![\"RFP](\"http:\/\/dev.bevologyinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/rfp-cartoon.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhen a brand runs an agency review, they\u2019re generally looking to answer the question:\u00a0 \u201cAre these the kind of people I want to work with.\u201d \u00a0That means focusing on how they work, and how they work with you.\u00a0 Not whether they guessed right while being kept at arm\u2019s length and working for free.<\/p>\n
I believe it is neither in the client\u2019s nor the agencies’ best interest to make spec creative part of the review. \u00a0Spec creative generates only a superficial snapshot at best and one often judged on poorly defined or sometimes even irrelevant criteria.<\/p>\n
All the agencies on your finalist list should be able to do the job creatively given the right input and guidance\u2014they wouldn\u2019t have made it that far if they hadn\u2019t already demonstrated that. But actually experiencing<\/em><\/strong> the process offers much more insight than the spec creative results can.<\/p>\n So let me throw out a radical idea, instead of asking agencies to work for free…pay them.\u00a0 The best way to figure out what it\u2019s like to work with them, is, well, to actually work with them The reason is really simple and compelling, the dynamic of the relationship changes when you are paying someone to do work for you.\u00a0 From the pitch pose of arms crossed, sitting back in their chair with a stone expression on their face, a paid project will have the marketer leaning forward and engaging with the agency in a collaborative mindset.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve been successful in getting clients to agree to what we call a \u201cRoll Up Your Sleeves\u201d meeting.\u00a0 It\u2019s a two day deep dive collaborative workshop with the goal of defining a strategy, timetable, budget and revenue forecast. \u00a0Client gets tremendous value.\u00a0 It saves them \u00a0tens of thousands of dollars and some six months of \u201cnormal\u201d strategic planning work.<\/p>\n Beyond the practical, the real benefit for everyone is both sides have made a mutual commitment, and will give some penetrating insight into how the agency thinks and works, and most importantly give you a sense of what it would be like to work with them. Both sides will have only made a commitment for a limited of time and since it\u2019s a project, it comes with an automatic \u201cout\u201d clause.<\/p>\n