What Should I Ask a Marketing Agency Before I Hire One?
- Aug 8
- 8 min read
By Editorial Team · Updated August 8, 2026 · 9 min read
People. Plan. Price. Proof. If an agency cannot answer those four in one meeting, you do not need a second meeting. Ask who does the work, what the first 90 days include, what you keep, and whether they sell ads only or a full mix.
A marketing agency is a team you hire to plan and run promotion you do not have time to run yourself. RedFork has helped more than 800 businesses grow since 2014. We still will not guarantee rankings or revenue. This list is how you buy scope instead of a mood.
Key Takeaways
The questions that matter most are who works the account, what the first 90 days include, what costs extra, and what you keep if you leave.
RedFork has helped more than 800 businesses. This list is written for owners who have already paid for a retainer that did not explain itself.
Express marketing is Ads Only. Pro adds social, email, SEO content, and design. If an agency cannot say which they are selling, the scope is already fuzzy.
Demand the site and ad accounts live in logins you own. Common License versus Copyright Enabled changes what you can take with you.
All 5 hiring guides we fetched on 28 August 2026 agreed on meeting the day-to-day team, asking for a 90-day plan, pinning extras, and confirming ownership. Zero asked "Ads Only or a full mix?"
The Short Version
Hire the agency that answers with named people, a 90-day plan for your business, written exclusions, and clear ownership; walk if the room only has a sales deck.
Scorecard box | A useful answer | A slow-down answer |
People | Names you can meet now | "The team after kickoff" |
Plan | Diagnosis, tracking, then tests in 90 days | "We hit the ground running" |
Price | Written inclusions and exclusions | "It depends, we are flexible" |
Proof | A named business and a constraint they can explain | Anonymous "home services" claims |
In This Article
What Questions Should I Ask a Marketing Agency Before Hiring Them?
Ask a marketing agency who will do the work, what the first 90 days include, what costs extra, and what you keep if you leave. Write the answers down. Vague answers are answers.
These 12 are enough if you use them in this order:
1. Who works on my account each week, and can I meet them before I sign?
2. What is included in the fee, and what always costs extra?
3. Which channels are you recommending for my business, and which are you leaving out?
4. Who owns the website, the ad accounts, the domain, and the files if we part ways?
5. How do you measure success, and which numbers do you refuse to treat as proof?
6. What does the first 90 days look like for a business like mine?
7. Will you guarantee rankings, leads, or revenue?
8. Can I see work for a business in a trade like mine, and can I speak with them?
9. How do you use AI, and who checks the output before it goes out?
10. What happens if the plan is not working after 90 days?
11. What are the contract term, the exit, and the handoff?
12. If my budget is limited, what would you cut first?
You do not need a 25-question marathon. You need these 12 answered in plain language.
The Partner Fit Scorecard From 800+ Engagements
The Partner Fit Scorecard rates people, plan, price, and proof so a burned owner can compare two agencies in one sitting. RedFork has helped more than 800 businesses. The pattern that repeats is a pleasant call and a foggy PDF.
Score each box 1 or 0. Two zeros is a pattern. Thank them. End the call. You are not being difficult. You are buying work that will sit next to your trade.
Unserious Marketing is our named playbook for standing out on purpose. You do not have to buy that framework. You should hear some framework that is not "we post daily and hope."
Of the 5 winners we fetched (Pick An Agency, Zenweb, Space Ads, SiteMile, Stackmatix), all five asked about team, 90 days, extras, and ownership. Zero bound those questions to Ads Only versus a full mix. Zero mentioned Common License versus Copyright Enabled. That is the gap this page fills.
Who Will Do the Work After the Sales Call?
Ask for the names and roles of the people who will work your account after the sales call, and meet them first. "We will assign a team after kickoff" is a delay. Meet the designer and the ads lead now.
Ask for a weekly hour picture, even if it is a range. A senior person on the pitch and a junior inbox after the signature is an old trick. You want names. You want a first meeting with the people who will touch the account.
Proof should be specific. "We work with home services" is not proof. A named business, a named constraint, and a result they can explain is closer. SEE OUR WORKÂ is how we show finished pieces. Ask any shop for the same. None of the 13 portfolio items on that page publish a metric. We will not invent one.
Proof, Process, and the First 90 Days
Ask for proof from businesses like yours and a 90-day plan that starts with diagnosis, not a canned channel package. A real plan names what they will not do yet. A pitch says they do everything.
Listen for a first-90-day sequence that starts with tracking, not a content dump. Impressions are not appointments. Clicks are not booked jobs. A good report names the action you wanted and the limits of the data.
RedFork has created more than 5,000 digital ad posts for Partners and has sent over 10,000 marketing emails on their behalf. Those counts are company-reported. They describe volume of work, not a result you will get. SEE SERVICESÂ for the public list of what we sell.
What Should Be in Writing Before I Sign?
Before you sign, get deliverables, exclusions, contract length, notice, logins, and asset rights in writing, not only in a slide. Ad spend is not a management fee. Creative rounds, landing pages, tools, and extra revisions often sit outside a pretty retainer.
Ask who owns the domain, the site login, the ad accounts, and the files if you leave. You should own them. The agency should be a guest. License matters too. Express assets at RedFork use a Common License. Pro assets are Copyright Enabled. Other shops use other words for the same split. Ask which one you are buying.
RedFork's live Pro Marketing page states "No Annual Contracts." Other firms differ. Ask. Get the notice period in writing. We will not invent industry averages. If you want those questions asked of us, bring them to the sales call.
Express Ads Only Versus Pro Full Mix
Express marketing is Ads Only; Pro adds social, email, SEO content, and design, so the monthly shape of the work is different. If a shop cannot tell you which of those they are selling, they are selling a mood.
Express also uses curated templates and a Common License. Express Marketing states "No Minimum Spend" and points-based budgeting on the live site. Express template sites and Ads Only marketing is the public door for a tight start.
Pro is custom Wix plus Velo, the full mix, and Copyright Enabled assets. That is the growth seat. Do not pay full-mix money for a mystery. Do not buy Ads Only and expect a content calendar.
How Do I Compare Two Agency Proposals Side by Side?
Compare two agency proposals on people, 90-day plan, exclusions, ownership, and channel mix, not on who designed the prettier PDF. Print the Partner Fit Scorecard. Leave space under each box. If an answer will not fit in two sentences, it is not an answer.
Ask both shops the Ads Only versus full mix question in the same words. Ask both shops who holds the logins. Ask both shops what they will not guarantee. A guarantee of rankings or revenue is a red flag, not a comfort.
Pro custom work and the full mix is one honest shape. Express is another. A third honest shape is "you do not need us yet." Franchise owners should ask one extra question: what are we allowed to change locally? Corporate rules are real. A good shop works inside them.
The Questions We Expect You to Ask Us
We expect you to ask RedFork the same questions, including who your Designovators are and whether you need Express or Pro. A good shop will turn work down. They will say when ads are the wrong first move.
RedFork is Wix Certified, with 134 completed Wix Marketplace projects and 4.9 stars from 47 reviews on that public profile (fetched 28 August 2026). Google lists 4.9 stars from 35 reviews. Founded 2014. Those are checkable. Ask for the URLs.
For more hiring and marketing reading that is not a second interview script, use the Learning Center. Then run the 12 questions on us. Bring the last proposal you did not sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions is too many for a first call?
Ten good questions beat forty unread ones. Cover people, 90-day plan, exclusions, ownership, and mix. Save legal review for the paper, not the pitch.
Should I hire a local marketing agency?
Local helps when the work is local search, creative that knows the market, or in-person onboarding. It does not replace named people and a written scope. RedFork is in Orlando and works with SMBs and franchises nationally. Local is a plus, not a substitute for the scorecard.
What if they will not show a sample report?
Treat that as a pause, not a maybe. You are buying a working rhythm. A redacted real report is a fair ask. If the pitch collapses without a dashboard screenshot, the pitch was the product.
Do I need to sign an annual contract?
Not always. RedFork's live Pro Marketing page states "No Annual Contracts." Other firms differ. Ask. Get the notice period in writing. Do not invent industry averages.
Who should own the ad accounts if I leave?
You should. Accounts, pixels, and creative should live under your business. Common License versus Copyright Enabled changes design files. Ask for both answers in one sitting.
Is a cheap retainer a warning sign?
A low number with a long exclusion list is how retainers hide their real cost. Compare scope, not the monthly headline. We will not publish a "typical retainer" because RedFork does not publish those figures.
Print the List. Leave Space Under Each Line.
If an answer will not fit in two sentences, it is not an answer. If you want those questions asked of us, bring the last proposal you did not sign. We will tell you where Express or Pro fits, and we will tell you when you should wait.
SPEAK WITH SALESÂ at redforkmarketing.com/sales-contact.
How We Researched This
We fetched "questions to ask a marketing agency before hiring" and PAA variants on 28 August 2026. Winners compared: Pick An Agency (25 questions), Zenweb (12), Space Ads (scorecard), SiteMile (45), Stackmatix (startup script). Consensus count: 5/5 on team, 90 days, extras, ownership. 0/5 on Ads Only versus full mix. Company metrics from dossier Section 7 (800+, 500+, 5,000+ ads, 10,000+ emails, founded 2014) are company-reported. No invented retainer figures. No DataForSEO study.
Latest Updates
August 10, 2026:Â Published. Live Express and Pro scope lines re-checked against the homepage comparison.
References
1. Pick An Agency, "Questions to Ask a Marketing Agency Before You Hire Them." https://www.pickanagency.com/blog/questions-to-ask-marketing-agency
2. Zenweb, "Questions Before Hiring a Marketing Agency." https://zenweb.my/blog/questions-before-hiring-marketing-agency/
3. Space Ads, "Questions to Ask a Marketing Agency." https://www.spaceads.agency/blog/questions-to-ask-a-marketing-agency
4. SiteMile, "Questions to Ask a Digital Marketing Agency." https://sitemile.com/questions-to-ask-a-digital-marketing-agency/
5. Stackmatix, "Questions to Ask a Marketing Agency." https://www.stackmatix.com/blog/questions-to-ask-a-marketing-agency
6. Wix Marketplace, "RedFork Marketing," fetched 28 August 2026. https://www.wix.com/marketplace/wix-partner/redfork-marketing
Disclaimer
This article is educational. It is not legal advice and not a results guarantee. Contracts differ. Read the paper. Ask a lawyer when ownership or exit language is unclear.
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