Following on from my rant ‘F*** tendering’, here’s a more reliable, easier and quicker way to find the right supplier, and get your web project moving.
Step 1: Don’t ‘brief’. Set the scene.
Avoid the temptation to describe what you think your needs are in the form of a brief. Instead, explain your underlying business / marketing problems and objectives. This might be things like increasing sales leads or communicating better. Also include the story so far of how you got to where you are now and why you are now looking for a web agency. This document doesn’t specify what you are expecting in the end product, but it sets the scene for a conversation that will lead you there. It keeps all options open and will encourage creativity.
Step 2: Short-list some agencies
There are lots of web agencies about. Get a short-list together by finding out who produced some websites that you like; asking business associates and friends for recommendations; or contacting industry bodies like Wired Sussex. Read the agency’s websites to get a feel for the companies and send your Setting The Scene document to any agencies that you like the look of. Talk through the document with them on the phone and allow them to give you some background information about their agency. Based on this phone call you should be able to whittle your list of agencies down to a handful that you’d like to take the conversation further with. If you’re not sure about who to short-list, invite them to pitch their credentials to you (just a half-hour meeting without talking in detail about the project) and always, always follow up the client references that you are given.
Step 3: Meet with your short-listed agencies… and offer to pay
This is the time to get stuck into the requirements for the project. By doing this in conjunction with the agencies, you’ll generate better, more creative ideas. You can share your own ideas that you have and start working towards a description of the project.
You should offer to pay for the agency’s time from this step onwards, even if they don’t ask. It will probably only cost you a few hundred pounds but it will win you enormous respect from the agencies and you will get better results. Even though the agencies know you’re talking to several competitors, they will put in a great deal of effort because they are being paid for their time, and of course because they want to win you over. Agree with the agencies that since you are paying for their time you have the right to use any ideas generated even if you don’t engage them for the rest of the project.
By getting the agencies involved at this early stage, you will find that there is more variation in what they offer, which makes your job of selecting one agency easier. Pay close attention to how they approach your requirements at this stage. Do they begin by discussing things like your underlying business issues and target audience (correct), or do they start with creative design ideas or technology (wrong)? Make sure they justify themselves to you.
Because you are getting stuck into the project already, you’re finding out much more about the agency than you could do through a sales meeting or a pitch presentation.
Step 4: Work towards a quote for the next step in the project
By this stage you should have been able to whittle down your short-list to a couple of agencies. Or maybe you already have a favourite. The next step is to continue the conversation with the agencies and work towards a ‘big picture’ approach and rough project plan for the work. Additionally, you should ask for a quote for a bite-sized next step which would allow you to keep the project moving without having to commit to the supplier for the entire project. The agency will be happy to be paid for their time, and you’ll be able to keep your project moving without taking on much risk.
A good first step could be to audit your current website, or to produce a site architecture diagram (or sitemap) which shows the website structure in terms of site areas, key pages and process diagrams for interactive elements. Or if the requirements are still not quite certain, it could be a piece of research to get some answers. Either way, the objective here is to make a priority of moving the actual project forward, whilst in the background you are critically evaluating the agencies.
Step 5: Commit, if the time's right
If you’ve got this far, the chances are that you have found the right agency to do the job. Because you will have already been working with them on the project, there is far less uncertainty and risk involved in continuing with them for the rest of the project. It’s unlikely that a smooth talking agency who can do a great pitch but can’t follow up with quality work will have got this far, and because you have focussed on getting started rather than wasting time writing a brief and waiting for agencies to respond to it, you’ll be further ahead than you would have been with a tendering approach.
So if you’ve got a web project in mind, start a conversation with some web agencies today and get your project moving. You’ve got nothing to lose.
Have you had good or bad experiences selecting web agencies or tendering for projects? I’d love to hear from you. Please add your comments below or email me.
Comments