Invaluable Advice for Winning an Agency Review

First let me say that the agency CEO should always lead the review That doesnamp8217t mean that the CEO should do most of the presenting and it certainly doesnamp8217t mean that the CEO has the answer to most of the questions He or she doesnamp8217tamp160 But to be honest itamp8217s insulting to the client if the agency CEO isnamp8217t participating in full view ready to be actively involved Another critical element from the start is that the best team should be assembled I mean the best team that is really going to work in some way on the business Hopefully they are also good presenters or have rehearsed enough to present wellWhen a consultant is engaged to conduct a review the most important step is to really understand the clientamp8217s business The special needs and requirements of the client what they are looking for and just as important why they are opening up a review What went wrong with the previous agency or what was lacking No need to jump from the frying pan into the fireThe consultant will begin with the knowledge of many agencies and an extensive data base Most consultants actually do have face to face meetings with agencies to get to know them and when that doesnamp8217t occur telephone calls site visits and emails describing many facets of the agency are received and conversations exchangedThe first step in the process is to evaluate agencies based on capabilities conflict of interest clients office locations and unique characteristics This gets to the starting gate to about 1012 potential agencies They receive an RFP or RFI that is specific to the clientamp8217s needs and interests Fully evaluated and questioned when necessary the client and the consultant usually pare down to 56 finalists Then it gets really interestingThe finalist agencies are then briefed about the clientamp8217s business and all aspects of the review Sometimes the client gets involved with the consultant in the agency briefings sometimes itamp8217s left only to the consultant to do the job Questions are encouraged and explanations offered that are not confidential Next stop agency presentationsThe agency presentation has all the basic stuff ie credentials billings by medium offices structure level of people experience systems process analytic tools research resources etc etc But this presentation is also show business and what is most important is what makes your agency stand out What makes it exciting to be part of What makes it different How is that characteristic implemented in the clientamp8217s business How does it pay off for a client Prove itRemember there are usually both Procurement and the CMO at the table The procurement people are looking for savings In many ways thatamp8217s how theyamp8217re judged They want to know about agency operating efficiency organization structure reporting flow staffing requirements and automation salaries overhead and profit They also want to know if the agency will get them the best media prices How and why can they do this the consultant should also be able to benchmark this Price matters Itamp8217s not the only deciding factor or shouldnamp8217t be but it does matter And procurement wants savingsThe CMO however is looking to build the business A demonstration of how an agency will do this better than the competition is probably the most critical element in the review What new insights are presented amp8220Donamp8217t tell me something I already knowamp8221 How will the integration of traditional and digital media work together holistically to elevate the use of media with creative Where is the innovation Show me some big ideas How are unique analytical tools applied to produce better media intelligence and business results All of this is what the CMO is looking for with savings of courseWhen the briefing is given to agencies it is usually a good idea to also present the agencies with a challenge Often it is a problem the client is trying to solve or an opportunity that the client can capitalize on And finally the presentation will end with a compensation proposal fee commission incentives etc to be negotiatedBut thereamp8217s still more to winning a review The culture of the agency and how it is received by the client is important Does it fit The client has to be comfortable with the team And what is also very important is that the agency CEO has to connect with the client CEOCMO When there are issues to be addressed and there will be itamp8217s CEO to CEOCMO 247 amp160I might also add that this is not only a business connection Itamp8217s an emotional one as well And it takes the agency side to make it workOh I forgot Thereamp8217s a score sheet at the very end Many relevant criteria are included Everybody on the client review team votes including the consultant Discussion ensues and a winner is picked Best wishesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage management or associated bloggers

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Invaluable Advice for Winning an Agency Review

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Mike Drexler

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