Behind the pitch consultant’s curtain – a perspective from AAR’s newest lead consultant

I had long wondered what really went on behind the scenes of a pitch so when AAR’s CEO Victoria Fox asked me to join the team as one of their lead consultants I literally jumped at the chance.

I have pitched hundreds of times over the years, and always wondered what types of discussion were taking place in the void between meetings. How could we as an agency improve our chances of success? What was the difference that makes the difference? And how could we use our relationships with our pitch consultants to best effect?

Now, after completing my second year with AAR, I can reveal what we do, why we do it and what makes for a well-run selection programme. And, spoiler alert, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

But first, my induction was long and thorough. Despite having been in client facing relationships at all levels for many years, Paul Phillips was clear that I needed to understand AAR fully, its values, its ways of doing things and that I shadow several other consultants through all the various stages of a selection process across a variety of disciplines before I was “let loose” on my first solo pitch.

That grounding proved to be invaluable. I learned from the experts that are Tony Spong, Rebecca Nunneley, Hannah Astill, Andrew Bloch, Victoria Fox, and of course Paul Phillips himself. It really was like a masterclass.

Now, while the consultants themselves are brilliant, literally nothing would run smoothly were it not for the team of Business Managers who make EVERYTHING happen. This is no mean feat given the number of moving parts that are in constant motion throughout any process. They are literally unflappable and unfazed by anything.

What became clear to me was that there is a lot more to “pitching” than meets the eye – and in fact the very word pitching is a misnomer used as a catch-all descriptor for a much more considered and complex process, that of agency selection, that sometimes culminates in a pitch.

When a client comes to us, we spend a considerable amount of time listening to their needs, understanding their business and considering what the problem is that we are trying to solve. Our first thought is rarely ‘let’s call a pitch’.

We explore the possibility of resetting the relationship, perhaps by looking at ways of working, scope, remit and remuneration. Often the relationship outgrows the original set up, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have the wrong agency partner.

Sometimes, we take clients on safaris, to visit different types of agencies to get a feel for what is out there. That can result in an appointment without any further work being done beyond agreement on the scope of work and fees.

Occasionally a client will simply use chemistry meetings and will appoint off the back of these. They may have a pressing need, or a desire to keep the search under wraps and confidential, so this can be an efficient and effective way of choosing a partner to work with.

Sometimes we will undertake a commercial audit or agency reset so that both the client and agency are satisfied that they are on the right footing for the future.

And, of course, sometimes we will go through reselection which is often considered to be a standard selection process. That will likely take us through credentials, RFI and final pitch because that is what is required by the size and complexity of the brief. It needs that rigour and opportunity to meet and re-meet the team that, as a client, you might be engaging with for several years.

Increasingly, we engage with clients and brands long before agency partners are under discussion or review, consulting further upstream on client operating models, reviewing whether they have the right people, partners, process and platforms in place to achieve their aims.

Certainly, by the time one of us picks up the phone to an agency for the first time, we have explored multiple routes and options and determined the best course of action in each case.

So, think of it in this way. Selection process is the umbrella and under that you could have any one or a combination of the following:

• Relationship Reset or Health Check
• Safari
• Chemistries
• Commercial Audit
• Reselection

In all cases, I would say be yourselves, never worry about what others are doing, and use your consultants at EVERY stage to get good, in-depth feedback. Ask questions and be demanding of them. We are there to serve you as well as the clients. Check in on things like: have you fielded the right team? What did and didn’t land well? What are you doing too much or too little of? Have you missed anything?

It is an immense privilege to play a part in this process. We get to see the best of the best. Agencies full of brilliant, talented original thinkers presenting their work and ideas. Clients with ambition and an appetite for new and fresh thinking. Seeing how over a period of weeks or months, and a series of carefully curated opportunities to come together, a decision gets made and new work begins to emerge is a joy, and one that I hope I can continue to witness for many years to come.