Twelve questions that expose the wrong agency.
Every agency demo looks the same from the client chair. These twelve questions - and the answers you should demand - separate operators from salesmen in one meeting.
We are an agency telling you how to vet agencies, so judge the questions on their merits: every one of them has a verifiable answer, and every one of them has cost some Australian business real money when it went unasked.
Money questions
1. “Do you mark up ad spend?” The only good answer is no, with your card in your own ad account. A percentage-of-spend fee pays the agency more for spending more, results optional.
2. “What will this cost per signed job, and how will you prove it?” They cannot know the number yet; what you are testing is whether they think in those units at all. “Impressions” or “brand lift” as the primary answer means the scoreboard will never show your money coming back.
3. “What happens to everything if I leave?” Your domain, your site, your ad account, your tracking data, all in your name from day one. Agencies that host “their” build on “their” account are building a hostage situation.
Delivery questions
4. “Who actually does the work?” Meet the person, not the pitch team. 5. “How many clients per account manager?” Vague answers mean fifty. 6. “Do you act for my competitors?”, the sharpest question in local services. An agency running ads for three plumbers in one city is bidding your money against your own market. (It is why trade engagements here run one client per trade per area, in writing.) 7. “Show me the last client you told to spend less.” Every honest operator has one; the silence is informative.
Proof questions
8. “Show me a result in revenue terms.” Case studies in rankings and traffic are the agency grading its own homework. Revenue journeys, where the business started, where it got to, over what period, are the only format that survives contact with your accountant. 9. “Can I speak to a current client my size?” One phone call beats every slide. 10. “What happened with a client it did not work for?” The honest answer teaches you more than any success story.
Structure questions
11. “What is the contract term?” Build periods are legitimate; long lock-ins after that are a confession about retention. Month-to-month after an initial build means the agency expects to earn its place. 12. “How many new clients do you take a month?” Unlimited onboarding means delivery gets thinner every quarter; a stated cap means someone did the capacity maths.
Our answers, on the record: no mark-up ever, tracking to the signed job, exclusivity for trades, 90 days then month-to-month, six new clients a month. Test us against the list, 0493 290 352.
Questions owners ask
Should I choose a niche agency or a generalist?
An agency that knows your industry's economics - job values, seasonality, what a page must say - starts a year ahead of a generalist learning on your fee. The test: ask them to describe your customer's buying moment. Specifics or slogans.
Are cheap overseas agencies worth it?
Cheap execution of the right strategy can work; cheap strategy is expensive forever. The failure mode is not the hourly rate - it is nobody accountable for whether enquiries became jobs.
How long should I give an agency to perform?
Ads: a quarter to find the level. SEO: two to three quarters against real competition. But tracking should exist in month one - if you cannot see leading indicators by day 90, the timeline debate is cover.
Rather just get the answer for your business?
The free audit applies all of this to your market, your competitors and your numbers. Thirty minutes; the findings are yours either way.