<div class="gn-article"><div class="gn-hero gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-hero__image"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/6a02fe534c31c5e5a0954c2e_top-10-dark-green-banner-3-69f9d0e785541052410129.jpeg" alt=""></div> <div class="gn-hero__head"> <span class="gn-kicker"><span class="dot"></span>Growth</span> <h1 class="gn-title">Top 10: Red Flags in an RFP That Should Make You Walk Away</h1> <div class="gn-meta"> <strong>The GO Network</strong> <span class="pip"></span> <span>6 May 2026</span> <span class="pip"></span> <span>3 min read</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="gn-body"> <p class="gn-lede gn-reveal">Most agencies say yes to too many RFPs. Bandwidth gets eaten, win rates drop, and the team ends up resenting the process by the second pitch. The strongest growth-stage agencies we work with do something different, they qualify out as carefully as…</p> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#01</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">The list of invited agencies is long</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">When the brief says ten agencies are pitching, it almost certainly means a procurement-led process where price will be the deciding factor.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">The brand has no clear shortlist and no chemistry has been built. Your odds are bad and the work to win is the same as a three-way pitch.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#02</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">There is no budget range</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">"We are looking for the right partner" without any indication of investment level usually means the brand has not decided what they can spend, or they are hoping to find out by collecting proposals.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Either way, you will spend hours scoping work for a number that does not exist.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#03</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">The deadline is tight and there is no chemistry call</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">Two weeks to respond, no scheduled conversation with the brand team, no Q&A window. This is a paper exercise. The brand has likely already chosen and is fulfilling a procurement requirement.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#04</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">Procurement is the only listed contact</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">If marketing is not named anywhere, no CMO, no brand director, no marketing lead, you are pitching to people whose job is to drive cost down, not value up.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">The decision will be made on commercial terms.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#05</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">The brief asks for free strategic thinking</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">"Please include initial creative concepts." "Share your strategic approach to our brand." "Include a sample campaign idea."</p> <p class="gn-reveal">This is unpaid work that the winning agency may not even use. Set boundaries here, or risk the entire industry's standards slipping further.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#06</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">The incumbent is invited</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">When the existing agency is on the pitch list and you do not know why, you might be being used, as a benchmark, a fee-negotiation tool, or a tick-box for procurement.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Make sure that you can have a clear explanation as to why they are involved before proceeding.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#07</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">Decision criteria weight price heavily</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">When the scoring rubric breaks down as 40% price, 30% experience, 20% strategy, 10% creative, you have found a procurement event dressed as a pitch. If your fee model cannot compete with the lowest bidder, save your team's time.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#08</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">The scope and timeline do not match</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">"We need a full rebrand, three campaigns, and a website redesign in six weeks."</p> <p class="gn-reveal">The brand is not being realistic about what is needed, and the winning agency will inherit that misalignment. Ask the qualifying questions before assigning a team.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#09</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">There is no named decision-maker</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">"We will be making a decision in due course" with no committee structure, no signoff process, no individual owner.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Every reset, every additional round, every scope creep, they all become possible. Pitches with vague decision pathways waste the most time.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#10</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">The brief is generic boilerplate</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">Copy-paste objectives, no real insight into the brand's actual challenge, no sense that the marketing team has put thought into what they need. If the brand cannot be bothered to write a thoughtful brief, they will not be a thoughtful client.</p> </div> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">The bottom line</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">The most successful agency leaders we work with treat new business as an investment portfolio, not a charity.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Every RFP has an opportunity cost, the team that pitches one brief is not pitching another, not doing client work, not building proprietary IP.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Walk away from the briefs that look bad on day one. Spend the saved energy on the ones where you can actually win.</p> </div></div>