Why questions tell you more than a pitch
Every agency presents well. Decks are polished, case studies are chosen, and the people in the pitch are the most persuasive ones the firm has. None of that tells you how the work will be run in the fourth month, when a result is late and a decision is needed.
Questions do. A specific question about method cannot be answered with a slogan, and the way an agency handles a question it cannot answer well is informative in itself. The twelve below are grouped by what they reveal. For each there is a description of a good answer and a weak one. Use the same set with every agency, freelancer or candidate you are considering, so that the answers can be compared.
Questions about diagnosis and priorities
One: what would you need to see before recommending anything? A good answer lists access to analytics, search and ad accounts, the CRM if there is one, and a conversation with whoever handles sales. A weak answer is a ready-made package offered before anyone has looked. Some firms run a structured review first, as SERPMOZ does with its growth audit. The format matters less than the order: diagnosis first, prescription second.
Two: what would you not do for us, and why? A good answer names channels or tactics that do not fit your stage or market and explains the reasoning. A weak answer says everything on the list of services would help. An agency that cannot say no in the pitch is unlikely to say it later.
Three: what do you expect in the first few months, and what would make you change the plan? A good answer separates what will be done from what might result, gives conditional timings and names the evidence that would trigger a rethink. A weak answer promises specific positions or volumes by a date.
Questions about who does the work
Four: who will work on our account, and how much of their time do we get? A good answer names roles, ideally people, and describes their experience and their share of the week. A weak answer talks about the team in general. It is reasonable to ask to meet the person who will do the work before you sign.
Five: what is done by your own staff, what is subcontracted and what is automated? Subcontracting and AI tools are normal, and both can be good for quality and cost. A good answer says plainly where each is used and who reviews the output before it reaches you or your customers. A weak answer is vague, or claims that nothing is ever outsourced or generated.
Six: what will you need from us? A good answer is specific about approvals, access, subject expertise and developer time, and about what happens if you are slow to provide them. A weak answer says you will not need to do anything. Marketing produced with no input from the business tends to be generic, because the agency has nothing particular to say.
Questions about measurement
Seven: which numbers will you report, and which decisions do they inform? A good answer starts from enquiries, qualified leads, sales or revenue and works back to channel measures as supporting evidence. A weak answer leads with impressions, followers, rankings for a list of terms or the number of tasks completed.
Eight: how will we know whether a result came from your work? A good answer admits that attribution is imperfect, describes a baseline taken before work starts and explains how brand searches and returning customers are separated from new demand. A weak answer claims every improvement and blames every fall on an algorithm. The limits are discussed in the attribution questions worth answering.
Nine: tell us about something that did not work. A good answer is a real example, with what was learned and what changed afterwards. A weak answer is a disguised success, or a story in which the client was at fault. Everyone who does this work has failures. The people who discuss them calmly are the ones likely to tell you early when your own project is in trouble.
Questions about ownership, cost and exit
Ten: who owns the accounts, the data and the work? A good answer is that ad accounts, analytics, the website, content and creative are yours, held in your name, with the agency given access. A weak answer keeps accounts under the agency’s ownership or is unclear about what you keep if you leave. This is one of the points covered in warning signs in an SEO or marketing proposal.
Eleven: what exactly does the fee cover, and what would be extra? A good answer gives a scope you could check at the end of a month and lists the common extras: ad spend, tools, development, creative, translation. A weak answer is a single line and a total. The reasoning behind fees is set out in how digital marketing agencies price their work.
Twelve: how do we end the engagement if we need to? A good answer gives a notice period, a handover process and a list of what is returned. A weak answer points to a long minimum term with no review point. A commitment period can be fair, since some work takes time to show, but it should come with a way out if the agreed scope is not delivered.
How to weigh the answers
No agency will give the ideal answer to all twelve, and one that does may simply have rehearsed. Look at the pattern. Specific answers, stated limits and a willingness to say what is unknown are good signs. Confidence without detail is the thing to be wary of. Four checks summarise most of it.
Weigh fit as well as quality. A large agency built for complex accounts may be a poor match for a small business that needs one channel done well, and a talented freelancer may be the right answer. That comparison is laid out in agency, in-house team or freelancer.
Finally, take references if they are offered, and ask the referee the same kind of question: what the agency declined to do, how it reported bad news and what happened at handover.
- Did they ask about your business before describing theirs?
- Did they name anything they would leave out?
- Could you check their scope at the end of a month?
- Did they explain how you would leave?
