12 questions to ask a marketing agency before you sign

Ask these twelve before you sign anything. They cover the four things that decide whether a retainer is worth it: who does the work, what the fee buys, who owns what, and how you get out. A good agency answers all twelve plainly on the first call.

The questions

1. Who will work on our account, and how much of their week is ours?

Ask for names and roles, not “a dedicated team”. Listen for: the people on the call doing the work, and a rough number of hours a month. Worry if: the people pitching you disappear after the contract is signed.

2. What will you do in the first 30 days, week by week?

Listen for: an audit, tracking checks, a test plan and a first report date. Worry if: the first month is “onboarding” with nothing you can see at the end of it.

3. Which number will we judge you on, and what is realistic by month three?

Pick one: cost per install, cost per lead, booked demos, organic sign-ups. Listen for: a range they’re willing to write down, and what it depends on. Worry if: they only talk about impressions, reach or “brand awareness” for a performance budget.

4. How will we see results, and how often?

Listen for: live access to the ad accounts and analytics, plus a regular report you can read in five minutes. Worry if: you only ever see their slides, never the accounts themselves.

5. Who owns the ad accounts, tracking, data and creative?

Listen for: “You do. The accounts sit in your business manager; we get access.” The same goes for pixels, analytics properties and every ad they make. Worry if: the accounts are created under the agency, so leaving means starting from zero.

6. What exactly does the retainer include, and what costs extra?

Ad spend, creative production, landing pages, tools, setup fees, extra channels. Listen for: a written list of what’s in and what’s out. Worry if: “it depends” turns into extra invoices from month two.

7. How is your fee calculated, and what happens when we spend more?

Flat monthly fee, a percentage of ad spend, or a mix. Listen for: a fee that doesn’t jump just because you scale a campaign that works, or a percentage with a cap. Worry if: you can’t work out next month’s bill from the proposal.

8. What is the minimum term, the notice period, and what do we get when we leave?

Listen for: a short first term or a trial period, a notice period you can live with, and a handover of every account, file and report. Worry if: you’re locked in for a year before they’ve shown a single result.

9. Can we talk to two current clients our size, and one who left?

Listen for: names you can call this week. A client who left and still speaks well of them tells you more than any testimonial. Worry if: every reference is a logo on a slide.

10. Show us an account like ours: what you changed and what happened.

Ask for the before and after in numbers, with the budget. Listen for: specific changes and honest results, including what didn’t work. Worry if: every story is a record month and none has a budget attached.

11. What do you need from us each week, and what happens when we’re late?

Approvals, assets, product access, a person who answers questions. Listen for: a clear list and a named contact on each side. Worry if: delays on your side become their excuse for missed targets, with nothing written down.

12. What would make you tell us to stop spending money with you?

Listen for: a real answer, such as “if cost per install is still above your target after three months of testing, we’d say so.” Worry if: there’s no situation in which they’d tell you to stop.

Answers that should worry you

• “We’ll know after onboarding.” For questions 1, 2 and 6 they should know before you sign.
• “Our proprietary process.” Fine as a name, not as an answer. Ask what it does in week one.
• “Results usually take six months.” Sometimes true for SEO. For paid ads you should see test results inside the first month, even if they’re not good ones yet.
• Long contracts with no exit. A confident agency doesn’t need twelve months to keep you.

What to get in writing

Before you sign, the proposal or contract should state:

• the people on the account and their roles,
• what the fee includes and what’s billed extra, with prices,
• how the fee changes when ad spend changes,
• the one number they’re judged on and the target range,
• that you own every ad account, tracking setup, data set and piece of creative,
• the minimum term, the notice period and the handover on exit.

If it isn’t written down, assume you won’t get it.