Big pitches are one of my favorite things.  For those of you, who have never been part of a big pitch, let me tell you it’s the most brutally draining and yet most rewarding part of this business. I love it. I thrive on it.

It’s also incredibly risky. Although you do definitely come out a smarter person after each sleepless two-week Red Bull induced creative deep dive bender, there are some big risks involved outside of the physical ones.

These things are risky financially, but most importantly they can be devastating emotionally.  We put ourselves, and our agency on the line every time we step into the competitive ring. There is nothing like a big win to create momentum and to elevate morale, but on the flip side a big loss can be a big deal too.

Looking back at my career. I can trace back every major shift in the business to two types of events, people and pitches.  Regardless of how big or small we were, -pushing the trigger on that one key hire could changed the trajectory of the whole business, while introducing just one bad hire can do the same. The exact same goes for competitive pitches one win can change the vibe of the agency, and one loss can stop you in your tracks.

I prescribe to the idea that in a “creative People” based business, team camaraderie and passion for the work translates directly into growth and profit.

For this reasons some agencies refuse to participate in competitive pitches. I could not imagine taking that stance. Perhaps it’s because of my competitive nature, or some other Freudian complex I need to tend to. I am noticeably shorter than the other creative hot shots you know. J

That said my advice for those who wish to fight is not to jump to put on the war paint every time you get your hands on an RFP. Make sure the business is worth fighting for before you mobilize your troops.

Assessing whether it is worth fighting for is actually quite simple.  You have to answer three questions.

1.    Do we like these guys?

You should always ask to sit down with the client before committing to investing a ton or time and talent into a big pitch.

2.    Is it a fair fight?

This one is harder to answer, and even if you ask (which does not hurt) they are unlikely to tell you. Detective work required.

I have many war stories related to question number two. The CMO’s Frat brother owns the other agency. The procurement guy plays golf with your competitor. It does not matter how good your team is some of these gigs simply can’t be won, so make sure you are not wasting your time. The most egregious example I have is one that involves finding out way too late that the CEO of the company has a lovechild with the owner of one of the competing agencies. Yes this really happened!! So word to the wise, do your homework.

Now for the most important, yet often overlooked question.

3.    Do these guys know what they want and why?

The fact they wrote a 50 page RFI does not mean they know what they are doing. – Here is the drill. You probably would have gotten a very prescriptive RFP, which typically goes a little something like this. “We are or want to be the premier blah, blah, provider of certain services or products, this is our target market, and we want you come up with a new campaign, design a website, and throw in some of that social and mobile media stuff. Please submit your ideas, and pricing by next Friday – if we like it, you will be asked to come in with your dog and pony”

Remember that meeting we insisted on? Well, in these meetings we always ask the same question – why? This is a powerful question. So incredibly important that you would be surprised how many of your people forget to ask it, and you would be even more surprised with how many clients choke on the answer.

I typically ask a question like “Why that target audience?”- If they choke, or give you some lame answer like “it has always been that way…” run. Ask a question like “Why do you want to redesign your site?” if the answer is something like “We are highly dependent on retail distributors, and are looking to diversify by going direct to consumers” or frankly any other intelligent answer, then strap a riffle to your back and fight to win that account.