Never conduct a fishing expedition or cattle call of agencies to simply improve the performance of an incumbent agency or to gain new creative ideas without compensation.

We recommend that your RFP and presentation discussions require agencies to highlight their proven track record with relevant case studies. This will enable you to enquire more about how they would use a best practice for your organization.

Spec work is often frowned upon. Our SCAN Survey of more than 600 worldwide agency leaders in February 2009, suggests that Canadian marketers rarely request spec work, especially when compared to the results in Europe and the US.

Just as you would respect the confidentiality with signed NDAs to protect your corporate reputation or a new product launch, be sensitive to agency confidentiality. Do not share agency rates or ideas with your friends in the industry. Confidentiality is a two way street.

Identifying the right selection team is critical. To have buy-in from key senior leaders and procurement, we recommend adding them to your selection team so you can come to an early consensus. Another quick tip, if you have a nay-sayor about agencies in the past, consider including them in the selection team so they have ownership in the final decision and purpose of the agency.

In the process, you must spend time articulating a solid brief, outlining what you need, why you need it, and how you’d like to work with an agency. Consider business goals, scope of the work, budget, industry, geography, culture, products and services, past experiences with agencies, deadlines, client’s involvement and any other unique needs.

Be consistent in your disclosure of information to ensure that you do not offer an unfair advantage to any of other agencies. Be sure to provide the same details about your budget, scope of work and company background on a consistent basis.

An RFC/RFP should include your brief and a series of questions for your selection committee to evaluate before shortlisting for agency visits. An agency visit gives you an opportunity to meet with your potential account team in their environment. While it is more time-consuming for you than having the agencies come to your office, it will be more revealing.

Do they work in an open concept so senior leaders can collaborate and better mentor junior staff? Or do they work in a closed door environment so they can concentrate on your challenges and manage your account confidentially? There are pros and cons to both.

From due diligence to briefings, selection committee meetings and agency visits — a search process requires commitment. Studies suggest that a thorough search often take 10 to 12 weeks to complete with close to 300 hours of dedicated time.

Your time is well invested to uncover that “gem” of an agency from plethora of choice; remember in Canada there are now almost 6,000 marketing agencies. You want to reduce agency churn by selecting the right agency to invest in for the long-term.

The end goal is to successfully find the right partner to elevate your business. It is a business relationships that you are seeking — not a commodity purchase.