I left out the expletive I wanted to use in the title of this post, but it should be clear what word I was thinking by the end.

After being in the advertising industry for 15 years now I have successfully won many bids for business and have had great success with many of them. In those 15 years, I have also spent plenty of hours of valuable time answering RFPs that we were not been selected for, as well. One thing I have learned throughout those experiences is that the RFP process is NOT the best way to choose your marketing or advertising firm. I apologize up front to any of our wonderful clients that came from the RFP process, but let me explain my reasoning.

I am often asked by potential clients what my idea is of a perfect client. I firmly believe that the best working relationships are just that, “relationships.” The client must be truthful and transparent. We should know the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding the client. This includes budget restraints, political “no no”s, internal issues, what has worked and what has not. The more you share, the more we can develop a marketing message that works best for you. This transparency allows us to develop concepts, copy and art that truly reflect the brand identity of a company. It is also extremely important that there is chemistry between a client and their agency. They must like each other and be able to speak candidly regarding concepts and industry issues. In my mind, the RFP process does not reveal these crucial points.

What does the RFP process reveal? Well it reveals the agency with the best proposal capabilities. Most clients I have worked for do not need proposals for their marketing efforts, so this may not be important. With vague questions and standard information requests, you can never learn the true dynamic of an agency. In other words, it is very difficult to learn culture through copy. Many times the client does not even know what they need, so how can they formulate a request for it. I cannot think of any RFP that completely outlined a client’s needs, to the point where, after working closely with them, we followed exactly what was outlined. The best marketing plans are developed after the synergy between client and agency occur.

Usually RFPs lead into the dreaded interview: The one with the room full of people waiting for the edgy advertising agency to come in with cute presentations, silly putty and dancing girls. Now you can choose the agency with the best proposal skills and the best stand-up routine. Again, nothing you will ever need.

Don’t get me wrong, many companies do not even know where to start, so the RFP process just makes sense as a stepping stone. It is a way to keep everyone at arm’s length and get an idea of what we can do – I get it. But consider this alternative when it comes time to choosing a new agency…

Research: Get online and research some agencies. Find their websites, their Facebook, their blog, their LinkedIn pages. If they are not in several spaces, that may be your first red flag. You can find out a lot by doing a little research.

Clients: Ask the agencies for client references and case studies. Case studies are important because it tells you what they did for a client and how it worked. Samples are fine, but it does not give you a complete picture of how creative they are when it comes to strategy and ROI.

Meet: Meet with the agencies as informally as possible. Go to lunch, have them into your office for a lunch, even better, or go to their offices. The culture of an agency’s space can tell you a lot about them.

Ask: Ask a lot of questions. Not just the typical “how long have you been in business?” and “how large are your clients?” Dig deep, be creative, challenge them with questions. This will give you some insight into their honesty and ability to communicate.

An agency should be a marketing partner, not a vendor. Think about your most prized business relationships and strive for that when selecting an agency. Don’t just go with who looks good on paper and who wears the best suit in the pitch.

Be Creative!