Every picture tells a story.
True in life. True in history.
And true in pitches. Whether you’re part of the agency pitch team or the client selection committee, every interaction is an image, a memory, and part of the dating process.
What story do you want your potential partner to remember?
The Initial Contact: Does the agency respond quickly? Ask good questions? Engage earnestly?
If you’re the client, are you clear about the need and interest in the agency, do you answer agency questions to the best of your ability, and have reasonable expectations?
First impressions matter! Make them memorable in a positive way.
NDA: Confidentiality agreements are often required and important. If you’re the client, is your NDA reasonable and a Mutual NDA?
Does the agency turn the NDA around quickly with very limited and only absolutely necessary redlines?
In our experience we often see one-sided client NDAs, and agencies often take days to work through redlines, negatively impacting the timeline for them and the client. Clients often are on the clock and have an urgent need. Agencies that don’t move aggressively at this stage are unlikely to move aggressively when the client’s business requires it.
Confirmation of Participation: Did the agency confirm or pass in a timely manner? This is critical for the industry: if an agency takes too long to pass, there may not be adequate time for another agency to get involved.
Clients have their own responsibilities at this stage: be clear and transparent about the process and respond to agency questions briskly.
Request for Information: Did the agency “mail it in” or did they provide a thoughtful response tailored to the specific client’s needs?
Did the client provide adequate time for the agency to respond?
The RFI step gets a fair amount of flack, but it can be the difference maker enabling agencies that are not as well known to stand out, and for well known agencies to showcase their enthusiasm for the client’s business.
Request for Proposal: There are numerous opportunities for clients and agencies to put their best foot forward during the formal RFP stage in an agency selection process.
Q&A: Did the agency prepare for the Q&A, send their questions in advance and ask questions that focused on the client’s business challenge?
Did the client provide clear answers and share important background materials and information in a timely manner?
The Q&A is an opportunity for both the client and agency to showcase their enthusiasm, smarts and knowledge.
Tissue Session: Many pitch processes include a “tissue session” step, an opportunity for the agency to showcase early thinking about the client’s challenge. It should not be simply another Q&A. Rather, the agency should show up with early analysis and strategic ideas and even early tactical suggestions. Treat it as a workshop where you can get valuable client feedback.
Clients have an important responsibility at the Tissue Session step: to engage, ask good questions and provide clear reactions and feedback. And following the Tissue Session, a client best practice is to provide consolidated feedback via a quick phone call followed by written feedback. The consolidated feedback should be delivered within 24 hours, as the agency is on the clock! Respect their commitment by helping them succeed.
Final Presentation: Clients want to hear agencies talk about their business. Smart agencies focus their presentation on the client’s business challenge. The picture you want the client to remember is one of the agency’s maniacal focus on their business.
Clients need to remember that this is a dating process. Be respectful, warm and engaged. Ask good questions. Listen. Tell the agency what you think.
Agency Visits: At some point in the process the client likely will visit the agency.
Clients should approach the visit like they would a visit to a friend’s home, with respect and keen interest in the agency. Agencies should be good hosts while remembering that this is a business meeting. Maintain most of the agenda and focus on the client’s business needs and respond to their specific requests and questions.
The Decision: Clients should thank agencies that do not win the business and offer a thorough debrief to the agencies about what worked and what didn’t. The losing agencies likely invested a great deal in the pitch and that should be respected. Agencies should be disappointed but gracious in defeat. Sore losers create a lasting memory.
Every Picture Tells a Sory; Every Pitch Does Too
Clients and agencies need to remember that a pitch is a series of potentially long lasting images and memories. Make the most of the opportunity!
Steve Boehler, founder, and partner at Mercer Island Group has led consulting teams on behalf of clients as diverse as Ulta Beauty, Microsoft, UScellular, Nintendo, Kaiser Permanente, Holland America Line, Stop & Shop, Qualcomm, Brooks Running, and numerous others. He founded MIG after serving as a division president in a Fortune 100 when he was only 32. Earlier in his career, Steve Boehler cut his teeth with a decade in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble, leading brands like Tide, Pringles, and Jif.
Mercer Island Group helps marketers and agencies succeed. Company leadership is as much at home with marketers and their C-Suites as in an agency’s boardroom. With marketers, Mercer Island Group is a top 5 agency search consultancy covering all types of agency relationships (creative, media, web, PR, experiential) and assists marketers with marketing organization structure, workflow and critical skill development (briefing, creative evaluation & feedback, etc.). The company also supports leading and aspiring agencies with positioning, pitch and strategy training and pitch support.