Why We’ve Said Goodbye to the RFP

Ah, the RFP. The request for proposal—a familiar process that feels official, but often misses the mark. After over a decade of working with B2B clients, we’ve found that RFPs often become a “check the boxes” exercise, failing to capture the true potential of an agency. Here’s why we’ve moved away from responding to RFPs and how the approach we’ve created works much better for our clients and our company.

RFPs Don’t Deliver What Clients Actually Need
A laundry list the size of a CVS receipt might feel official, but it’s rarely the case that we’ve seen a company get a great feel for their agency’s capabilities and strengths simply from an RFP. In best case scenarios, the client and agency partner learn about one another during the discovery phase, and form a relationship during that process.

In worst case scenarios, agencies show up as a shining star and over promise during this process, and underdeliver during the actual service delivery. Why? Because they’ve spent most of their energy perfecting their RFP response rather than gaining an understanding of the client’s needs. If a company is interested in engaging expert PR counsel, why start by dictating exactly what that looks like? A collaborative approach, where the agency helps define and present solutions to real problems, has proven to be much more effective.

RFPs Don’t Help Agencies Understand Their Clients
RFPs might spell out desired services, but they offer little perspective on how the client operates, what their internal culture is like, or what unspoken challenges they face. Without this understanding, the agency is flying blind.

Moreover, the power dynamic can feel imbalanced. Filling out a lengthy RFP can seem like an agency trying to prove its worth, rather than a potential client and agency exploring how they might work together to achieve goals and best use the team’s collective expertise and strengths.

RFP Selections Often Focus on Dollars over Value
Too often, the company issuing the RFP selects the agency on price alone. While budgets matter, the lowest price rarely equates to best value. Agencies that don’t compete on price but rather on expertise and quality often lose out to low-cost competitors. This focus on price can also prompt agencies to underbid, which can lead to reduced service quality or strained profitability.

If you’re focused on getting the best outcomes for your business, the conversation should be about the value an agency brings—not just their price tag. Long-term success comes from investing in a partner who understands your business and delivers results that align with your goals as they evolve.

RFPs Diminish the Ability to Assess Chemistry
RFPs are often sent to multiple firms, and unless there’s a prior relationship or you were specifically invited to participate, the win rate can be very low. Companies might just be price-shopping or seeking proposals to validate their decisions to go with the vendor they already plan to engage. RFP processes are often transactional, leaving little room to build meaningful relationships with clients. When the focus is simply on ticking boxes, it’s hard for a PR firm to create a strong relational foundation upon which they can build and grow with the client.

Our Solution: The Opportunities Assessment
After years of frustration with the RFP process, Pierce PR developed a thoughtful alternative approach: The Opportunities Assessment. This component of our proven process offers more than a client could ever gain from an RFP.

Our assessment takes 30-45 days and includes industry and market research, in-depth conversations with key stakeholders, and a review of key documents like business plans and brand guidelines. At the end of the process, we present a comprehensive, tailored PR/marketing plan that the client owns—complete with transparent strategies and pricing.

Clients consistently tell us how much they value the opportunity to see our team’s thinking and how that thinking informs the plan tailored specifically to their business goals. Our process allows us to truly understand the nuances of each client’s company—insights we gain from deep research and meaningful conversations with their key stakeholders. Plus, they get to know our team before they ever sign on for a long-term engagement.

We’re confident in this approach, so much so that when we present the final plan, clients have the option to take it and implement it themselves or work with another partner. Because of the strong relationships we’ve built and the proven value of our expertise, the vast majority of clients choose to continue working with us to bring the plan to life.

Is the Assessment Process Right for You?
The assessment process isn’t for everyone. For businesses focused primarily on finding the lowest price, RFPs may still serve as a useful tool. However, for the majority of our B2B clients—who are managing large organizations, significant goals, and the livelihoods of employees and shareholders—a more thoughtful, partnership-driven approach is key. These clients value a process that fosters trust and demonstrates an agency’s commitment to understanding their business inside and out.

Danielle Gordon is vice president of strategic growth at Pierce PR.