Before you hire anyone — Agency AF Including us
Seven questions before you sign.
If you're the one who signs the checks, ask these of anyone who wants to do your marketing. Including us. Our answer is under each one, so you can hold us to it.
What exactly will I get, and when?
- Why ask it
- Vague deliverables are how marketing turns into a monthly bill nobody can explain.
- A good answer sounds like
- A list you could check off, with dates next to it.
- Our answer
- It's written into the agreement before you pay. A Content Day (our Show Up package) is a Video Map, 8 short-form videos, 8 photos and a landing page, and it usually takes about five weeks from deposit to final files: onboarding within a few business days, the shoot one to two weeks later, and editing two to three weeks after that. Ongoing work lists every monthly deliverable and its due date the same way.
What do you need from me and my team, honestly?
- Why ask it
- Every agency needs something from you. The ones who say “nothing” find out later, and so do you.
- A good answer sounds like
- A short, specific list, including how much time anyone spends on camera.
- Our answer
- An onboarding conversation, your logos and brand files, the access we ask for, the location on shoot day, and permission from anyone you put on camera. Then your feedback during two rounds of revisions. Nobody writes a script. We prepare the questions and guide the conversation.
Who owns the accounts, footage and website if we stop working together?
- Why ask it
- Some owners only learn on the way out that the ad account or the website was never in their name.
- A good answer sounds like
- You own what you paid for, and your accounts stay yours.
- Our answer
- Once you've paid in full, you own the final videos, photos and website content. Your ad accounts, pages and leads stay in your name. Raw footage stays with us unless we agree otherwise in writing. If we built your website and you leave, we hand over the files and help you move it.
How do I get out, and what does it cost?
- Why ask it
- Long contracts and quiet auto-renewals are how small businesses end up paying for work they stopped believing in.
- A good answer sounds like
- The exit is written down in plain words before you sign.
- Our answer
- A Content Day is one project. There's no retainer and nothing renews. The deposit is non-refundable, but if you cancel it becomes a credit toward any Agency AF service for six months. Ongoing work starts with a defined term, the exit is spelled out, and nothing renews automatically. The one thing that does renew is website hosting, yearly, unless you cancel before the renewal date.
What will you report, and how will we know if it's working beyond views?
- Why ask it
- Views are easy to grow and easy to report. They don't pay anyone.
- A good answer sounds like
- They talk about inquiries and fit, and they ask where your customers heard about you.
- Our answer
- Ongoing work comes with a one-page report every month and a 30-minute review. We look at conversations: how many inquiries came in, whether they were the right customers, and what people say when you ask “How did you hear about us?” Views are in the report. They aren't the scoreboard.
Who answers new inquiries, and how fast?
- Why ask it
- Marketing that brings in inquiries nobody answers is money spent twice.
- A good answer sounds like
- A clear name for who replies, and what happens in the first few minutes.
- Our answer
- You do. The sales conversation belongs to you. When the work includes a landing page, we set up the form with automatic email and text follow-up, so every inquiry gets a reply right away and lands in one place. A Content Day on its own doesn't include follow-up.
How will you work with the people I already pay?
- Why ask it
- You may already have a web person or someone doing your posts. A new agency shouldn't make that awkward.
- A good answer sounds like
- They ask what your current people do well before suggesting anyone changes.
- Our answer
- We start by learning what your current people already do. Often the best first step is handing them better material: videos, photos and a clear plan for what each piece is for. If something should change, we'll tell you why, and you decide.
Want it in your inbox?
Email me the checklist
The whole checklist is on this page. If you'd rather have a copy to forward to a partner or bring to a meeting, we'll email one to you.
Want these answered about your business?
Start with ten seconds.
Send me your website and I'll record a short private video showing what a stranger sees. Then you can ask me all seven of these in person.