By Missy Richeal
At Leverage Marketing, we show up fully when we pitch. We don’t regurgitate boilerplate case studies or toss around buzzwords. We spend real time understanding your business, researching your market, identifying opportunities, and mapping out a path to tangible, measurable results.
We’re not just “sending a proposal” anymore.
When we respond to an RFP — especially an extensive, open-ended one — we’re crafting strategic recommendations, assigning creative direction, reviewing performance data, and proposing big-picture solutions. That’s real intellectual capital.
On a recent pitch, we spent many hours unpacking a growth strategy, team structure, campaign calendar, and creative direction. It was thoughtful, thorough, and unpaid. We didn’t get the project. But someone got our ideas.
And, guess what? We’re proud of our thinking. So, we’re just not giving it away anymore. Moving forward, we will charge a fee for all RFP responses.
This decision isn’t about being frustrated. It’s about being fair.
RFPs come with opportunity — and real risk.
When done right, RFPs are about finding the right fit. But more often, they’re built to reduce “vendors” to a spreadsheet. In many cases, they blur the line between “proposal” and “free consulting.” Anyone who knows me and has worked with me knows that I don’t want to work with clients who treat us like a vendor or “order taker”. We are your marketing partner. We invest in your business and treat it as if it were our own.
I’ve seen it too many times:
- An RFP that asks for spec creative or mockups of campaign concepts
- Requests for in-depth strategic breakdowns without a guarantee of getting the job
- No follow-up, no decision timeline, and no clarity on who’s actually reading the work.
In short, the risk sits entirely on the agency. And when agencies absorb that risk repeatedly, it’s not sustainable or fair.
We’re not alone.
Agencies around the country are starting to rethink the RFP process. Many creative and strategy firms have already begun charging for pitches or declining spec work altogether. Industry veterans have called out the imbalance this process creates.
Clients are adjusting, too. We’ve found that the ones most serious about partnership don’t balk at the fee; they see it as an early investment in what we’ll build together.
What this means for our clients
If you’ve worked with Leverage before, you know we show up fully on day one. We care deeply about your business, your success, and your brand. That doesn’t change.
We’ll still show up with our signature thoughtfulness and creativity. But from now on, we’ll ask for an upfront investment in return. And if you move forward with us? That fee will be credited to your first invoice. If you don’t, you walk away with a thoughtfully prepared, professional proposal, and we walk away fairly compensated.
We still love proposals
Make no mistake: we love the challenge of an RFP. We love digging in, generating new ideas, and imagining what’s possible for a brand. But I also love our team. And protecting their time and energy is a form of leadership I take seriously.
It’s not easy to say “no” to how things have always been done. But I believe agencies—especially women-led and independently owned ones like ours—have a responsibility to shift outdated expectations and set a higher standard for how we work.
If you’re ready to explore a partnership rooted in mutual respect, we’re here for it.
And yes—we still plan to knock your socks off.
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