Most agency pitches look similar on the surface — polished case studies, confident strategy decks, a promise to understand your business. The differences that actually matter tend to show up in the answers to specific questions, not in the pitch itself. Here's what's worth asking directly.

  1. Who will actually work on my account? The people in the pitch meeting are often not the people doing the day-to-day work. Ask specifically who you'll be working with once the contract is signed.
  2. Can you show real results, not just deliverables? A list of campaigns launched isn't the same as evidence those campaigns worked. Ask for the outcome, not just the output.
  3. How do you report, and how often? Vague answers here usually mean vague reporting later. A good agency can describe their reporting cadence and format specifically, without hesitation.
  4. What happens when something isn't working? Every engagement hits a rough patch eventually. How an agency describes handling that — proactively or defensively — tells you a lot about what working with them will actually be like.
  5. Do you understand my industry, or are you learning on my budget? Some learning curve is normal, but there's a difference between an agency applying transferable expertise and one treating your account as their first attempt at your category.
  6. What's included versus billed separately? Scope creep and surprise invoices are one of the most common sources of agency relationships going bad. Get this in writing before you sign, not after the first invoice.
  7. How do strategy and execution connect? Ask whether the same team handles both, or whether strategy gets handed off to a separate execution team you'll never talk to. Handoffs are where good strategy often gets diluted.
  8. What does success look like in 90 days, concretely? An agency that can't give you a specific, measurable answer to this question likely doesn't have a specific plan for your account yet either.
The agencies worth hiring tend to answer these questions specifically, without needing to check with someone else first. That alone is a useful signal.

If you're also weighing whether to hire externally at all, see our companion piece on marketing consulting vs building in-house.