How Clients Shape the Agency They Choose

Agency selection is one of the highest-stakes decisions a marketing leader will make — period.

The pitch process may feel like an audition for agencies, but here’s the industry truth: how you show up as a client doesn’t just predict what you’ll get – it actively shapes it.

If You Want the Best, Start Acting Like the Best Client

Clients spend significant resources evaluating agencies but sometimes overlook a critical variable in the outcome—themselves. Your behavior throughout the pitch process sets the tone, raises (or lowers) the bar, and ultimately dictates how candidates perform. Great agencies tune in quickly to how a client treats people, runs meetings, and handles feedback. And they adjust accordingly.

A Clear Brief Unlocks Better Thinking

Want original, on-point strategies? Start with a crystal-clear brief. Ambiguous direction or shifting priorities invite scattershot responses – and generic ideas. The best agencies take your goals seriously—but they can only hit targets that have actually been defined.

Key moves:

• Provide a brief that’s focused, strategic, and transparent about priorities.
• Make context and business objectives explicit; don’t just hand over a list of tactics.
• Welcome questions and be candid in your answers.

Respect Breeds Effort (and Innovation)

How you handle logistics and communications throughout the pitch process signals what kind of partner you’ll be. Ghosting agencies between rounds, delaying feedback, or making agencies jump through hoops “just to see what happens”? Behaviors like that are a clear warning to an agency they likely will be treated the same way as a selected partner.

Agencies do their best work when they know their time and expertise will be respected. Here’s what that looks like:

• Sticking to agreed deadlines and keeping agencies updated.
• Offering meaningful, actionable feedback after each round.
• Communicating with transparency and professionalism.

The agencies you want—the ones who bring passion, ingenuity, and senior talent—are weighing you, too. They bring their A-team for clients who show they deserve it.

Collaboration Now Predicts Collaboration Later

Chemistry isn’t a buzzword; it’s business critical. The pitch process is a rehearsal for how you’ll work together. Are you open to ideas? Will you challenge (and be challenged) in a way that pushes work forward? Are you inattentive, distracted and transactional?

Agencies notice who listens, who dominates the conversation, and who asks the questions that matter. The way you interact during the pitch process will attract agencies who match your energy and values.

The Best Agencies Are Choosing You, Too

Ultimately, the pitch process is as much about you choosing an agency as it is about agencies deciding if they want to choose you. The high performers in our industry don’t chase every RFP—just the ones where partnership looks promising. And sometimes, the agency you want most will pass if they sense client-side friction or indecision.

If you want a high-trust, high-caliber partnership, act like a partner from the beginning. Make the process straightforward, thoughtful, and respectful—and you will attract (and be able to accurately choose) the agencies that do their best work under those conditions.

Bottom Line

Clients don’t just choose an agency — they earn the one they get. And that earning starts on day one of the pitch. Be the kind of client that inspires great thinking, fairness, and real partnership, and you’ll find yourself choosing from agencies ready to deliver exactly that.

Don’t just hire for fit; create the conditions for your future agency to do their best work. It starts with how you show up.