Do You Suffer From RFP Syndrome?

Have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome? It's a phenomenon where hostages start to feel a deep emotional attachment and loyalty to their captors. It's a strange and unsettling condition, but it turns out that agencies can suffer from a similar ailment: RFP syndrome.

If you work at an agency, you know the drill. You spend all your time responding to Request for Proposal (RFP) after RFP, trying to win new business and keep the agency afloat. It's a never-ending cycle of pitches, presentations, and proposals, and it can be exhausting.

But here's the thing: the more time you spend in RFP mode, the more you start to feel like you're in a hostage situation. You're at the mercy of the client, and you'll do whatever it takes to win their business. You'll sacrifice your weekends, your sanity, and even your own creative vision, just to land that elusive contract.

It's like you're stuck in a cycle of abuse, but you just can't seem to break free. You tell yourself that things will get better once you win the business, but they never do. The cycle just repeats itself, over and over again.

“You tell yourself that things will get better once you win the business, but they never do. The cycle just repeats itself, over and over again.”

But it's important to note that in many cases, the client is not to blame. They can't be blamed for making requests when those requests are so frequently met. In this particular case, the fault falls squarely on the agency.

Unfortunately, part of the problem is that many salespeople actually request to be included in an RFP, thinking that it's the only way to win new business. But the truth is, you should never request to be a part of an RFP unless the RFP itself is the end goal. Otherwise, corporations will be more than happy to take your pricing and creative concepts, only to hand them over to another agency. It's like captors feeding breadcrumbs to their captives, promising a larger reward in the future, only to continue withholding it indefinitely.

“Unfortunately, part of the problem is that many salespeople actually request to be included in an RFP”

But why do you feel like you have to provide free work just to be considered for a contract? Why do you feel like you have to hand over ownership of all your presentation materials? Your willingness to do so shows that you do not value your intellectual property, and it suggests that your agency suffers from a low self-esteem. This further deepens the dependency on the RFP process and keeps you stuck in the cycle of abuse.

“Your willingness to do so shows that you do not value your intellectual property, and it suggests that your agency suffers from a low self-esteem.”

It's a familiar feeling to many agency folks. We've all been there at one point or another. But just like with Stockholm syndrome, there is a way out.

The key is to break the cycle and find a new way of doing business. Maybe it means saying no to RFPs more often, or finding new ways to generate leads and bring in business. Whatever it takes, it's important to find a way to break free from the RFP cycle and take control of your own destiny.

So the next time you find yourself stuck in RFP mode, just remember: you don't have to be a hostage to the client. You can break free and find a better way.  And when you finally break free, you might be surprised to realize that you were actually your own captor all along. All you had to do was walk right out the door.