A guy at a Portland coffee shop told me his agency review process and it saved me $5k

I was waiting for my order last month and overheard a guy talking about vetting a new marketing agency. He said his rule was to ask for three case studies from the last 90 days, not their 'best of' portfolio. I tried that with an agency I was about to hire, and they couldn't provide them. Found out they'd lost their main team and were farming work out. Has anyone else found a simple question that exposed a big red flag?

2 comments

2 Comments

blair_gibson781mo ago

That's a solid tip for sure. But sometimes a team shakeup doesn't mean the work gets worse, right? Couldn't a new crew still do a good job if they're managed well?

jade2261mo ago

You're right, Blair. Good management is the real key. I saw a software team at my old company lose half its people, but the new lead set super clear goals and had daily check-ins. They actually shipped the next update faster. It's all about how you handle the handoff and keep everyone on the same page... a bad manager will wreck any team, new or old.