15 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Marketing Agency

You've decided to hire a marketing agency for your contracting business. Good move — but the agency you choose matters more than the decision to hire one.

The wrong agency will waste your money, lock you into a contract, and leave you more skeptical of marketing than when you started. The right one will become a genuine growth partner.

These 15 questions will help you tell the difference. Ask every single one during your sales conversations, and pay close attention to how they respond — not just what they say.

Questions About Experience and Fit

1. "Do you specialize in working with contractors or trades businesses?"

Why it matters: An agency that markets for restaurants, law firms, AND contractors is spreading itself thin. A specialist already knows which strategies work for your trade, what cost per lead to expect, and how to reach homeowners who need your services.

Green flag: They can immediately name contractor clients and discuss trade-specific strategies.

Red flag: "We work with all types of businesses" or they have to think about it.

2. "Can you show me results from a business similar to mine?"

Why it matters: Past performance in your trade and market size is the best predictor of future results for you.

Green flag: Specific case studies with numbers — "We helped an HVAC company in a mid-sized market go from 15 to 60 leads per month in 6 months."

Red flag: Vague claims like "we've helped lots of businesses grow" without specifics.

3. "Can I talk to a current client in my trade?"

Why it matters: References are the ultimate trust signal. Any confident agency will connect you with a happy client.

Green flag: "Absolutely, I'll set that up this week."

Red flag: Hesitation, excuses about client privacy (they can ask the client's permission), or only offering cherry-picked testimonials.

4. "Who will actually be doing the work on my account?"

Why it matters: You might have a great sales call with a senior person, only to have your account handed off to a junior employee or outsourced overseas.

Green flag: They introduce you to the actual team members and explain their roles.

Red flag: "Our team handles everything" without specifics, or the salesperson avoids the question.

Questions About Strategy and Process

5. "What does your onboarding process look like?"

Why it matters: A structured onboarding process indicates a mature, organized agency. Chaos at the start usually means chaos throughout.

Green flag: A clear timeline — audit in week 1, strategy presentation in week 2, implementation starting week 3, first report at 30 days.

Red flag: "We'll just get started right away" with no clear process.

6. "What marketing channels do you recommend for my business, and why?"

Why it matters: This tests whether they're prescribing based on your situation or just selling their standard package.

Green flag: They ask about your goals, budget, and current situation before recommending channels. They explain the tradeoffs — "Google Ads will get leads faster, but SEO will lower your cost per lead over time."

Red flag: They recommend the same package regardless of your answers. For context on which channels work best for contractors, see our contractor marketing ROI guide.

7. "How will you measure success?"

Why it matters: If they can't define what success looks like in concrete terms, they'll never be accountable for achieving it.

Green flag: Specific KPIs — "We'll track leads, cost per lead, and revenue from marketing leads. Here's what we'd target for month 3, 6, and 12."

Red flag: Fuzzy answers about "brand awareness" or "impressions" without tying back to leads and revenue.

8. "What do you need from me to be successful?"

Why it matters: Good agencies are honest about the fact that results are a two-way street. They need you to answer your phone, follow up on leads, and provide feedback.

Green flag: Clear expectations — "We need you to respond to leads within an hour, give us feedback on lead quality monthly, and be available for a 30-minute call every two weeks."

Red flag: "Nothing! We handle everything!" (This is never true.)

Questions About Money and Contracts

9. "What exactly is included in your pricing?"

Why it matters: A $1,000/month quote means nothing without knowing what's included. Get a detailed scope.

Green flag: Itemized breakdown — website management, SEO work, ad management, content creation, reporting, etc. Clear distinction between management fees and ad spend.

Red flag: Vague "full-service marketing" without specifics, or pricing that seems too good to be true (it is).

10. "Is there a long-term contract, and what are the cancellation terms?"

Why it matters: This is the single most important financial question. Long-term contracts protect the agency, not you.

Green flag: Month-to-month with 30-day notice. The agency earns your business every month with results. If they recommend a 3-month initial commitment, that's reasonable — it takes time to see SEO results.

Red flag: 12-month contract with heavy cancellation fees. If they need a contract to keep you, they're not confident in their results.

11. "Are there additional costs I should know about?"

Why it matters: Hidden fees are a common complaint with marketing agencies. Get everything on the table upfront.

Green flag: Full transparency — "Your monthly fee covers X. Ad spend is separate at Y. If you want additional services like video or photography, that's quoted separately."

Red flag: "We'll figure that out as we go" or surprised charges showing up on month 2.

Questions About Ownership and Transparency

12. "Do I own my website, content, and ad accounts?"

Why it matters: This is non-negotiable. If you leave the agency, you should keep everything they built for your business. Too many contractors have lost their website, their domain name, or access to their Google Ads account when switching agencies.

Green flag: "Yes, everything is in your name. Your website, your domain, your Google Ads account, your content — all yours."

Red flag: "We host your website on our platform" or "The ad account is under our agency umbrella." These are hostage tactics.

For more on this and other evaluation criteria, check out our guide on how to choose a marketing agency for your trades business.

13. "What does your reporting look like, and how often will I get it?"

Why it matters: Reporting is how you hold the agency accountable and understand your ROI. Vague reporting hides poor performance.

Green flag: Monthly reports with clear metrics — leads by source, cost per lead, website traffic, ranking improvements, ad performance. Plus a call to walk through the numbers and discuss strategy.

Red flag: Reports focused on vanity metrics (social media followers, website visits without conversion data) or reports that come late and only when you ask.

14. "What happens if I want to leave?"

Why it matters: How they handle departures tells you a lot about their character and confidence.

Green flag: "30-day notice, we transfer everything to you, and we'll even help with the transition to make it smooth." Some agencies will even offer a brief consulting call to your next provider.

Red flag: Threats about losing your website, data hostage situations, or aggressive retention tactics.

15. "What would make you tell me I'm NOT a good fit for your agency?"

Why it matters: This question surprises most agencies, and their answer reveals everything. An honest agency knows they can't help everyone and will admit it.

Green flag: "If your budget is under $X, we can't deliver enough value. If you're not ready to answer leads quickly, we'll both be frustrated. If you need results in 2 weeks, we're not the right fit." Honesty builds trust.

Red flag: "We can help anyone!" (They can't. Nobody can.)

Bonus: Questions to Ask Yourself

Before you sign with any agency, ask yourself:

• Am I ready to invest for at least 3–6 months? Marketing takes time. If you'll pull the plug after 30 days, save your money.
• Will I answer the phone and follow up on leads? The best marketing in the world fails if leads go to voicemail and never get a callback.
• Do I have realistic expectations? Marketing will grow your business — it won't transform a struggling company overnight. Read our guide on what to expect from contractor marketing ROI to calibrate your expectations.
• Is my business ready for more work? If you can't handle additional jobs right now, fix capacity first.

How to Use This List

Print these questions out (or bookmark this page) and bring them to every agency conversation. Take notes on their answers. If you're talking to multiple agencies, compare their responses side by side.

The agency that answers these questions directly, honestly, and confidently — even when the honest answer isn't what you want to hear — is usually the right choice.

Start With a Self-Assessment

Before you start calling agencies, know where your marketing stands. Take our free 60-second quiz to get a clear picture of your current online presence and a prioritized list of what to focus on.

At Local Boost, we're happy to answer every question on this list — and then some. We work exclusively with contractors, start at $500/month, and never require long-term contracts. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you.