The Budget Mystery Box

Here's where things get really spicy. Most email marketing RFPs treat budget discussions like Fight Club – the first rule is we don't talk about budget. Instead, they'll ask you to provide "competitive pricing" for a scope that's more ambiguous than a horoscope written by someone who's never looked at the stars.

"We need email marketing services for our B2B SaaS company targeting enterprise clients in North America, Europe, and possibly Mars if Elon gets back to us. Please provide pricing for basic, premium, and unicorn-tier service levels. Budget is flexible but we're definitely not telling you what flexible means."

The best part? After you've spent 20 hours crafting a detailed proposal with transparent pricing, they'll inevitably come back with "This seems high. Our intern said they could do it for $500 and a pizza party."