We recently received an inquiry from a large company who was prospecting for a local design studio to help with a big project. The project involved branding, a big marketing campaign, a web site redesign, and presentation materials. Upon meeting with the “former” agency owner who was heading up the project, we listened to his sales pitch.

• “We are looking for a small local shop to partner with for the long term”.
• “We are very loyal once we select a design partner”.
• “We pay our bills on time.”

After the sirens in our heads quieted down, we talked about the project and hashed out a preliminary working arrangement.  The final “red flag” came in the form of their expectations: We would be “submitting concepts in order for them to choose the local firm who would head up the creative effort”.

Instead, we submitted a detailed proposal with an NDA. Wouldn’t you know, they never returned our calls.

Concepts are 90% of the work in any creative project.  It was obvious that this company was looking for a sucker(s) to do the hard work for them and then bail on their agreement. Moral of the story is ... If you can’t get an agreement in writing,  the job doesn’t really exist.