Comments on Experience: The Blog: Why the Agency RFI/RFP Process is Contrary to Mark...

Wilderzone,

Thanks for the comments. We s...

2009-02-21T16:11:00.000-06:00

Wilderzone,

Thanks for the comments. We should create a site to trade RFP horror stories--it certainly would make for fascinating (and plentiful) content!

I've been through hellish RFPs on both the agency ...

2009-02-21T14:23:00.000-06:00

I've been through hellish RFPs on both the agency and client side, and I'm right there with you.

One thing I wanted to point out from the client side - using a 3rd-party procurement service will NOT save you money or time in the long run. A company I freelance for recently used one (I won't name names, other than to say it's a name most people would recognize) to bid out a large international printing contract. We (myself and another freelancer) ended up doing almost all of their work for them - answering the same questions over and over again, filling in ridiculous spreadsheets, endless conference calls that went nowhere. The final product was so long and involved that several of the printers that I thought were the most qualified declined to bid on it, and I couldn't blame them. In the end we only got two qualified bids out of about 15, but we did find a vendor we were happy with. Of course the procurement service billed mightily us for the privilege of having us do about 3/4 of the work we'd hired them to do for us.

A 3rd party won't immediately understand your business or needs, and will require a lot of hand-holding and micromanagement through the process of developing "your" RFP - and in the end they'll turn off potential partners with their overly rigid boilerplate requirements.

And to make matters worse, a few months later the same procurement service started asking for my help to write an RFP for the work I'm current doing! That leads to another point you'd think would be obvious (but apparently isn't) - don't have your current agency write the RFP for their own work. Really.

Thanks Kyle, I like your thoughts on http://www.da...

2009-02-08T17:31:00.000-06:00

Thanks Kyle, I like your thoughts on http://www.dabigcheeze.com/.

Funny story about how marketers have trouble walking the talk: A large agency organization who will go unnamed coaches its member organizations not to provide detailed lists of billable rates as part of RFP responses. They believe agencies should refuse this information, which demeans the value of the strategic services provided.

Funny thing is, when this same organization distributed an RFP for the redesign of its web site, care to guess what information they requested? You bet--they wanted detailed lists of the agencies' billable rates. My agency refused to participate, listening to the agency group's business advice rather than their RFP. Still, it goes to show how hard it is to break bad habits!

Chris, I've come to respect agencies that refuse t...

2009-02-08T17:27:00.000-06:00

Chris, I've come to respect agencies that refuse to respond to RFPs, but I still question if that's an appropriate business response to the challenges of agency RFPs. That seems like the proverbial cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Of course, that may be the answer to your question about how we encourage change. Agencies either need to help clients understand how RFIs and RFPs may work against their goals, or agencies must simply refuse to answer. Doing so obviously is a risk, since it opens opportunities to the competition who do respond, but if enough agencies--particularly the ones in demand--were to take a stand, it might get brand marketers thinking.

Ultimately, this may be a futile effort. (I almost started that post with a statement that I knew it would fall on deaf ears.) So long as accountants demand control on the way marketing services are chosen, we aren't likely to see the RFI/RFP process change. The real change needed isn't between marketers and agencies but between marketers and their own corporate services divisions.

Awesome perspective! I am definitely gong to send ...

2009-02-08T14:51:00.000-06:00

Awesome perspective! I am definitely gong to send my clients here to read your opinion.

Well done and written!

Take a look at my blog where I've written a bit about similar topics.

Having seen and been a part of the RFP process in ...

2009-02-08T13:57:00.000-06:00

Having seen and been a part of the RFP process in the past, I've often been suspicious of the value it gives to agencies. You're entering into a process where there is a lot of competition and you're (possibly) not being evaluated on criteria that sets you apart. Not to mention all the time & resources it requires.

You present some good ideas for changing the process here. Now, how do those changes, or others, get implemented? How does the culture change?