From the other side of the table
Hiring a marketing agency?
Here is what I check first.
I have run an agency since 2012. I have also been the customer of agencies, with my own money, and I have been burned. These are the questions I would ask if I were hiring one tomorrow.
Short answer: Judge an agency on whether it ties its work to calls, leads and revenue, whether you own your accounts, and whether it will tell you what it will not do for you. Confidence is free. Ask them to show you the thing working.
Why I wrote this
Before I started Eye To Ad Media I was a sales manager for plumbing companies and then for national remodeling companies. I sat at kitchen tables. I watched a good product lose to a worse one because the other company called back first. That is where I learned that marketing only matters if it turns into a conversation, and the conversation turns into a sale.
Since then I have been on both sides. I sell marketing, and I buy it for the companies I run. The most expensive mistake I ever made was paying for a channel for nearly a year because the reporting looked healthy. Traffic was up. Everything was up. Nothing was ringing. So this list is not theory. It is the stuff I wish someone had made me check.
Seven things to check before you sign
1. What do they measure?
Ask what number they will report every month. If the answer is traffic, impressions or rankings and not calls, form fills and booked jobs, keep asking. Those other numbers are useful, but they are not the result.
2. Who owns what?
Your domain, website, Google Business Profile, analytics and ad accounts should be in your name. The agency gets access. If you leave, you keep everything you paid to build.
3. Who does the work?
The person who sells you is often not the person who does the work. Ask who will actually build your site or run your ads, and whether you can talk to them.
4. What will they not do?
A good agency tells you what you do not need. If every answer is "yes, and we can add that," you are talking to a salesperson with a menu, not a partner.
5. What happens to the leads?
Ask how fast calls and forms reach you and what happens after hours. Marketing that produces leads nobody answers is just an expensive way to help your competitors.
6. Can you leave?
Read the exit terms before the scope of work. A fair agreement explains what is delivered, what it costs and how either side can walk away.
7. Will they show you the thing working?
Trusting a vendor because they were confident rather than because they were right is a mistake I have made more than once. Ask for live examples you can check yourself: a site you can visit, a business you can search for, a profile you can look up. Anyone can describe results. Fewer people can show you where to look.
Red flags I still watch for
- Guaranteed rankings. Nobody controls Google. Anyone who promises a position is promising something they cannot deliver.
- Reports with no money in them. If the report never mentions leads or sales, it is measuring activity, not results.
- A beautiful plan before a proven offer. Building something gorgeous before proving anyone wants it is the most enjoyable way to waste money I know.
- Accounts you cannot log into. If you cannot see your own data, you cannot judge the work.
- Pressure to sign today. A partner worth hiring will still be there next week.
What good looks like
A good agency starts by asking how you make money: what a customer is worth, where your best customers come from, and what happens when the phone rings. It builds on the channel most likely to pay back first, measures that honestly, and only then adds the next thing. It sends you a short report you can actually read. And when something stops working, it tells you before you have to ask.
That is the standard I try to hold myself to, and it is the standard you should hold anyone to, including me. If you want a second opinion on a proposal you have already received, I am happy to read it with you. Sometimes the honest answer is that you do not need me, and I will say so.
Straight answers
Questions people ask before hiring an agency
How long should I give a marketing agency before judging results?
It depends on the channel. Paid ads can show whether calls are coming in within weeks. SEO usually takes months before it shows up in leads. What should never take months is clarity: from the first month you should know what was done, what is being measured and what the next step is.
Should I sign a long marketing contract?
Be careful with long contracts you cannot leave if the work is not happening. A reasonable agreement spells out what is delivered, who owns the website, accounts and content, and how you can exit. If an agency will not put that in writing, that tells you something.
What should a marketing report include?
Leads and sales first: calls, form fills, booked jobs and, where possible, revenue. Traffic, rankings and impressions are useful context, but they are not the result. A good report also says what was done this month and what will change next month.
Who should own my website and ad accounts?
You should. Your domain, website, Google Business Profile, analytics and ad accounts should be in your name, with the agency given access. If you part ways, you keep everything you paid to build.
Ready to get started?
Found, chosen, called — and a founder who answers his own phone. If we can do all of that within your budget, are you ready to get started?