Like the previous post, “The wild and wacky world of RFPs,” this post has its origins in a set of tweets I released while pondering several new business pitches.

I’ve been engaged in agency and marketing business development for a number of years and I can honestly say that the experience has not made me cynical. Yet it has made me highly discerning, far more straightforward (was that possible?) and grounded in the belief that agencies — and other businesses — must be exacting in the ways they pursue new clients. Especially when the work at hand is intellectual property and creative execution.

Without further adieu, here are key questions I posted on Twitter — questions that should be high on your list as you consider pursuing a business opportunity and in the course of the chase:

  1. A great opening or early question either while assessing the opportunity or in the pitch (ask it twice to see what different people say): What’s changed in your business that has prompted this meeting (or process)?
  2. Ask this one early, before you commit to pursuing the business; the response will tell you a lot: Have you invested in research to guide strategic and creative decisions? Are you willing to?
  3. Show your prospects some respect — and make sure they have skin in the game: What expertise and resources do you (the client) have internally that we will complement?
  4. A great closing question in a pitch meeting: When you’ve chosen the right agency, what does success look like?

By no means do I represent this list of questions as exhaustive. Many other questions are more obvious and routine, and even others are dependent upon the set of circumstances surrounding the opportunity. I offered these four because they are points of prospect engagement that are often left unspoken, they need to be part of your opportunity assessment criteria, asking them can help differentiate you in a pitch, and most of all because they were top of mind for me as I considered several possible engagements.

I will continue to focus on issues and information related to creative agency business development, agency innovation and organizational culture both here an on Twitter (@AgencyBabylon).

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