Agencies - Stop Doing Spec Work
If you are an Agency and you are still doing "spec work" to win new business, you are doing it wrong AND ruining the industry. STOP!
Our firm worked with an agency last year on their overall growth strategy, market position and new business plan. We got to the part of the engagement where we start evaluating their pitch or presentation decks. OH MY GOODNESS!!
It was like the Wild Wild West. They offered spec work on at least half of their new business pitches in order to show their creative thinking and expertise but it really came off as a gunslinger just firing his pistol, hoping he hits something. The work was beautiful and well thought out but it was only surface-level thinking because they were guessing what the client would want or like. This is a bad approach.
A WASTE OF TIME
Agencies burn countless hours on spec work that either doesn't win or if it does win them the business, they end up redoing the concepts with additional concepts later on in the engagement anyways. So why do agencies do all this spec work to win the business?
They want to show their expertise and that they are really smart people
They want to show their creativity without the client parameters
They are desperate to win this piece of business and are willing to do anything to land this prospect
And let’s be honest—none of those reasons actually serve the agency or the client in the long run. It’s like trying to win a date by writing a love letter to someone you’ve never met. You’re guessing at what matters to them, hoping it lands, and in the process, undervaluing your own process and expertise. Spec work trains clients to expect free labor, and it trains your team to chase approval instead of building strategy. It’s a race to the bottom—and the most “creative” pitch isn’t always the most valuable one.
REBUILD THE APPROACH
With our agency clients that we consult with, we rebuild this approach without any spec work while also "scratching the itch" of why they are doing spec work in the first place. Here is how you replace spec work:
SHOW EXPERTISE - teach them something about their industry (i.e. SaaS buyer insights) or your expertise (i.e. digital marketing trends). A prospect needs to leave these pitches knowing that they are working with experts. You need to show them that you are sharp and that you are leading the way on how to solve similar challenges they are going through.
SHOW CREATIVITY - put some f***ing attitude in your pitch decks. How can you change the entire pitch experience that shows your creative thinking without having to show any past work or spec work? There are 100s of ways to do this.
SHOW INTEREST - you want to win the business, so you need to show that you are in it to win. The best way to show that is to articulate that you are truly solving the buyers personal and business needs. Show them that you have been listening. Show them that you will make them look really freaking good if they work with you.
This isn’t about withholding value—it’s about reframing what value actually looks like in a pitch. You’re not selling pretty pictures, you’re selling clarity, confidence, and a path forward. That means asking sharper questions, challenging assumptions, and making the buyer feel like they’re already getting ROI just by sitting in the room with you. That’s the kind of experience that sticks. When they walk away thinking, “Damn, these folks actually get it,” you’ve already won half the battle—and you didn’t need a single mockup to do it.
Again, if you're an agency doing "spec work", please stop. Fill out our Contact Form and we'll look at your pitch deck. We'll rip it apart together!