According to a recent Design Council survey, free pitching is a way of life for most designers. Almost half of all design agencies (44 per cent) and freelancers (43 per cent) say they have to pitch creatively for free either always or frequently.
Yet less than a third of the designers surveyed agreed that free pitching should be just accepted as a routine way of winning business, and fees should be adjusted accordingly. At the opposite end of the scale, 23 per cent thought designers should insist on being paid for the full cost of preparatory work.
Interestingly, the Design Council’s survey found that size of agency influenced the success of a free pitch. According to its survey results, consultancies with more than five employees win 66 percent of their pitches, whereas those with fewer than five staff win only 33 percent. These figures bear out the significant manpower hours successful design agencies have to dedicate to the business of free pitching.
Figures from the Design Council’s Design Industry Research 2007.
Read more on creating the “Killer Pitch” in this month’s Digital Arts Magazine – June edition on sale now!
