abandon hope, all ye who pitch (or tender) round here
26 October, 2010 at 2:30 pm 2 comments
It’s slowly dawning on me that it’s not just the large-ish integrated agencies I used to work for that get seriously messed about in tenders and pitches by clients. Every agency I go into seems to be in the throes of some kind of new business related angst. Take, for example:
- The client’s tender where (despite the ten page tender response document) it was decided on price.
- The client who got a face to face pitch plus written proposal from several very different agencies, but three months in has yet to appoint anyone.
- The client who wanted a strategic, communications-led response to his business issues but also needed to see it as ready-to-artwork creative in the same meeting.
- The client who sent over thirty briefs to their agency, all needing response within a 4 week timeframe.
- The client who didn’t appreciate that they could only choose two of Good, Fast and Cheap.
Which reminds me of this:
Entry filed under: agencies, clients, new business. Tags: Pitching, tenders.
1. Peter | 26 October, 2010 at 2:46 pm
In any relationship there is someone in control.
Any business creates a persona. If it does this well, it will attract more clients than it needs. It can then choose the ones it wants to work with.
It is only the losers who have to endure ridiculous client requests without being secure enough to tell them no. It is only the losers who have to pitch endlessly instead of having clients waiting for the opportunity to work with them.
Your brand building needs work. Perhaps you’ve let the sales people take charge. Perhaps you don’t know how to do this for clients. or perhaps you are too close to your own company.
Step back. Set a strategy to move above all this noise. Choose which clients you want to work with. And go out there and take control.
2. almostalwaysthinking | 28 October, 2010 at 8:54 am
Good points Peter, thanks for your comment. I sort of came to a similar conclusion here: http://almostalwaysthinking.com/2010/05/11/when-the-brief-is-more-away-with-the-fairies-than-challenging/
and here:
http://almostalwaysthinking.com/2009/02/17/clients-behaving-badly/