But it is an unsustainable business model for design agencies – a practice that has no place in our industry – and we can support you in saying no. Nobody is suggesting that agencies should not have to work to win the contract. Writing a credentials pitch takes considerable time and effort, but if you give away your ideas upfront, what have you got left to sell once you win the work? There’s also the crucial issue of loss of IP – once you have presented work to a potential client, it’s very difficult to stop the misuse of your intellectual property.

There’s the financial toll too. If there are five agencies all producing the equivalent of £10,000 worth of creative work just to win a £40,000 contract, the loser is the design industry. If agencies are giving away so much studio time for free, they will have to charge higher rates to the clients they secure, to cover the costs of failed pitches.

The DBA stance is clear – we recommend that agencies do not free pitch. It devalues what you are selling. Don’t do it. Say ‘no’.

How to refuse requests to free pitch (and start a conversation)

The argument against free pitching often starts with protecting the rights and intellectual properties of the agency, which of course is crucial and valid. But responses refusing requests to free pitch are more effective when they focus on the best interests of the client, allowing you the opportunity to open up conversations and doors.

Here’s what we recommend:

DON’T use the argument about how free pitching is bad for the design sector (although it obviously is). Why should clients care? It will not change their minds.

DON’T lambast the client. They could be following their own procurement process and / or under financial pressure. They could be doing it because they do not know any other way (in which case you can help raise awareness). They could be doing it because they think it is a fast-track way to choose an agency (in which case you can help raise awareness). Be mindful there will always be a wider context.

DO use a request to free pitch as an opportunity to start a conversation with a client. If they are interested in learning how to make a better-informed decision great. If not, walk away. Their chances of getting a great agency are slim. If you work with them the chances of you being valued and viewed as an expert consultant, rather than a vendor, are slim.

DO use the argument about how the client cannot find the best match for their business and their needs through a free pitch. Good design work takes collaboration with the client – an understanding of their business, their culture and requirements. Creative work presented in a pitch is not produced with the insight into the client’s business and objectives that are required to deliver the best solution for their needs.

DO explain the short comings of making a decision based on work created through guesswork with a lack of insight by agencies who either had free studio time or who took designers off paid work to do it.

DO consider the positioning of your business. What makes you any different from all the other design agencies? Clients will often ask for a free pitch because they cannot tell agencies apart. If you are seen as being meaningfully different to all the others it gives you power in the sales process.

DO make use of your DBA membership and our resources to support your reply and to start a conversation. Members can access an example response to a request to free pitch and adapt it for their own circumstances, sector and type of client / project. You can also reference the DBA’s Code of Conduct, such as in this example:

As members of the DBA, their Code of Conduct recommends: ‘Members should not take part in pitches, which require unpaid work. The level of payment for pitches should relate to the time and effort involved’

DO get in touch if you need further support. Book in a call with our Membership Director, Adam Fennelow. And if you’re not yet a DBA member but would like to access support and resources around this issue, book in a call to discuss the many benefits of membership.

If you are of the view that a free pitch is never in the best interests of clients or your design business, is it time to make a strategic decision on how you’re going to win work and stick to it? DBA members regularly and successfully change clients’ understanding of why free pitching won’t deliver the best results and they win their business without taking part in pitches that require unpaid creative work, against agencies that do. It’s how they work. And it gets results.