6
min read
How to select a creative agency
Just because an agency did great work for your founder friend doesn't mean they'll do great work for you. Here's how to qualify for fit.
Sofya Leonova
Co-founder + Marketing Director
The creative services industry runs on referrals, which is a fine way to build a shortlist. But referrals are a terrible way to make the final call. Just because an agency did great work for your founder friend doesn't mean they'll do great work for you. Their company is at a different stage, with different inputs, on a different timeline. "Are they good?" is the wrong question. "Are they good at what I actually need, in the conditions I actually have?" is the right one.
I’ve heard one too many agency disaster stories from our clients and marketer friends, so I decided to put together the questions I’d be asking if I was hiring an agency right now.
Step zero: is an agency the right shape of help?
Agencies deliver a complete solution to a clearly defined problem, using their expertise, a repeatable process, and the benefit of an outside perspective. (The best ones also help you accurately diagnose the problem.)
This works well when the inputs are stable and you’ve allocated sufficient time for the engagement. But if your positioning still changes monthly, your product roadmap is still ever-evolving, and you needed this project delivered yesterday, you might be better off hiring a freelancer, an advisor, or Claude-prompting your way to the solution internally, knowing full well that you expect to throw it out in six months.
Okay, disclaimer aside, let's get into the questions.
1. Fit for your stage and business model
What works for late-stage enterprise doesn't work for Series A. What works for CPG doesn't work for B2B SaaS. A great agency in the wrong context is still a bad fit.
Ask: what industries do you work in primarily? What's your expertise? Have you done this exact kind of work for a company at our stage and business model? Walk me through one of those engagements.
This might be the shortest section of the article, but I cannot overstate how important this is. The right partner specializes in solving the exact shape of your problem over and over again. That’s why they’re able to deliver successful results consistently.
2. The output is only as good as the input
Every creative project needs real inputs from the client: positioning, messaging, customer access, a clear sense of who you're trying to reach. Some agencies expect you to bring all of that. Some build it with you. Some do half and assume you'll do the other half.
The trap is hiring an executional shop and expecting them to lead. You'll end up in back-and-forth revisions, then blame the agency for an output problem that started as an input problem.
Ask: what do you expect us to do internally for this to go well? What makes a client successful with you?
Two general models exist, and they ask different things of you. A strategic-and-executional agency brings the thinking and the craft; you bring context and decisions. A purely executional agency brings the craft; you bring the thinking. Both can be right. The wrong move is hiring one and treating it like the other.
3. How you'll actually work together
Get a clear sense of how you’ll actually work together day-to-day. Most experienced firms have a repeatable methodology — that’s how they’re able to achieve repeatable results.
Ask about their methodology and timeline. Then ask how the work actually happens day to day:
How often do we meet, and what's the format?
When and where does feedback get given and tracked? Figma comments, Loom walkthroughs, working sessions, all of the above?
Are we working in a shared Slack channel, or living in email?
Who's our day-to-day point of contact, and what's their response window?
What happens when we need to make a fast decision between scheduled meetings?
A big mismatch I've seen is an agency on a four-week meeting cadence working with a startup that ships every week. A lot can change in four weeks. If their default rhythm is slower than your business, you'll spend the engagement waiting for them or working around them.
4. Scope, especially what isn't in it
It’s impossible for an SOW to anticipate every possible scope misalignment, so once you have a clear project plan and timeline, it’s worth walking through the whole process and aligning on what each side is expected to bring to the table at each milestone. Who is responsible for which input, and when does it need to be delivered?
In the example of a website refresh:
Who's designing the site map and user flow?
Who's defining the page content architecture?
Who's writing the copy?
Who's creating the product visualizations?
Are animations in scope?
Who's inputting the content into the CMS?
Is existing content getting migrated, and who's responsible?
How many rounds of revisions are included?
Does the relationship end at launch, or is there post-launch support?
Worth knowing too: positioning, visual identity, and website are three separate projects. Some firms do all three. Some don't. If your SOW says "website refresh" and you've never explicitly scoped a visual identity, expect the same brand elements arranged differently.
5. Budget, asked early
The best agency partners want you to succeed. They also price according to the impact they believe they can have on your business. That makes budget less of a negotiation lever and more of a fit signal. Every budget has an appropriate solution. The conversation goes faster when both sides put real numbers on the table.
This is why saying "we don't have a budget" or "budget isn't an issue" doesn't help anyone when you've privately capped it at $60k. The firm wastes a round of scoping. You waste a sales conversation. You both lose a week.
Ask: what's your typical range for a project like ours, and what's your minimum? If your budget is $60k and their floor is $250k, that's a signal worth getting in the first conversation. Either you're talking to the wrong firm, or you're under-budgeting for what you actually want.
A good firm will tell you what they can achieve at different price points, including yours. If they can't articulate what changes between their entry-level engagement and their flagship one, they're pricing arbitrarily.
If one agency is quoting significantly less than the others, ask yourself why. There's usually a real reason: fewer iteration rounds, less senior team, narrower scope, less strategic thinking upfront. You're not getting a deal, you're getting something different. Sometimes that different thing is exactly what you need. Sometimes it isn't.
The meta-signal: are they interviewing you back?
A good agency is running their own version of this exercise on you. They want to know whether your timeline is realistic, whether your positioning is in good enough shape to work from, and whether they'll be able to deliver the results you're looking for.
Some questions a good agency will ask back:
What does success look like, and how will we both know we got there?
Who internally is going to own this with us?
What's actually driving the timeline?
Can we talk to your customers?
Have you worked with a firm like ours before? What went well and what didn’t?
If they're not asking these kinds of questions, they're either an unspecialized firm that works with everyone, desperate for the work, or sloppy about how they pick clients. Either way, you're the one who pays for it.
I know firsthand that in startup land we need everything yesterday. But choose your partners well, allocate appropriate timelines, and set expectations clearly — with them and with yourself. The more intentional you are upfront, the more successful your engagement will be.
