To pitch? Or not to pitch? That is the question.

While free pitches can sharpen the saw and bring glory for the winner, it can spell disaster for the losing parties.

Know you are going to win.
The best military leaders of all time never went to war unless they knew they were going to win. I think pitching for free is much the same. When you consider the opportunity cost of battling it out with agencies - the angst, forgoing paid work and over working staff - you really have to pick your pitches carefully.

Unless you have intelligence which suggests you will win, perhaps the time is better spent on an existing Client.

Devaluing the agency.
In most cases when you pitch, you have to reveal your big idea. You deal your trump card, right at the start of the game. Any seasoned poker player will advise you such a move smells of desperation.

In addition, giving away the most valuable work at the beginning, devalues the remaining work to be completed. This could be avoided had the Client paid for the big idea.

Samson or Goliath.
Clients could be doing their business a disservice by calling a pitch. Perhaps Agencies with no work spend more time pitching, while the successful ones are busy servicing paying Clients.

The Client gets free ideas, but not necessarily the right Agency to work with.

This is particular true when dealing with small agencies. To survive, they must deliver fast and accurate work to their Clients. Instead of pitching, they build intimate relationships with fewer clients, and incremental grow their retained business.

After all, it is statistically proven easier to retain business than win new business.

Larger Agencies are different. Their business model requires they drive new business, which means lots of pitching. They have more fat in their organisation, and need to continuously pitch to cover their large overhead.

Quite often they are pitching on budgets of $250k and higher, making the carrot enticing enough to pitch for free. They can afford to lose a few pitches and not feel the pinch.

See the full article published in marketing interactive.