Should agency feedback be given by email?
By phone. A fifteen to twenty minute call gives the agency specific feedback it will remember, where a one-line email gives it nothing to use.
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Give the unsuccessful agencies a feedback call
Because the agency market serving law firms is small, and how you treat the agencies that lost decides who turns up, and how seriously, next time. A structured call takes fifteen to twenty minutes per agency: what scored well, what scored less well, and what would have changed the outcome, each tied to the scoring matrix. Do not apologise for the decision or compare them with the winner. Half a day of calls improves the responses you get across the market, including on your next RFP.
Why does feedback to losing agencies matter?
Because the same agencies will pitch again. You picked one agency and ten agencies did not get picked; two of them pitched in person and watched another walk away with the contract. The temptation is a one-line rejection email. The agency market serving UK law firms is small, and the agencies that lost your RFP will pitch for someone else's next quarter and for yours when the next project comes round. A constructive call costs about fifteen minutes each and returns better pitches for years.
What should a feedback call cover?
Three things, by phone, in fifteen to twenty minutes. What scored well, specifically: "your reference list was the strongest of the eleven we read; the detail on integrations was excellent; the transatlantic team structure was a credible answer to a question most agencies ducked." What scored less well, tied to the matrix: "the timeline question was not fully answered; the CMS recommendation came too late in the proposal; the pricing range made you hard to compare with fixed-price competitors." And what would have changed the outcome, which is the part agencies remember: "a fixed price with line items would have moved you into pitch contention; the discovery section could have been a third as long and twice as specific." Do not apologise, soften the feedback or compare them with the winner.
How do agencies usually respond?
Most thank you and ask one or two follow-up questions. A handful ask to be considered for the next project, and a few tell you something useful about how they read the brief, which improves your next RFP. Occasionally one pushes back hard on the feedback or the decision. Listen, acknowledge a fair point if they make one, and you have still given them the call.
Should you share the scoring matrix?
Either answer is defensible, as long as the matrix is used. Some firms share it, so the agency sees exactly where it scored low and the market gets better over time. Others hold back because the matrix contains commentary on other agencies; they share the agency's own row in writing, anonymised, and follow up with a call. What is not defensible is having the matrix and refusing to use it.
Related evidence: Eleven responses. Three on the pitch day. One agency appointed in eight weeks.. Earlier in this journey: A pitch day is for probing the gaps, not for repeating the brief.
Questions people ask
What feedback do losing agencies remember most?
What would have changed the outcome, such as a fixed price with line items, a stronger reference list, or a discovery section a third as long and twice as specific.
Not sure where to start?
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Just a straightforward discussion about where you are and whether I can help.
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