One of the biggest frustrations about new business is being beaten to a client by an agency that you know has just rolled out the people who pitch well rather than those who will actually do the work. Most clients are wise to this and insist on only the ‘real’ team being at the pitch, but even so the theatrics of the glamour posse are too much of a factor in swinging pitches.

You can say I’m just jealous. Actually, Speed is pretty assertive and bombastic in the way it pitches. But equally, we always believe that having the whole team there, and being clear and honest on what we can deliver, is the most important thing.

Which is why I’ve been particularly heartened lately by the amount of prospective clients who are seeking to test agencies beyond the glitzy presentation, so that the stage management and strategic speeches are less of a factor.

The sort of things that seem to be going on, and I hear similar murmurings from the advertising and web industries too, are:

1. Getting team members in to meet the client individually in advance, to see what they’re really like

2. Setting the team an exercise to complete during the pitch, to test their mettle and understanding

3. Banning PowerPoint altogether

4. Doing the whole thing as a Q&A session

5. Setting writing and sector expertise exercises

6. Getting a detailed proposal before the pitch meeting, so the meeting is more of a ‘do we like these people?’ session

Perhaps the fairest way to evaluate agencies is to stop them from PRing the PR. It’s a tough call for agencies that have overly relied on the lipstick, but should improve the quality of agencies that clients are hiring.