How Agencies Boast in Presentations, Lose Business
“Why is it,” asked a friend who oversees a government agency, “that PR, branding and ad agencies waste so much time talking about themselves in new business presentations?” The agencies had been chosen and got in the room because his agency had checked them out already.
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“All we want,” he said, “is to be convinced of their level of commitment to help with their talent and resources. We could care less about boasting over what they’ve done for someone else.”
My friend had just gone through an exhaustive and complex process to issue a request for proposals (RFP) and make initial selections. Now, it was all over, and he believed the wrong agency had been selected by default. He was sharing highlights and trying to figure out what went wrong.
His team favored one particular agency going into the selection agency. Let’s call it “agency X.” And, yes, companies and organizations nearly always have favorites in any agency selection process.
My friend shared that the huge, multi-million dollar contract was “for ‘agency X’ to lose.” All they had to do was talk about meeting objectives and finding solutions. They needed to demonstrate desire to help. But, rather, all agency X did was brag about its past accomplishments and awards. Agency X wasn’t alone, my friend said. Nearly all other agencies talked too much about themselves.
“Another agency convinced us of their desire to help, and we chose them,” he said. Agency X lost out.
What my friend shared is nothing new. PR agencies, for example, brag about winning this or that award from professional agencies and outfits like The Holmes Report or O’Dwyer. That doesn’t mean a hill of beans to clients or potential clients who just want and expect assurance of commitment and best efforts for results on their behalf.
Related posts:
- PR Agencies, The “B-S” Factor and Lagging Farther Behind
- The Very Broken PR Agency Model
- Web 2.0′s Need to Help Business
- Presentations on Steroids
- Flash Leads to Poor Online Communications
Category: Featured, Reputation management
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You are absolutely correct! Unfortunately, it’s not just PR firms. This applies to anybody selling anything. Also, many job applicants make the same mistake in interviews.