An Open Letter to Would-Be Purchasers of Design Services
by Guest Author, (8 comments)
by Drew Davies
On behalf of designers everywhere, I am writing you this letter with a very simple request. My message isn’t particularly novel — in fact, you may have heard something like it before. But, it’s become clear that it’s time to say it again as clearly as possible.
In the course of owning and operating my own design firm, I regularly encounter persons and companies looking for design services. The most promising of the set send an RFP, ask us to sit down for an initial meeting, or ask us to make a presentation regarding our capabilities and qualifications. This is a fairly traditional practice, and in general, it works quite well. We certainly don’t engage in speculative creative work, but I am always happy to explain to someone what I believe to be the value in hiring my firm, and show them a range of our previous design projects.
Quite often, prospective clients like yourself request various documents and proposals, so you can learn about anything from our process to our experience, our price estimates to our ballpark timelines. Typically, the process of developing this paperwork is relatively time-consuming, but it’s something I enjoy doing. It’s always nice to be able to tell our story, and look forward to the possibility of working on an exciting new project.
Here’s where you come in. When you request a customized proposal or an in-person presentation, you have a responsibility. Quite frankly, it’s your ethical obligation as a human being. You owe the designer or firm from which you received this information a direct and timely response.
No 20-minute phone calls or five-page explanation e-mails required. Just a simple note to say “thank you for your time, we’ve decided to go a different direction.” It’s a basic professional courtesy that every person requesting a proposal from another should extend when they’ve selected a different option. But you’d be surprised at how frequently that response never arrives.
I don’t know if people simply assume that somehow designers — straddling the line between art and business — can’t handle rejection. Perhaps this problem is endemic to the complete range of service industries. Either way, let me make this clear: not only can we handle it, we appreciate it, and we expect it. Every designer wants and deserves to know where they stand in a potential business transaction.
You’d be surprised to know how many times I’ve made presentations, or sent proposals, only to receive complete silence in return. After half a dozen unanswered e-mails and voice mails over the following month, I can usually assume we didn’t get the work. Which is completely understandable; we can’t win them all. But not taking 30 seconds of your time to inform us of the decision is at best rude, at worst cowardly.
So, I’m making this simple request. When you ask a designer for a proposal, extend them the same courtesy you’d expect: let them know if they didn’t get the work. If they’re a professional like you, they’ll thank you for your candor, and you’ll both move on. And then you’ll be able to stop avoiding my phone calls.
Thank you kindly,
Drew Davies
Owner/Design Director, Oxide Design Co.
Comments (8)
michael said:
sounds like someone is freshly bitter. :)
Posted on March 26, 2008
JonSel said:
Drew, that was just very well put. I think those of us who run a studio have all had episodes like that. I had one last summer. I even managed to get the client on the phone a month later and was told they hadn’t made a decision. I offered to answer any questions about the proposal and was told they had none. Then, nothing. Great. Glad I spent my time on that.
Posted on March 26, 2008
michael said:
it happens to the best of us.
Posted on March 26, 2008
brad knapp said:
Preach on brother.
Posted on March 26, 2008
Alex Charchar said:
I work as part of an in-house studio for a University and we get this a bit actually.
We don’t charge for any internal work, which is probably where the real problem lies — we’ll have a client come in and tell us a job is super urgent, must be done by the end of the week and is of the up-most importance.
Then, if we’re lucky we get content within an hour and away we go, however some of the time we won’t here back from the client till the day the job is due and then are told it can be put off for a few weeks, or better yet, after putting a considerable amount of work in, the client drops off the face of the earth and don’t reply to emails or give vague answers on the phone.
Bah, it’s the bitterness that’s best remembered
Posted on March 27, 2008
Brett Thompson said:
Can I copy this and include it in presentation packs? I would of course present it as a quote and give full credit.
Posted on March 28, 2008
Drew Davies said:
Brett,
You and others have permission to reproduce this letter, so long as it is presented in its entirety, has not been edited, and is attributed to Drew Davies of Oxide Design Co.
Very glad to hear that it’s resonating with you. I’d love to see the message spread around.
Posted on April 1, 2008
Steve Peralta said:
As a firm, we consider the proposals (time to prepare and present) simply a cost of doing business. We put them out there and we let things take their course. We rarely make more than two follow up calls because if we have to make more than that, it’s a sign to us that we probably don’t want to be working for that client.
The other side of Drew’s argument might be to choose your clients. In our view, it’s the only way to make sure there’s some contentment in what you’re doing. Not everyone can do that, I know, but if you’re running your own outfit I think that it’s definitely an option.
Drew is right. If we’ve made the time and effort to present something to someone, it’s common and professional courtesy to give a timely response. If after a month of phone calls, there is still no response, it’s time to evaluate whether you want them as a client at all.
Posted on April 3, 2008