3. Take the political temperature
You have to decide how much brand equity, brainpower, speed, creativity, media intimacy, or technical chops you want, need, or are willing to pay for at the outset. Do you need quick-and-dirty or famous-and flashy? Are you looking to impress the C-suite or are you looking to augment or complement the skills of your staff? Ask yourself: How much validation or blame will you assign to the agency?

Then compare the needed skills with the budget you have to spend. How much of the budget are you willing to spend on travel, out of pocket expenses, and infrastructure? Do you want a marquee New York agency owned by a global holding company, an independent firm with a hot reputation in your vertical, or two renegade guys in a room completely dedicated to your brand? What will your management accept, appreciate, and buy?

Once you clarify your own needs and the desires of your management, you are ready to structure the RFP process. Give yourself six months. Assume the exercise will take 90-120 days and that a subsequent notice, transition, and contracting period will be of equal length. Some firms prefer to outsource the search effort; others do it themselves or construct a hybrid division of labor. The critical variable is a sense of control. Pick the solution that gives you optimal control of the process and the outcome.

4. Cover the basics
The three fundamental questions you need to answer in any RFP process are:

• Who are they?
• What are they truly good at?
• Can we sue them if they screw us?

Every agency worth its salt has standard language to answer these questions and financial details and references to substantiate its fiscal viability. You have to ask these questions, but you'll be surprised at how similar the answers are and how little real differentiation you get when comparing responses. Everyone is fabulous, with the greatest teams skilled at every task you can imagine. Everyone has great case studies, screen grabs, intricate process maps, snappy bios, and ironclad financials.

This material is the basic ante -- table stakes in the game. All this material should be understood as a check-off rather than as critical variables. Those who can't produce this kind of information on a dime aren't ready for your serious consideration.