Agency New Business Pitch Checklist Template

Owned by the new business director. Answer the three scope questions here: is a pitch consultant or procurement running the process, is speculative creative work requested, and is there an incumbent agency on the account.

• Name the new business director, managing director, pitch lead, creative lead and finance lead — later tasks are assigned from these fields
• Answer the scope questions — intermediary or procurement involvement, speculative creative, and whether an incumbent agency holds the account
• Record the invitation — the brand, the disciplines in scope, the likely fee, every stage of the timetable and who invited you
• Check for conflicts with current clients — exclusivity clauses in your existing contracts and any brand a current client would see as a competitor
• Ask how many agencies are in the review — at each stage, and how the shortlist will be chosen
• Find out why the account is moving — a new marketing director, a failed relationship or a routine procurement review are three very different pitches

The go/no-go is an approval task for the managing director. The checklist halts until it is Approved, so no time is booked to the pitch before the decision.

• Score the opportunity on the go/no-go scorecard — fit, budget, access, competition, incumbent, chemistry, cost to pitch, conflicts and capacity, in the attached table
• Estimate the cost to pitch — hours by person, freelancers, production and travel, set against the first-year fee
• Check that the team who would run the account is free — the people the client will meet must be the people who do the work
• Ask about a pitch fee and the client’s position on pitch ideas — what the fee covers and who owns unused work
• Managing director go/no-go approval — Approved to pitch, or Not approved with a short, polite decline sent the same week

The questionnaire and procurement terms tasks are shown only when a pitch consultant or procurement is running the process.

• Tailor the credentials deck — three or four case studies that match the client’s category and problem, not your greatest hits
• Complete the intermediary’s questionnaire — in their format, with financial and staffing figures checked by the finance lead
• Read the procurement terms before investing further — draft contract, payment terms, liability, audit rights and anything you could not sign
• Prepare for the chemistry meeting — bring the people who would run the account, good questions and no pitch deck
• Write up the chemistry meeting — who spoke, what worried them, what they were sceptical of and what made them laugh
• Confirm the next stage — the shortlist, the timetable, the evaluation criteria and who will be in the final room

The incumbent task is shown only when an incumbent agency holds the account.

• Read the brief against the client’s evaluation criteria — and list every question the brief leaves open
• Submit clarification questions by the deadline — log the answers, including those the client shares with every agency
• Ask for a data and access session — sales figures, research, brand tracking and past campaign results the client can share
• Study the incumbent’s work for the brand — what the client wants to keep, what it wants to change, and why it is looking
• Develop the insight and strategic platform — tested with people in the audience, not only inside the agency
• Hold the internal review of strategy and early ideas — the managing director and pitch lead pick the route that goes forward

The two creative tasks are shown only when speculative creative work is requested; the procurement template task only when an intermediary or procurement runs the process. The managing director’s approval of the commercial proposal halts the checklist.

• Agree the creative ask in writing — what the client wants to see, at what finish, what the pitch fee covers and who owns unused ideas
• Develop the creative routes to the agreed depth — no more finish than the client asked for, and no production spend without a decision
• Build the team and resourcing plan — named people, roles, seniority mix and the monthly hours the fee pays for
• Price the account — retainer, project or hybrid fee, rate card, third-party costs and mark-ups, and any performance element
• Complete the procurement commercial template — the client’s own format and assumptions, reconciled with your pricing
• Managing director approval of the commercial proposal — margin, risk and terms approved before anything goes to the client

• Give every section and likely question a named speaker — including the awkward ones about price, team turnover and the incumbent
• Rehearse in full at least twice — once with a colleague playing a sceptical client, with the timing checked
• Confirm the logistics — venue or video platform, attendees, timings, equipment, files on two devices and a printed backup
• Prepare the leave-behind — a short document on the strategy, the idea and the commercials for people who were not in the room
• Present, with one person noting the room — reactions, questions, objections and who seemed to decide
• Send the follow-up within one working day — thanks, answers to open questions and anything you promised

• Record the outcome — won, lost or review cancelled, with the date and the reason the client gave
• Ask for a feedback session, win or lose — with scores by criterion where the client will share them
• Run the internal win/loss review — what to repeat, what to drop, and the real cost to pitch against the estimate
• Record what happens to the pitch work — what was agreed on ownership of unused ideas, and where the files are kept
• Hand over to onboarding when you win — promises made in the pitch, the named team and the agreed commercial terms
• Release the pitch team — thank them, end freelancer bookings and close the pitch time code