How do I find the right agency?

It is quite difficult for me to begin writing this article, as for the past 8 years I have had the pleasure of being on the other side of the fence – on the agency side.

And I can tell you one thing: I've seen everything…

• Good companies, bad companies.
• Bad companies that thought they owned the world.
• Good companies that didn't know what to do.
• Companies that reinvented the wheel.
• Companies that opted out.
• Companies that went bankrupt.
• Companies that have scaled x10, and so on and so forth.

What I want to say is that I have had the pleasure of working with everyone from one-man armies to the biggest brands, and have sold to more than 250 clients in this field myself.

Writing about how to find the right agency is, for me, like writing a report on all the mistakes I have made and seen in the competition, and highlighting the good factors that can lead to excellent collaboration.

This is not a text for self-promotion intended to position our company as the only true one, but quite the opposite, to offer some genuine insights into the search for a good SEO agency and to give a marketing agency as a whole.

Because at some point you will need a strong partner, either now in your current position or in the future for your new adventure.

Knowing the tricks and navigating the chaos of "Saints" is anything but easy 🙂

So let's start with some basics:

What should I bring as a customer?

What do I need to know before contacting the agencies?

This is a very important starting point for this entire process.

Most customers simply don't know what they really want, especially what they need, and certainly not what their budget should be.

So you should first do your homework and create a briefing or at least define what you are looking for.

Are you looking for someone to redesign your website, perform search engine optimization, manage your social media channels, create some Google Ads campaigns, or "just" send out your newsletter and add a shop function to your website?

What do you want?

Therefore, you should define these three things here, as all good agencies will be looking for answers to these questions:

1. What do you want?
   You can have everything, but not everything. So go to the details and find out.
2. What is the deadline?
   No borders = no borders.
3. What is the budget?
   Let's talk business.

I would also like to share, in a straightforward manner, the three most common mistakes in the process of working with an agency.

They know better

A common mistake most companies make is leaving the thinking process to the agency.

They come with requests such as: I want my website to be visible.

Yes: On which platform?

Google, Facebook, Snapchat, Duckduckgo, where?

And under what conditions?

So if you want your website to be more visible on Google, the agency also needs to know under what conditions.

In this case, which keywords should be used?

If you sell "elevators", you certainly want to be visible under these keywords in your country or, better yet, in your local area, not somewhere else in the world.

It might sound ridiculously simple, but it isn't, because this is the foundation on which you will build everything.

Full-service agencies

Another common mistake is that companies look for full-service agencies.

Let me make this message perfectly clear: Full-service agencies don't play in the Champions League.

It is impossible to love everyone and be everywhere at once.

Agencies that have more services than employees are doomed to fail.

The fewer services offered and the larger the team, the better the agency.

Money machine

And the third common mistake companies make at the beginning is that they think the agency will make them rich.

No, you will not.

They won't find the new business idea for you.

That is not their job.

They will never expand the idea for your company, nor will they directly expand your business.

Marketing agencies are responsible for marketing activities, channels, and opportunities.

The less information is on the table, the more successful the agencies are.

You can't have 22 marketing channels and strategies, work with one agency, and expect success.

Understand that less is more.

Think through your idea, set the boundaries, and know what you want.

Then find someone who owns that part and whom you can contact.

So, now that we've defined what we want and avoided the usual mistakes, let's look at what makes a good agency worth working with.

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Let's first talk about the basics, like real fundamentals, business fundamentals:

What I mean is that you need to check whether the agency meets your basic business requirements, such as:

• Website & Domain – You don't want to work with someone who represents themselves through a Facebook page.
• E-mails – You don't want to work with someone who writes to you from private Gmail and Yahoo accounts (badboy37@hotmail.com just sends out the offer, hahahahha :))
• Registered company – Is there anyone we can legally collaborate with?
• Team – Do you always consider what would happen if a bus hit your manager at the agency? Do they have someone who can take responsibility within the company, or is all lost?
• Communication Do you answer the phone at the office, or do you receive your invoices and quotes via WhatsApp and Viber?

sales process

What is their approach?

Do they have a defined sales/pitch process?

Can they truly explain what you need, or do they just pretend to listen and make an offer on the first call?

Do you get to know them and their needs through the process?

Approach

Do they offer standardized services or are they completely customized?

The more individual their approach, the higher the probability that they won't be able to do it right and will only catch up with you at the end of the marathon.

Believe me, if this isn't replacing your entire marketing team, you don't want individual approaches to work for you.

Keep it simple, keep it dumb, see if they have a standardized process that suits you, and make one or two small changes.

But stick to something that has a record of work.

Deadlines

Do they meet their own deadline?

Did you receive the contract and offer in time?

If they don't deliver the contract and the offers on time, they won't deliver much on time.

negotiation

When you come to a meeting to negotiate the services and budget, always ask if this is the best price they can offer.

You'll be surprised to find that you always get a good discount this way.

But don't negotiate too much, that's very important.

Maintain the Pareto optimum, which is usually the case when the agency is well paid.

You don't want a frustrated partner, who won't make a good profit, to be tasked with delivering their best piece of craftsmanship.

Timeline

Establish clear schedules, no matter what happens.

A timetable is a must.

The larger the project, the greater the delays usually are, and interesting enough, mostly not from the agency side.

As a customer, you eagerly offer input and ideas, thereby complicating the defined parameters and causing delays to every schedule.

Define the schedule and don't overdo it.

Always calculate x3 until it is 100% complete, and you will have a positive ROI.

Conclusion

Always remember, you are looking for services, not products.

You will be working with people, and there will be mistakes from both sides.

Therefore, the better you define your needs, the greater your chance of success.

Make it fun, make it interesting to work with you.

Enjoy the process.

The moment you start having fun, responsibility will be in the right place and things will begin to manifest.

A dark place is a dark place, and nobody wants to work there.

So define the basics, have fun and enjoy the ride.