Most agency meetings look alike: a deck, a few success stories, a price.
The deck shows you the agency at its best. These seven questions show you what working together will actually feel like.
We prefer to be asked these in our own meetings too — because they are questions with a right answer.
1. “Whose name will the ad account and pixel be under?”
Why it matters: If the account is opened inside the agency’s Business Manager, then when you leave, the historical data, the audiences and the trained algorithm stay there. You start from zero.
What you want to hear: “The account sits in your Business Manager and we take partner access.”
What should worry you: “We manage it on our own infrastructure.”
2. “What happens in the first month — can you walk me through it day by day?”
Why it matters: An agency with a real process can describe it. One without usually says “let’s do an analysis first” and moves on.
What you want to hear: Access, audit, competitor analysis, creative plan, campaign build, launch, optimisation, review — in order, with days attached.
What should worry you: “We’ll get the ads live straight away and see.”
3. “Who produces the creative?”
Why it matters: Creative largely determines performance today. An agency that doesn’t produce creative is limited to the assets you hand over.
Ask: How many new creatives a month? Who shoots them? Are revisions included? Does it include video?
If the answer is “we’ll need visuals from you”, this is an ad management service, not a creative service. That isn’t bad — but go in knowing you’ll have to solve creative production yourself.
4. “Which number will we use to measure success?”
Why it matters: If the target isn’t written down at the start, any number can be presented as a success at the end of the month.
What you want to hear: One primary metric specific to your business (CPA, ROAS, contribution) and a threshold. Something like “3.2 ROAS by the end of month three”.
What should worry you: “We’ll grow your reach and engagement.”
5. “How will reporting work and what will it contain?”
Why it matters: A report shows you how the agency thinks.
A good report contains: spend, the primary metric, comparison with the previous period, what changed, why it changed, and what will be done next period.
A report that’s only screenshots and a list of numbers is a decorated way of saying “we did some things”.
6. “Do you have other clients in the same sector?”
Why it matters: For two reasons. First, experience: an agency that knows the sector gets results faster. Second, conflict of interest: an agency working with your direct competitor is advertising two brands to the same audience.
If the answer is yes, that isn’t bad on its own — but ask how they manage it.
7. “What happens if I want to leave?”
Why it matters: The answer to this sets the tone of the whole relationship.
Ask: How long is the contract? How much notice? Who owns the creative? How is account access handed back? Do the ad copy and audiences stay with me?
A long commitment isn’t bad in itself — the first months are setup and results usually arrive in month two or three. But the terms need to be clear from the start.
One question you don’t need to ask
“What ROAS do you guarantee?”
Stay away from an agency that gives a guarantee. ROAS depends on your product, your price, your website, your stock, the season and the competition. Most of those are outside the agency’s control.
Where a guarantee is given, either the number gets hit by redefining it later, or it doesn’t get hit at all.
Preparation on your side
Settle these three before choosing an agency. Without them, even the best agency starts slowly:
- Your real gross profit margin
- Your acceptable customer acquisition cost
- The budget you can commit monthly, and for how long
With a brand that arrives knowing these three, you talk strategy on day one. With one that doesn’t, you spend the first month doing arithmetic.