I hate RFPs. There, I said it.
Before launching Geben, I worked at an agency that participated in a fair number of RFPs, which means I’ve had plenty of experience putting the final submission together. It was always an absurd endeavor, the process swallowing practically the entire office. A time-suck that pulled us away from actual billable work. And, more importantly, pulled us away from working on projects with clients who had already determined we were the right agency partner for them.
In the past few weeks, I’ve received three RFPs, two of which from organizations that normally I’d jump at the chance to work with — one, a startup, and the other a well-known nonprofit. In all three cases, I decided not to submit a proposal.
Why would I say no to the opportunity to win a new client? How about:
- We’re looking to work with people who are truly interested and excited about working with us specifically. If you’re sending an RFP out to a bunch of agencies, that means you’re not overly excited about us, you’re just fishing for options.
- We’re serious about delivering partner-level service to our customers. We want to work with companies that are looking for a PR partner — not just a vendor. Nothing screams “vendor” more than an RFP.
- All too often, RFPs often come down to pricing (meaning, the cheapest wins). Sometimes, we’re far less expensive than other agencies (especially the largest ones), but I don’t want to be selected because we’re the cheapest. I want to be selected because of the quality of our ideas and results.
- RFPs tend to ask for specific tactics, creative ideas, etc. It’s presumptuous for us – or any agency – to put together a plan without going through all the research to understand the market, goals, key messages, time-sensitive opportunities, etc. This foundational information is critical to the plan; however, the time to facilitate a Discovery Session and follow that up with our own work happens after we have a signed contract. Plus, people pay us for those plans and ideas, so I despise that RFPs expect agencies to provide freebie ideas.
- RFPs are frequently developed to provide an advantage to a certain firm.A lot of time, a nonprofit or a company is going through the RFP process not because they’re mandated to, but because someone on the board suggested it. Instead of giving everyone a fair shot, the RFP is rigged to benefit the agency that the organization’s internal PR person or CEO/executive director wants to work with.
- Completing an RFP the right way is very time-consuming. We’re fortunate to be in a position where we have a steady stream of companies and nonprofits that want to hire us because they’re familiar with the quality of our work and the results we deliver. They know we’re the right partner for them so we skip the whole RFP process.
Earlier this year, Arik Hanson swore off RFPs as well. Ironically, when I commented on that post, I was in the midst of completing an RFP. We’d been asked by a partner to participate in the process with them, so I said yes. That was the only RFP I’ve submitted this year, and likely my last for a very, very long time.
One of the benefits of running a boutique PR agency is that we can be highly selective about the clients we choose to work with. During the business development process, I’m interviewing prospective clients just as much as they’re interviewing me. An RFP doesn’t provide the opportunity for me to participate in meaningful dialogue — two-way conversations that will reveal if my firm is the right fit for their needs and if they’re the right type of client for us.
As Arik pointed out in his post, he’s decided that going through the RFP process is a poor use of time. Similarly, I’d rather focus my time building relationships with people who are genuinely excited about the opportunity to work with us. (And, if that’s you, then let’s connect. Email me: heather@gebencommunication.com!)
Image credit: PR Daily