How to Choose the Right SEM
Agency or Technology Partner
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Agenda
• Do’s
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Agenda
• Do’s
• Don’ts
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Agenda
• Do’s
• Don’ts
• Q&A
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Don’t: Delegate Responsibility to
a Junior Team Member
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Do: Honestly Assess Your Needs
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Don’t: Think a Technology can Do
it All
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Do: Get Proper Buy-in Prior to
Issuing RFP
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Do: Determine Selection Criteria
and Evaluation Committee
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Do: Outline a Budget Before
Proceeding
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Don’t: Send RFP to More than 5
Companies
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Don’t: Include More than 20
Questions
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Do: Give 3-4 Weeks Lead-time
for Responses
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Don’t: Cut and Paste From
Another RFP
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Do: Include a Thorough Brief
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Do: Ask What is Required to
Implement
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Do: Find Out if the Agency Has a
Proprietary Technology
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Do: Ask if any Services are
Outsourced
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Do: Ask How Well the Partner
Integrates
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Do: Ask what the Partner
Looked Like One Year Ago
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Do: Inquire About Research
Tools
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Do: Ask About Incremental
Costs
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Do: Ask What Other Clients Pay
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Do: Get Case Studies
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Do: Ask for References
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Do: Call All References
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Questions to Ask References
•Why did you choose the partner?
•How responsive is the partner?
•How innovative is the partner?
•Has the partner been able to scale your program quarter-over-quarter? YOY?
•Is the partner proactive in giving you new ideas and recommendations?
•What was required of you (the client) to implement the partner’s
recommendations/technology?
•What (if any) aspect of your (the client’s) organizational structure prevented the
partnership from succeeding further?
•How many changes have you had in personnel servicing your account?
•How many times in the past quarter did the partner miss a deadline?
•How often has the partner tried to increase their SOW and fees?
• How often were those requests justified?
•Why did you fire the partner? (if applicable)

Don’t: Pick a Partner that has
More Salespeople than Support
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Do: Ask Partners to Present
Actionable Items
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Do: Narrow Down to 2-3
Finalists for Presentations
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Do: Give Access to Historical
Data
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Do: Meet the Team that will be
Servicing Your Account
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Don’t: Get Fooled by Bells and
Whistles
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Do: Try Before You Buy
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Don’t: Choose Based on Cost
Alone
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Don’t: Pick a Partner that Isn’t
Fully Compatible
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Do: Go with Your Gut
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Do: Inform the Losers Why They
Weren’t Selected
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Don’t: Rinse and Repeat
http://eliaragoldman.blogspot.com/2008/06/rinse-lather-and-repeat.html

Additional Resources
• TinyURL.com/RFP-DSC
– My blog posts on Digital Sea Change about RFPs
• TinyURL.com/RFP-SEL
– George Michie’s post on Search Engine Land re: SEM
Agency RFPs
• AG@Connectual.com