Off the Record: Red Flags

I’m in my 18th year at Drake Cooper. I just typed that and had to stare at it for a second. Eighteen years. For most of that time, I’ve been involved in or around business development in some capacity.

That’s a lot of RFPs. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of proposals, pitches, RFQs, briefs, or whatever we’re calling them this week when they land in our inbox.

You know what happens when you read that many? You start seeing patterns. The good ones. The bad ones. And the ones that should come with a warning label. At DC, we’ve been learning together with each new opportunity that comes our way.

Now look, I know there are agencies out there that refuse to pitch. Period. They’ll tell you that participating in spec work and elaborate pitch processes devalues what we do as an industry. That by jumping through hoops for free, we’re setting a precedent that our strategic thinking and creative work lack inherent value.

And honestly? They’re not wrong.

But here’s where I land on it: I love this part of the business. I’m competitive by nature, and new business is one of the few areas in our industry that’s not built on subjectivity. You win, or you lose. There’s a clarity to that I find appealing, even when losing stings.

That said, loving the game doesn’t mean we have to play every hand. And that’s exactly why we need to talk about this. As an industry, we need to get better at walking away from misaligned opportunities while still being willing to compete for the right ones. The solution isn’t to stop pitching entirely; it’s to stop pitching when the fit isn’t there.

So consider this your field guide to RFP red flags, the warning signs I’ve learned to spot over nearly two decades of chasing new business. The stuff that makes you realize maybe, just maybe, some opportunities aren’t actually opportunities.

Because when you need the work, those red flags start looking more like suggestions. But I’m learning (slowly, painfully), and we’re learning as a team, that knowing when to walk away might be just as valuable as knowing when to go all in.

Let’s start with the obvious ones, the red flags that scream “run away” if you know how to listen:

The Process

🚩 No opportunity to meet or ask questions

When there’s no chemistry meeting, no Q&A session, no chance to actually talk to the people you’d be working with, you’re being treated like a vendor, not a potential partner. How are you supposed to put forth a compelling submission when you can’t ask the questions that would help you understand what they actually need?

🚩 Refusal to explain how RFPs will be evaluated and scored

If they won’t tell you what criteria they’re using, what areas will be more heavily weighted, or how decisions will be made, that’s a transparency problem that will follow you into the relationship. Are we talking about a scoring rubric? A committee vote? One person’s gut feeling? The lack of clarity is its own answer.

The Language Gives Them Away

🚩 “Budget is TBD” or “Budget is competitive”

If they can’t tell you what they’re willing to spend, they either don’t know what this work costs (bad) or they know but don’t want to commit to it (worse). “Competitive” usually means “we’re going to tell you what three other agencies bid and ask you to beat it.”

🚩 Detailed pricing requests, no budget provided

This is budget opacity taken to its logical extreme. They want detailed pricing across multiple scenarios, but won’t give you any parameters to work within. You’re essentially guessing what they want to spend while they collect free market research on what things should cost.

🚩 “We want fresh thinking” or “We need an outside perspective”

These phrases aren’t inherently bad, but when they show up without any context about what’s not working or what they’ve already tried, it’s a warning sign. Often means they haven’t done the internal work to understand their actual problem. You’re being set up to solve the wrong thing.

The Timeline Tells You Everything

🚩 Two weeks to respond to an RFP that reads like a novel

When someone gives you 14 days to respond to a massive scope of work, they’re telling you something important: they don’t actually value the work it takes to do this well. They either already have someone in mind and need to check a procurement box, or they fundamentally misunderstand what goes into a solid proposal and how much time and energy agencies invest in them.

Either way, you’re set up to fail before you even start.

🚩 Due date right before or after major holidays

Nothing says “we respect your time and expertise” like an RFP due December 23rd or January 2nd. Because obviously, agencies don’t have lives, families, or PTO. This is either spectacular tone-deafness or a deliberate test to see who’s desperate enough to scramble. Neither scenario bodes well for the partnership.

The Scope Creeps Before You’ve Even Started

🚩 The brief keeps growing

When the RFP is 15 pages but the appendices are 47 pages, and there’s a “supplemental briefing document” and, oh, by the way, here’s some additional context, you’re looking at scope creep that’s already happening before anyone’s been hired. Imagine what it’ll be like when you’re actually working together.

🚩 The RFP was pulled from a dusty cabinet

You know the one. Dated language. References to marketing tactics from 2015. Information you’ve definitely seen before because they’ve been using the same template for years. It screams, “We haven’t thought about what we actually need; we just know we need to go through the motions.” If they can’t be bothered to update their RFP for current times, good luck getting them to embrace modern marketing approaches.

🚩 “Full integration across all channels” with a fractional budget

They want social, paid media, content creation, influencer partnerships, experiential, PR, and a website refresh. Budget? $150k for the year. Cool, cool, cool. This is where you politely explain physics.

The Decision-Making Red Flags

🚩 “The committee will decide”

How big is the committee? Who has final say? What happens if they disagree? If the answer to any of these questions is unclear, you’re about to enter decision-by-consensus hell. Nothing kills good work faster than needing to please 12 people with different agendas.

🚩 “We need to see spec creative”

For a pitch demonstration? Sure, depending on the scope, and definitely only in an in-person setting, never in the written submission. But when they want multiple spec concepts before they’ve chosen agencies for a final demonstration? That’s not a pitch process; that’s crowdsourcing for free.

🚩 Multiple rounds of “clarifying questions” before the RFP

One Q&A session is normal. Three separate rounds of questions because the brief was unclear? That’s a preview of how this entire relationship will go. Expect lots of “sorry, what we actually meant was…” after you’ve already done the work.

But What About the Green Flags?

Because it’s not all doom and gloom. There are signals that tell you this might actually be worth your time:

✅ Realistic timelines

When they give you 4-6 weeks to respond to a substantial RFP, they’re telling you they value quality over speed. They understand this takes time to do right.

✅ Budget transparency

“We have $X allocated for this scope of work” is music to any agency’s ears. It means they’ve done their homework and they’re ready to have honest conversations.

✅ Clear decision-making process

When they can tell you exactly who’s involved, what the timeline looks like, and how the final decision gets made, that’s someone who respects your time and has their act together internally.

✅ They’ve done their homework on you

Not just “we like your website” but actual specific references to your work, your approach, your people. They’re not just spamming every agency in town; they actually think you might be a fit.

✅ The initial conversations feel collaborative

When the pre-RFP discussion feels like two parties trying to figure out if they can solve a problem together rather than an interrogation or a box-checking exercise, pay attention to that.

✅ They acknowledge their role in success

When a potential client says, “We know we’ll need to provide timely feedback” or “we understand we’ll need to make resources available,” that’s someone who gets that partnerships are a two-way street.

✅ A consultant is running the process

When a professional search consultant manages the RFP, it means someone who knows how this process should work is in charge. They understand timelines, they facilitate actual dialogue, and they can translate between agency-speak and client-speak. You’ll be one of a select group of agencies, not participating in a cattle call where agencies haven’t been strategically selected for a good fit. It signals the client is serious enough about finding the right partner that they’ve invested in someone to run a proper process.

The Thing Is

Saying no to bad opportunities is just as important as saying yes to good ones. Maybe more important. Every hour spent on an RFP with red flags all over it is an hour you’re not spending on building relationships that might actually go somewhere. Or doing better work for the clients already trusting you with their business.

The hard part is having the discipline to walk away when you need the work. When the pipeline is thin and the pressure is on, those red flags start looking more like yellow caution signs. Maybe even orange. And look, sometimes you bet against the flags and win. We’ve done it. There have been pitches with multiple warning signs, yet the creative opportunity was exceptional and perfectly aligned with our expertise. We went all in and won. The point isn’t to never compete when red flags appear; it’s to be strategic about which ones you’re willing to navigate and why. Only you can decide where that line is for your agency.

But I’m trying to remember that some losses are wins in disguise. The pitch you don’t waste time on leaves room for the one that actually matters.

Your Turn

What red flags have you learned to spot? What are the warning signs you wish you’d paid attention to earlier? And on the flip side, what green flags have signaled the start of something great?

Drop your experiences in the comments. Let’s build the definitive list of what to chase and what to dodge.

Because we’re all out here pitching, and we might as well learn from each other’s scars.