Agency New Business: Put On That Damn Sales Hat (Chapter 12-RFI’s: Follow The Rules, But Bend Them When You Can)
This is Part 12 of a 17 chapter eBook, “Agency New Business: Put On That Damn Sales Hat,” which you can download at no cost here.
The eBook covers everything from pre-prospecting preparation to working opportunities to close.
The majority of the eBook focuses on elements that agencies either often overlook, are too busy to consider, or are simply too lazy to pursue.
The agency landscape is changing rapidly and daily, not only for agencies, but for clients: doing things the same way won’t cut it.
We released “Put On That Damn Sales Hat” as an overall agency new business primer for marketing services firms, so they can put on their sales hat with purpose and confidence.
Chapter 12: RFI’s: Follow The Rules, But Bend Them When You Can
When you’re responding to an RFI or RFP, give the client what they want, in the order they want it.
Nothing worse than making your prospect work hard to find the information they asked for.
Think about it…many agency searches bring in 10+ agencies into a search.
Think how challenging it is for a marketer to review multiple agency responses.
How do you think a marketer feels when they review different formats and question orders in multiple agency responses.
No fun for the marketer.
So let’s assume you’ve been asked to complete an RFI and you’re told very specifically not to veer from the format requested.
All fine…but you know with 100% certainty that in order to stand out, you need to be different…so what to do?
Sit quietly by and not make waves?
I say ABSOLUTELY NOT!!
The only way you’re going to stand out in the mix is to shout out and make yourself known.
I suggest you ask the marketer or the search consultant if you can offer slight variances to the response – or add an addendum.
It certainly never hurts to ask.
Even if you can’t change the format, consider adding images to make it more visually interesting.
Use bullets and include lots of white space.
Make it easy for your reader to consume.
Think about it…if all you do is answer questions the same way other agencies are likely to answer, how will you set your agency apart?
So give your potential client what they ask for, but make yourself stand out at every opportunity.