tell the prospective client they offer “full-service”, or “integrated communication services”.
I agree the RFP process is the worst of all possible business development scenarios… where you have little if no power in the buying process…
Business development is not about the “tactic” you use to tell your story to a prospect. (you tube videos,etc.) Business development is about skillfully positioning your firm as an expert in a specialized discipline. Building your reputation over time as “the firm” to go to for the specialized solution highly valued by a late-stage client to be buyer! Firms with specialized expertise are “value creators” and always commanding premium fees and whose opportunities exceed their capacity.
If you receive an RFP from a prospect, your business development is passive. An RFP means your firm is “one of many” interchangable suppliers of tactical stuff.
Here’s my advise on handling an RFP when they show up (from consultants or the client directly).
1) qualify the opportunity… if the client”s RFP demonstrates that they have done their homework and “invited” a small handful of specialized firms in for a “paid” conversation, and the client has the money and authority to meet your minimum fee, chances are it might be worth pursuing.
2) if you determine the opportunity is worth pursuing, begin the vetting process to determine if you are a good fit … will your firm be allowed to make an impact on the client’s business? Does the client seek and respect your strategic advice and guidance and be willing to pay for it? Do you share a common set of “business values”? Does the opportunity represent business at a profit for your firm? Why are they seeking a new partner? (remember, whatever a client will do with you, they’ll do to you.)
3) NEVER provide your high value thinking for free as a way of demonstrating your worthiness for the gig. Value creator firms save their best thinking for paying clients. Clients who respect the value of their relationship with their partners will never expect them to part with their best thinking for free.
4) Your proposal (solution to the problem) should be the words coming out of your mouth. As a result of your expertise and deeper conversations on their issue, make an assessment, propose a recommended course of action, tell them what it will cost…then say “if this meets with your approval, our office will prepare the paper-work for your acceptance and we’re good to go”. NEVER leave your proposal to languish on the prospect’s desk, or worse, have them “shop it around”.
You can build your business by design or by chance… order-taker or value creator…which one do you want to be?
Totally agree that video is awesome way to cut through the clutter. We recently won a huge account and credit the fact that we produced a 6 min video describing exactly why we are the best agency for the job. They didn’t ask for a video, and we ran the risk than they might not even see it. We simply included a note with a link in the obligatory written response.
We didn’t have the most experience in that market, weren’t the largest agency and didn’t have more awards, but the video (especially at that stage) clearly communicated our enthusiasm, creativity and capabilities in a “show don’t tell” way that can’t be beaten by a written response.