CCObservations

Adweek recently reported on a new business scam  that took agencies around the country to the tune of $400,000.

Stephan & Brady might have been on that list, except for one thing: We don’t need to pay to play.

Don’t get me wrong. Like many full-service, small-to-mid-sized agencies these days, we’re hungry for new business. Client budgets are tighter than ever. Bigger agencies are swimming in our pond, competing for projects they wouldn’t have considered two years ago. New business is something we take very seriously, indeed.

Which is why when we were approached by someone claiming to have a prime opportunity that could be ours for the taking, we paid attention. It seemed like something right up our alley — a full-service, integrated branding and advertising campaign introducing three new beverage products, a sweet spot for us both in terms of industry and execution.

We did what we usually do — held an informational phone call and put together a capabilities presentation complete with insightful research and information. Nothing over the top, just enough to showcase what makes Stephan & Brady different and demonstrate our level of interest. All seemed to go well, until the kicker: Our contact was really acting as a new business “finder” and wanted to be paid for bringing us this lead.

Here’s what we said in response:

“Maybe it’s our Midwestern roots, but we’re just not comfortable with an upfront ‘pay to play’ approach.  To us, it seems job #1 is finding the right agency partner for what you need to help these programs succeed long term.  Having us ‘invest’ in activities that demonstrate our abilities to help you achieve this success makes sense.  But having the ‘winner’ selected based on who’s willing to pay a finder’s fee commission up front before final papers are signed just doesn’t feel right. Hope you can understand and appreciate our position. Best of luck to you on these initiatives.”

Turns out, S&B made a smart move in turning down the “opportunity.” But at the time, we didn’t know that. What we did know is that we’re a strategic, smart, talented group of people who shouldn’t have to pay for an opportunity — at least not in cash.

Like most agencies, we invest heavily when pursuing new business opportunities that are a good fit for what a potential client needs us to do as their Chief Customer Officer. We research, strategize, and propose. Sometimes, if it makes sense, we provide actual tactical plans or creative concepts—which is really another kind of payment (we avoid beauty contests and off-the-shelf proposal buys like the plague). But investing makes sense when you’re talking about a strategic relationship. Paying cold, hard cash doesn’t.

Bottom line, you should hire us not because we’re smart, strategic, hard working, fun to work with and smell nice, but because you need a Chief Customer Officer and we’ve demonstrated that we’re going to help you move the meter in meaningful ways with your customer. Period.

~ George Whitely, President & CEO