Before hiring a digital marketing agency, ask how it will learn your business, translate that understanding into a plan, and make progress visible. A list of services tells you what the agency offers. The discovery conversation should show how those services would address your particular situation.
In Episode 46, Nelson Flores-Giacometto emphasizes understanding a client’s business, asking exploratory questions, and finding an agency that works as a partner. The discussion is from 2024. The practical tool below is THCC’s editorial application of that discussion; it is not a checklist the guest delivered word for word.
Bring a business question to the discussion
Explain the change you want, your current customer journey, and the work your team can support. Separate the business objective from an assumed channel. “We need more qualified inquiries” gives an agency a different problem from “we need to publish on every platform.”
State what is known and what needs investigation. If you cannot yet trace an inquiry to its source, say so. That gap belongs in the proposed work rather than being hidden beneath an ambitious traffic target.
Ask questions that reveal the working relationship
- What do you need to learn before recommending a plan?
- How would you understand our customer, offer, and brand voice?
- What would you investigate first, and why?
- Who would perform the work and communicate with our team?
- What would you need from us to keep delivery moving?
- How would you distinguish activity, inquiries, and business outcomes in reporting?
- How are account access, created assets, and the end of the engagement handled?
Ask for explanations and relevant examples rather than accepting a confident answer at face value. A provider should be able to identify assumptions and limits. Clarify the actual scope and commitments in the proposed agreement with the appropriate reviewers.
Compare evidence, not presentation styles
Create a small record for each agency: problem understood, proposed first investigation, working team, client responsibilities, reporting approach, and unresolved questions. Write what was demonstrated separately from what was promised.
A fictional agency proposing a website overhaul should be able to explain the visitor problem it intends to solve. That does not require a complete strategy before engagement, but it should show a connection between the recommendation and the information available.
What is a useful next step?
It may be a scoped investigation, a relevant reference conversation, or clarification of the proposal. The next step should reduce a real uncertainty. Avoid selecting a provider simply because it offered the longest service list.
No agency conversation can establish a guaranteed ranking or lead outcome. Evaluate the quality of the investigation, the clarity of the working relationship, and whether the stated commitments are ones both parties can fulfill.
Watch the source conversation
Watch Episode 46 for the complete interview and its original context.
Continue with what a useful pre-sale experience looks like, or explore more entrepreneurship conversations and guides.
