Most bad agency experiences are predictable, and most are visible before you sign.
What should you ask before you sign?
Ask these ten questions and write down the answers:
- What exactly is included, and what's excluded? In writing, by deliverable.
- How do you report results? To lead, or to qualified call and customer? Ask to see a sample report.
- What will you track, and do you need access to my CRM? If not, how will you know?
- Who owns the ad account, pages, audiences and data? It should be you.
- Who follows up with the leads, and how fast? Speed to lead decides conversion (see the data).
- What's the minimum term and how do I exit?
- What's the total monthly cost, fee plus media? See what a normal retainer looks like.
- What happens if it doesn't work? Read the guarantee terms.
- Can I speak to a client in a similar business?
- What would make you say we aren't a fit? Any agency that says "nothing" is selling, not diagnosing.
What contract terms matter most?
- A written scope by deliverable and by month.
- Asset ownership: landing pages, tracking, ad accounts, audiences and creative stay yours if you leave.
- Term and exit: avoid long lock-ins if reporting stops at leads.
- Reporting clause: the report format and cadence, tied to your CRM.
- Guarantee terms: what triggers a refund, the window, and exclusions.
What are the warning signs?
- Reports of clicks, impressions and cost per lead only (why this happens)
- A promised number of leads, which is the wrong thing to guarantee
- Ad accounts and pages in the agency's name
- Vague scope ("we handle your marketing")
- No access to your own data
- Blame on "lead quality" with no data on what happened to the leads
How do you judge the first 30 days?
Look for a launched build (campaigns, pages, tracking, follow-up), a working connection between leads and your CRM, and early acquisition data such as cost per qualified lead. On a longer sales cycle, revenue takes longer, and an honest agency separates what's proven from what's still developing. Our Compare Funerals account reports exactly that way.
How do you read a money-back guarantee?
Check four things: the trigger (any reason, or only if a target is missed), the window, the exclusions (ad spend and third-party software are normally excluded), and the conditions you must meet. Fewer conditions mean a stronger guarantee. Also note what's guaranteed: a refund of the fee is real; a guaranteed lead count isn't the same as customers.
What does our own guarantee look like?
Hold it to the checklist above. Qualify as a client on the call and the first 30 days are covered by a money-back guarantee, for any reason. Ad spend and third-party software are excluded, and there are no operational conditions for you to meet. Reporting runs from lead to confirmed sale, so you can see cost per customer, not just cost per lead.
And if your real problem is your offer or your follow-up rather than your marketing, the call will say so. Book A Free Call.
Sources
- InsideSales, Lead Response Management 2021.
