Most agencies are fairly effective at describing WHAT they do and even WHY they do it, but struggle to bring their offering to life by explaining HOW they do it. If you nail the HOW, it can set your agency apart from its competitors.
Sure, clients will evaluate you on your creativity, experience, budget and fit. But savvy clients also want to rest assured that you can actually and consistently do the work you’re pitching. They want to know the HOW and they want to know they’re in good hands.
In RFPs, this shows up in questions like:
· How does your agency provide an operational competitive advantage over others?
· Please provide detail into your agency’s methodology to ensure campaign success
· How do you onboard new clients?
· How do you select, onboard, and train assigned staff?
· How do you assess and manage project risk?
· How do you communicate project status to clients?
Honestly: Is your agency prepared to answer these questions? And will your answers sound good on RFP day, but not match the reality of your business?
Smart agencies get ahead of the RFP response by using a process discipline in their business.
Some tips:
Think about the HOW in your business. I’m talking about those processes that lead your agency to deliver successfully for clients.
Document those processes.
Train staff so the HOW is well understood and executed consistently.
Evaluate process outcomes and adjust to improve.
When you’re pitching, sharing your actual well thought-out, documented processes with a client will elevate your professionalism, address those critical HOW questions, and give your client comfort that you can do what you say you do.
And let’s face it, everyone likes doing business with someone who is buttoned up.
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