Reducing the Cost of Sale

RFPs get a bad rap in the agency space. We shun them. We try to disrupt them. Sometimes we outright ignore them. 

I think all that misses the point though. If a potential client came to you and asked, “Hey, I have this problem. I think you might be able to help me solve it. If I give you some information about the problem I’m facing, would you let me know how you’d think about solving it?” 

You would happily talk with them and share your thoughts. But if you see the letters “R-F-P” anywhere near the ask, alarm bells start ringing. 

So - what’s so special (and bad) about an RFP? 

It comes down to cost of sale. As agency owners, we fear waste and competition. Wasted resources, wasted time, wasted thinking - and the idea that we’re being pitted against other firms. 

But rather than treating the RFP like a backhanded compliment, treat it like a binary choice. 

Yes or no. 

We are a fit or we are not a fit. 

One simple way to do this is by developing a brief set of questions for the prospect to understand RFP fit and a strict go/no go decision-making criteria based on their response. This exercise takes emotion and current business climate out of the picture - both important when assessing opportunity cost. 

RFPs are simply a good time to practice discipline and reaffirm a commitment to your positioning. If you have properly positioned your firm, then competition and waste should not be obstacles in an RFP scenario. 

I am not arguing that RFPs (or other pitching situations for that matter) are the best way to evaluate agency fit. In most cases, they’re not. Asking a chef to talk to you about the meal they’re about to cook is a poor substitute for enjoying the food itself. 

But for the well-positioned firm, another agency’s emotional reactivity is their opportunity. 

The downsides of spec work or pitching don’t exist if you’ve already done the work or thinking and shared it publicly - you can’t steal something that’s already available for free. 

“Spec work” is a broad term, but in this scenario I’m talking about industry or opportunity specific content that a client wants to see before hiring you.

As a well-positioned firm, you should already have a library of content that’s both helpful and offers a unique perspective on industry or opportunity space. While an RFP or similar pitching scenario should give you the chance to showcase that thinking, scrambling to develop a differentiated perspective on a client-by-client basis should be reserved for disorganized and soon-to-be-extinct agencies. 

Your published content offers dual benefits. The first is to attract new clients who will see and respect your approach and perspective. The second - under-utilized - benefit is to use thought leadership to reduce the cost of sale in competitive or procurement driven situations. 

Refine your positioning, create differentiated content that helps, and amplify it to your audience. RFPs or otherwise, if you do that, opportunities will come your way.