Beware of dangerous agency RFP terms and conditions

Regular listeners know that Chip and Gini aren’t fans of most agency RFP processes and believe that most of them should be avoided.

But if you choose to play the game, you need to watch out for onerous terms and conditions — especially ridiculously slow payment terms.

The co-hosts pick up on news reports about 1-year payment terms being proposed (and defended) by Dr. Pepper. This turns agencies into banks, something for which they are ill-suited.

Rather than focusing primarily on price, with a secondary interest in scope, agencies need to look at the entirety of the contract terms that they are agreeing to with prospective clients.

Resources

* Conversations are key to successful RFP responses

* The pros and cons of RFP’s for agencies

Key takeaways

* Chip Griffin: “If you’re small, lean into it. It is much better to be small, admit you’re small, and sell that as an advantage, as opposed to being small and trying to look bigger.”

* Gini Dietrich: “I wouldn’t have known why the prospective client was looking for a new agency if I hadn’t acted like I was a 3 year-old and kept asking why.”

* Chip Griffin: “If they’re trying to figure out whether they’re happy with their existing agency or not, they’re not.”

* Gini Dietrich: “You just ask questions. Why are we here today? Tell me more about that. What’s your biggest pain point? And at the end of that meeting, the prospect will say, that’s the best meeting I’ve ever had. Every time.”

Recommended

* Conversations are key to successful RFP responses

* ALP 7: The pros and cons of RFP’s for agencies

View Transcript

The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.

Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.

Gini Dietrich: And I’m GiniDietrich.

Chip Griffin: And Gini, I’ve got some specifications that I’m gonna give you and I want you to think about them and let me know how much it’s gonna cost to actually record this episode, but okay. But I’m not gonna pay you for a couple of years, so…

Gini Dietrich: Oh, okay. Well, cool.

Chip Griffin: Right after this.

So we’re gonna talk about RFPs, dog and pony shows, RFIs, all these fun things that agencies like to play in to feel like they’re doing something with business development and whether or not we think it’s a worthwhile use of your time.

Gini Dietrich: No it’s not.

Chip Griffin: Did I, did I already not give away perspective the way I framed that?

Gini Dietrich: No it’s not, the end.

And that’s the shortest podcast episode.

Chip Griffin: The shortest episode ever. Ignore RFPs. Don’t do them. Just don’t do them. Just don’t do them.