When the pitch becomes a prototype, the evaluation changes too.
Mike Litman · ~4 min read · 18 slides
is what your agencies spend on pitching every year. Most of it is wasted.
You are evaluating performances, not capabilities.
The pitch shows you who is best at pitching. It does not show you who is best at making things. These are two different skills, and you are selecting for the wrong one.
A prototype sprint solves this. You evaluate the people who will actually do the work.
Presentation skill and problem-solving skill are different competencies. A deck can hide weak thinking behind strong design. A prototype cannot. Every decision is visible.
The typeface they choose. The error message copy. The loading state. How they handle edge cases. What they leave out. These are taste decisions, and they only become visible when someone is building. No pitch deck has ever shown you a loading state.
You see how the team communicates under pressure. You see what they prioritise when time is short. You see whether they listen to feedback or defend their work. This is the chemistry test that actually predicts the relationship.
| Running a Pitch | Prototype Sprint | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | 4-6 months | 2-4 weeks |
| Your team | 8-12 people reviewing | 2-3 stakeholders |
| Agency cost | £50K-£200K unpaid | £5K-£20K paid |
| You get | Promises | A working product |
Droga5 moved to paid pitches only. Their win rate tripled.
When both sides pay, both sides take it seriously. The agency sends its real team. The client engages properly. The output is closer to what the actual work will look like.
The brief tells you what the client asked for. The problem is what the client actually needs. A prototype reveals whether the agency understood the difference. Look at what they chose to build and, more importantly, what they chose not to build.
A two-week sprint with a small budget forces trade-offs. The choices they make under constraint tell you more about their judgement than any strategy document. Did they solve the problem elegantly or throw resources at it?
Zoom into the edges. The transitions. The copy on the 404 page. The way the navigation feels on mobile. These are the decisions that reveal whether someone cares about craft or is just ticking boxes. Taste is not in the hero image. It is in the footnotes.
During the sprint, you gave notes. Did they defend their position with evidence or fold immediately? Did they push back constructively or agree with everything? The best agencies will argue with you when they are right. That is what you want in a partner.
In a pitch, the agency fields its best presenters. In a prototype sprint, the people building are the people you evaluate. There is no bait-and-switch. What you see is what you get. Ask yourself: do I want to work with these specific humans for the next twelve months?
Stop buying promises.
Start evaluating evidence.
The agencies worth hiring are the ones who can show you, not just tell you. The prototype makes that possible at a fraction of the cost and time of a traditional pitch.
hello@mikelitman.me
Based on original research · Sources: Forrester, EACA, IPA, ISBA, Bedford Group