Getting the Right Team Starts With the Right RFP

Resource Expectations Shape The Team You’ll Actually Get.

When you’re hiring an agency, you’re not just hiring a brand name; you’re hiring the people behind it. And yet, many RFPs focus heavily on services, timelines, and budgets while leaving critical questions about the team itself frustratingly vague. If you want the right team on your business, it starts with setting clear expectations about resource commitment, seniority, location, and more, right in the RFP. Otherwise, you risk major disconnects when proposals are delivered (or worse, after the relationship begins).

This piece focuses on the strategic decisions RFP issuers need to make – around team structure, commitment, and access – to shape the kind of partnership they want before proposals even arrive

Key Areas to Define in Your RFP

Time Commitment

Clearly define whether you expect dedicated or shared resources. Agencies can’t guess how much time you expect senior team members to spend on your business, and bios don’t tell the whole story. (We explored this risk of misalignment in our earlier post on team evaluation.)

If you require full-time or near-full-time attention from those assigned to your account, say so clearly in your RFP.

Example pitfall: An agency proposes a blended team allocating 30–50% of their time across clients, but you were hoping for full-time focus, leading to disappointment and delays late in the process.

Seniority and Experience Level

Do you expect senior leadership to be directly involved in your day-to-day business, or primarily in an oversight capacity? Should certain team members (like strategists, creative leads, or media directors) have a minimum number of years of experience in your category?

Example pitfall: Senior executives lead the pitch, but after awarding the business, daily work is handled by junior staff you’ve never met.

Location and Time Zone

Are there geographic requirements for your account team? Is U.S.-based staffing important? Do you expect your core team to be in a specific region (e.g., East Coast hours, West Coast presence)?
Or are you open to teams working across multiple time zones or countries?

Example consideration: If responsiveness during specific working hours is critical to your business, a team spread across time zones could create challenges. However, it could be an advantage if you operate nationally or globally. The key is to define your expectations clearly so agencies can propose a model that fits your needs.

Named Staff vs. New Business Teams

It can be beneficial for agencies to have dedicated business development executives leading their RFP responses. This ensures client-serving teams can stay focused on current work, and often results in a more strategic, well-prepared pitch.

While having a polished new business team involved isn’t a negative (and not all agencies have new business teams anyway), you should still ask to meet the key people who would actually be assigned to your account. Make sure your evaluation includes the real day-to-day players, not just the pitch specialists.

Example pitfall: After awarding the account, you realize that half the team you met during the pitch won’t actually be involved with your business.

Client Access to Resources

Will you have direct access to functional specialists like media buyers, strategists, or creative directors? Or will all communication be routed through an account director? If you expect (or require) direct access to key players, spell it out clearly.

Relevant Category Experience

If direct experience in your industry is important – for example, entertainment, healthcare, tech, or financial services – say so. Don’t assume that adjacent experience will automatically be sufficient on either side. If you absolutely require it, it can save both you and the agency time and trouble to say so upfront.

(For our perspective on how to go beyond snap bios and org charts in your evaluation, see: What to Ask in an RFP Instead of “Tell Us About Your Team”, which looks at how RFPs can better interrogate team chemistry, collaboration style, and problem-solving approach.)

Summary: Clarity Shapes Better Partnerships

When it comes to resources, assumptions can quietly derail even the best-intentioned partnerships. By bringing greater clarity to expectations around time commitment, seniority, location, and access, you create the conditions for agencies to propose teams and approaches aligned with your true needs.

Every organization’s priorities will be a little different. The key is not about asking for more detail for its own sake; it’s about defining the factors that will truly impact your success. Clearer expectations don’t just lead to better proposals. They create stronger foundations for the collaboration that comes next.

Next up: Scoring What Matters: Why Better Evaluation Criteria Lead to Better Proposals.

Smart organizations know that stronger RFPs lead to better partnerships. We help teams clarify what they really need, sharpen their evaluation criteria, and structure the RFP to attract the right response from the right partners. Whether you’re looking for a topline diagnostic, a strategic rewrite, or a full-process tune-up, we can help. Let’s talk.

Featured image by Clay Banks via Unsplash