The RFP Folly

AdAge posted an article a few days ago that compared an RFP to a cattle auction. The writer acknowledged, though, that cattle in an auction fetch higher prices and are less humiliated than agencies involved in RFPs.

From the client perspective, a request for proposal simplifies what can be a confusing process by structuring (and, often, homogenizing) input from varied sources. But RFPs fail miserably to uncover the most important element of an agency/client relationship: chemistry. So why do clients send these cursed requests? There are three kinds of clients who ask for RFPs:

1. The client with little experience with agencies. Because they don't really know what questions to ask, what an agency red flag looks like or what catchy phrases are really just warmed over b.s., these clients do need the RFP format to help assess an agency's potential for good fit. In this case, an RFP is better than nothing, really.

2. The client who likes to watch agencies jump through small, elusive, flame-covered hoops. RFPs set off a sequence of events within an agency that has lots of people scurrying around trying to anticipate exactly what the client is looking for, hunched over cold coffee until the wee hours of the morning working on an elaborate spec campaign that'll never see the light of day but cost the agency lots and lots of money. Some clients just get off on that stuff.

3. The client who doesn't value relationships (or quality) as much as getting the best deal. We've never seen an RFP that didn't ask for our rates; some even ask for quotes on work the scope of which we couldn't possibly know without more information from the client. RFPs are really detailed bid requests and if an agency is seen as too expensive (no matter what results they can point to), they won't get the work. No one wants to pay more than they should, but we should all be smart enough to pay for quality.

If you're looking for an agency, don't rely on paperwork to do the picking. Ask for recommendations from people you respect. Look at the agencies' websites. Talk to the principals on the phone. If at that point they haven't made asses of themselves, invite them out for a couple beers. Do you like these people? Are they smart? Are they genuinely interested in and understand your business? Do they have ideas? Do you get the feeling they think about you while they're driving to their kids' soccer games? Then screw the RFP and hire them.