1. Do it at the agency.
You already know what your office looks like, and observing the agency in their own domain is a great way of learning more about how they operate.
2. Give a budget figure.
Good advertising is all about opportunity cost assessment, it's impossible to provide advice without appreciating the numbers involved.
3. Keep the committee small.
The bigger the committee the much harder it is to get a decision. Everybody has views and wants to evaluate the pitch based on their own opinions - which can get messy with more people.
If you are on the committee keep in mind that just because you own a toothbrush does not make you a dentist.
Let the marketing consultants innovate. The very good ones will be presenting ideas that push you way outside your comfort zone, which is the reason why they are valuable.
Appoint people that appreciate the invention and innovation process. Great digital marketing and ad agencies are inventors, creating new paths. There is nothing like a big committee to keep you on the same path you have always been, and is that really what you want?
4. Set down your goals before you see anyone.
This is a very important step, as the minute a piece of creative or discussion on investment occurs, people start getting off track and often personal opinion takes over, rather than opinions acting in the best interests of achieving the company pre-defined goals.
5. Have 20 questions.
The point of the process is to discover how the ad agency will respond to situations. Sit down with your pitch committee and create 20 questions. Worry less about the creative and more about how the agency answers the questions.
6. It's all about the process, not the creative.
Look for agencies that are pitching their process, not so much the fancy pictures. Sure, we all like presenting ideas and cool creative, but with media channels so fragmented in the digital world today, it's more about how the agency handles the process.
Dealing with digital is hard and not all agencies know it. Working with websites, e-commerce, social media, content marketing, SEO, video marketing and pixel tracking is a critical part of all campaigns, even for those using traditional mediums like television, radio and press. Find out about the agencies ability to do these things by drilling down beyond the pretty pictures with lots of questions.
7. Commit to the process.
Make sure you award the account at the end of the day. Word spreads fast amongst agencies when a client takes the ideas but does not pay anybody. That is not a pitch, that is a scam.
8. The price comes later.
All contracts are negotiable, so worry about the price last. Look for the best fit to your organisation first and foremost then work with the agency on price.
9. Remember the agencies are businesses, not charities.
All business have a right to making a profit so they can survive and continue to innovate and serve you. Too often, we see the pitching process as a way to get free ideas. Most agencies have an internal checklist to stop them being scammed and with experience can smell a rat a mile off.
10. Look at credentials more than the art.
Creating great advertising campaigns require loads of collaboration with your agency. The pitch is a one-way street, without that ability to have easy free-flowing collaboration. This significantly hinders the solution finding process.
11. Why have a pitch at all?
It takes a lot of effort from both parties. In today’s day and age, with loads of information about any business on the internet, you can discover all you need to know about an agency online, then catch up for a series of meetings which allow collaboration. Keep in mind that the creative part of the pitch, that everyone likes to see, is just the end of a very important strategic process. The pitching process denies the strategic process, so the creative is more a guess than the right solution.
12. The pitched idea should be the start of the process, not the end.
So often, we see clients that think the pitched idea is the end of the process. The Pitch is just a demonstration of how an agency works. We need your substantial and significant input to make sure the correct steps are followed to get the right investment solution for your business.
13. Get some free help before you go to pitch.
The Kingdom will present to you our Grow Sales Fast™ Business System overview. This goes into detail about the process that we will go through to successfully create sales making results for your business. From there you are well armed with the information to make informed decisions about going forward. The process is free.
14. The Kingdom helps you gain knowledge.
Meet with us before you go to pitch, as it will give you a much better understanding of what you are looking for in an agency. We don’t mind if you don’t invite us to pitch, it’s a no obligation process. What we do know is that most people, once they discover the Grow Sales Fast System, see the need to pitch as being reduced as it gives a far greater appreciation of what really goes into marketing and advertising in the modern day digital reliant world.
You can see us in action at one of our free seminars, plus learn really interesting marketing innovations.
15. Do the research
Look hard at the portfolio of the business to see their real world performance. Feel welcome to check out our portfolio here.
