The 12-point checklist for choosing a marketing agency (from the agency side)

Direct answer: The 12 questions that actually separate good growth partners from agencies coasting on a pitch deck are: (1) does their own marketing prove they can generate leads, (2) who's actually running your account vs who's pitching, (3) will they give you three category references, (4) what would they kill in your funnel today, (5) which of their services is genuinely weak, (6) how does pricing scale when work gets harder, (7) does the proposal describe your business, (8) are KPIs specific enough to argue about, (9) is there an exit clause inside three months, (10) does month 1 ship real work, (11) does the named strategist run the weekly, and (12) does month 3 surface roadmap changes. Agencies that fail any three of these are usually not worth a 12-month commitment. Use this as the filter; ask us the same questions when you evaluate us.

Every week a founder messages asking how to vet marketing agencies. The standard checklists online are written by agencies trying to look good. This one is written from the other side — what we'd actually check if we were in your seat. The "we will tell you No" stance the brand operates on means we'd rather you walked away with the right partner than signed a deal we couldn't deliver against.

Before the first call

1. Look at their own marketing

If an agency can't generate leads for themselves, they can't generate them for you. Obvious, but founders skip it. Look for:

• A blog with recent, substantive posts (not listicles).
• An active LinkedIn or YouTube presence with the founder visible.
• Public case studies with numbers, not just logos.

If all three are thin, keep walking.

2. Check who's actually running accounts

Most agencies sell with senior talent and deliver with juniors. Ask for the names and LinkedIns of the people on your account. Look at their actual backgrounds, not the agency's combined years.

3. Ask for three references in your category

Not testimonials. References. You should be allowed to talk to three current clients, ideally in a similar stage and industry. If the agency can't provide that, they either don't have that depth or won't let you talk to clients — both bad.

On the first call

4. Ask them what they'd kill first

Every business has things to stop doing. An agency that only sees things to start is selling you their default retainer. A good agency, in the first 30 minutes, will tell you at least one thing you're currently doing that they'd kill.

If they agree with everything you say, they're not paying attention. Or they're afraid to lose the deal.

5. Ask about their weakest service

"We're best-in-class at everything" is a lie. The real answer from a good agency is specific — "our SEO program is stronger than our lifecycle program; we usually recommend a lifecycle specialist for that."

Self-awareness is a signal.

6. Ask how they price when the work gets harder

Retainers have a hidden incentive: the agency earns the same whether they do more or less. Good agencies have mechanisms — scope review, sprint add-ons, milestone billing — to handle that. Bad agencies just coast.

On the proposal

7. Does the proposal describe your business?

A proposal that could be pasted from a template (generic stats, generic playbook) means the agency hasn't actually read your site. Keep looking.

8. Are the KPIs specific?

"Increase traffic 30%" is weak. "Lift organic sessions from [your current number] to [specific target] by month 6, measured in Search Console" is strong. Specificity is a proxy for competence.

9. Is there an exit clause?

Any retainer longer than 3 months without an exit clause is a red flag. Good agencies are confident in their work and don't need a lock-in.

After the contract

10. Watch the first 30 days closely

The onboarding month is the tell. Good agencies:

• Schedule a deep-dive workshop in week 1.
• Deliver a full audit by week 2.
• Start shipping actual work by week 3.
• Have a working rhythm established by week 4.

If month 1 is mostly account-manager updates with no shipped work, you've hired a project manager, not a strategic partner.

11. Watch who runs the weekly meeting

The strategist named in the pitch should be in the weekly — and leading it, not just attending. If it's only the account manager from week 3 onward, you've been bait-and-switched.

12. Watch what changes in month 3

By month 3, a good agency has enough data to start proposing changes to the roadmap — including things like "we should stop spending on X and move it to Y." A bad agency is still running month-1 plays on autopilot.

---

We've published this checklist because it's the filter we wish more founders used. It costs us some deals — we're not the right fit for everyone — but the clients who work through it are the ones who stay for 3+ years. That's the trade we'd rather make.

If you're evaluating us, use the checklist. Ask us the hard questions. And if we're not the fit, we'll tell you — we'd rather refer you to someone better than win a deal we'll lose in 6 months.

---

When you're ready to start the audit, book a discovery call — we'll bring the person who'd actually run your account.

FAQ

How long should I expect agency due-diligence to take? 2–4 weeks if you're being thorough. One week of profile checks (their marketing, their references), one week of conversations with three of their existing clients in your category, one week of proposal review with specific KPI commitments. Founders who compress this to a single call almost always regret it.

What's a fair retainer length to commit to? Three months minimum, twelve months maximum without a re-evaluation. Anything below three months doesn't give the partner enough time to ship and learn; anything beyond twelve months without scope renegotiation is how partners get complacent.

Should I expect to pay a setup fee? Yes, in most categories. A real audit + onboarding takes 60–80 hours of senior time. Partners who don't charge for it either skimp on the audit or amortise the cost into a longer lock-in.

What's the right scope to start with — single channel or full-funnel? Single channel if you have a clear bottleneck (e.g., paid ROAS is broken). Full-funnel if you don't yet know where the leak is. Asking a partner to do everything when you don't know the bottleneck is the fastest way to spread spend across nothing.

How should performance be measured in the first 90 days? Tracking accuracy, audit-ship velocity, and at least one shipped quick-win in month 1. Outcome metrics (ROAS, organic sessions, conversion rate) materially move in months 2–3 — not week 2. A partner promising outcome shifts in 30 days is selling you optimism.

What should I do if month 1 doesn't ship work? Have the conversation directly in week 5. If month 1 was strategy-only with no shipped artefacts, the engagement is mis-staffed. Either raise it as a relationship signal or invoke the exit clause.

Are agency referral fees a red flag? No, but they should be disclosed. Partners earning kickbacks on tools they recommend (CRMs, attribution platforms) is industry-standard — the issue is non-disclosure. Ask the question; if the answer is evasive, walk.

What's the single biggest predictor of a successful engagement? The named strategist actually being in the weekly working session by week 5. If pitch-time talent disappears after onboarding, the engagement is on autopilot. Watch for this aggressively in the first 30 days.