everyone’s had it happen to them at some point, whether it’s that homework that the school bully copied or the css being stolen from your site, we’ve all experienced having our hard graft stolen and other people taking the credit for it. infuriating doesn’t even begin to explain the emotions involved when you experience this for the first time, infact come to think of it, at any time.
however what happens when your ideas are stolen when you’re pitching for work? how much should you give away? before now, the focus has been on code that some cheeky blighters have copied and pasted but what about when you’re consulting for strategies and marketing?
you obviously want to go in there prepared, to show that you’ve given THAT specific company thought and attention and that your recommendations are tailored to their needs. but, what happens when you give away lots of your ideas (i.e. specifics that you’d implement and ideas for viral activity) and then they choose not to hire you but implement your ideas themselves?
go in to the pitch with high level ideas and no specifics and you risk looking “fluffy” and without giving any indication of what they’d actually be getting for their money, so where’s the happy balance?
the answer is that i’m still trying to establish this – i want to give good value for money, to show that i know my stuff and to prove that they’ll be getting the personal attention with me that they wouldn’t with a big agency. i guess you just have to accept that you might run in to some rotten apples along the way but it’s all a learning experience and they aren’t the type of people you’d want to be working with anyway.
in my eyes, the most effective projects are those where the company and the consultant are singing from the same hymn sheet… i know for sure that i wouldn’t just put my name to just anything, i work with ethics and i want to work with companies that have ethics too… it’s just such a shame when you give it your heart and soul.
i’d love to get your thoughts…
Martin says:
I agree it’s a fine balance … sometimes we decide as a company to put in that extra creative work for a pitch … when we are not successful, and it goes to another agency, the final product usually end’s up something like our pitch designs!
As a rule we usually give away more than we need to and it generally pays off. If it’s a multi agency pitch then our response is partly dependent on the others, but usually it’s about the client and their needs
We don’t usually take on new clients, where we are singing off different hymn sheets. In the occasions it happens, then the client is given some singing lesson from our book!
Go with your gut, if you get burned then it’s the experience that counts!
Hope the traffic clears up!
December 14, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Tom says:
“people are bastard coated bastards with a bastard filling”
Here’s a Christmas song to cheer you up:
http://tinyurl.com/6j6664
December 14, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Rob says:
Mel,
This is something I struggled with for a while, however I’ve learnt that you have to discern which potential clients share similar values – then you can really go to town adding value and ideas that shine with little concern for being left high and dry.
Of course it still happens, people still steal your ideas and run, as I’m continuing to learn. But I don’t want to work with people who don’t regard professional insight with due care or attention, so their short term gain is often, in my option, a long term loss… Besides which I try to present fresh new ideas yet retain as much detail pertinient to the success – it can be tricky but it’s worth a thought…
December 15, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Mel says:
Martin – thanks for the insight. Must be even harder for you guys having multiple elements to your pitch.
Tom – Seriously rofl!
Rob – What youo’ve said makes a lot of sense… thanks for the advice. I’ll have to try and give that a go!
December 15, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Clive Walker says:
I had a similar problem when pitching for a search engine optimisation job. I provided quite a few specifics and the feeling I got afterwards was that the company just went away and told their existing developer. Doh! As a result, I have been less specific recently. I still tell’em some stuff but keep away from the exact details until they sign-up….
I wonder whether some kind of non-disclosure agreement might be appropriate but am not sure if this is too heavy handed and/or unenforceable.
December 15, 2008 at 6:07 pm
santagold says:
the worlds greatest inventions came into this world stolen.
“certain scientists” [to create a certain bomb]
“windshield wipers” [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1054588/]
“a famous online community” [insert url
]
“every fashion item” [insert random fashion designer]
etc etc etc.
the question is however, is it really stealing? or are the people coming up with it just too ignorant/dumb to maintain it their idea/work/invention and make it a succes? and btw where do we draw the line? when is it inspiration and when is it (un)succesfull copying/do-ing the same?
seriously there is no stealing, only succes or no succes.
December 15, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Christian says:
If you are planning on going solo, the key is to avoid pitch work. I haven’t had a pitching position on my freelance for ages now, and most clients would be happy to sign a brief terms of service when they speak with you – which will also help you on the notorious payment of bills front.
December 16, 2008 at 1:50 pm