A good pitch tells you how an agency presents. Good answers tell you how it works. Before you sign, ask every agency on your list the same questions, write down what they say, and compare against the rubric below.
Key takeaways
- Ask every agency the same 15 questions and mark answers clear, vague or missing.
- Ownership of ad accounts, data, Meta portfolios and the WhatsApp number comes first.
- Ask about Arabic copywriters, market differences, seasonal shifts and creator permits. Most lists skip them.
- If an agency dodges ownership, exit terms or fee breakdowns, walk away immediately.
Agency question sheet
Ask every agency each question and mark the answer clear, vague or missing.
| Question | Good answer | Walk-away sign |
|---|---|---|
| What would you do first, and what would you leave out? | One or two channels, what waits, and why. | They propose every service they sell. |
| What do you need from us, and by when? | A list: access, approvals, product facts, assets and one decision-maker. | "Nothing, we handle it all." |
| How will we know this is working? | One main measure tied to leads or sales, plus early signals. | Reach, impressions or followers only. |
| Who works on our account, and is any of it subcontracted? | Names and roles, and a plain yes or no on subcontracting. | "A dedicated team" with no names, or a dodge. |
| Who owns our ad accounts, data and WhatsApp number? | Your company does. Meta portfolios, ad accounts and WABA stay under your email with agency access. | Accounts or the number sit under their logins or their BSP. |
| What do we get back if we leave? | Files, logins, creative assets, raw data exports and a handover, in writing. | Assets released only after an exit fee. |
| Can you walk me through a past job? | The problem, the steps and an honest miss. Names only with client consent. | Headline numbers with no story or context. |
| Can I see a sample report? | A real report with client details hidden, showing actions taken and next steps. | Screenshots of vanity metrics with no actions. |
| Who writes our Arabic, and who checks it? | A named native copywriter writing for a Gulf audience, with a review step. | "We translate the English copy." |
| Which markets will you cover, and how? | A separate plan for each market where audience behaviour and channels differ. | "GCC" treated as a single uniform audience. |
| How do you plan around Ramadan, Eid and summer? | Timing, offers and creative adjust early; expectations match seasonal shifts. | The same calendar and spend pacing all year. |
| If we use creators, who checks their Advertiser Permit? | They check each creator is on the official permit register and know which ads need prior clearance. | They have not heard of the permit requirements. |
| What is in the fee, and what is billed on top? | Management fee separate from media spend, production, creators, tools and VAT. | One bundled total with no breakdown. |
| What is the minimum term and notice period? | Clear terms in writing, with an agreed initial review point. | A long lock-in and a vague exit process. |
| How do you use AI, and what stays with a person? | AI speeds research and initial drafts. People own strategy, approvals and what goes live. | "It's all automated", or a flat "we never use it". |
Use Print or save this sheet under the table to keep a copy. Follow Voyuma on X at @getvoyuma.
Send the brief before the call
Questions work better when the agency already knows the job. Send a one-page brief a few days before you meet: the goal, one main channel, one KPI, what is included and excluded, and what done looks like. Our guide on how to brief a digital marketing job before you spend has a checklist you can fill in.
With a brief in hand, the first question on the sheet gets a real answer. Without one, you get a menu of services. The menu tells you what the agency sells. The answer tells you how it thinks about your job. If you are unsure which channels belong in the brief, see what sits under Digital Marketing work.
How to run the vetting
Keep it simple and the same for everyone.
- Shortlist three or four agencies. More than that and the answers blur.
- Send the same brief to each.
- Use the sheet on every call. Write answers down while you listen. Mark each one clear, vague or missing.
- Enforce the three non-negotiables. If an agency gives vague answers on account ownership, exit rights, or fee transparency, remove them immediately.
- Ask for the written proposal to cover ownership, exit, fees and term. Spoken answers on these mean little until they are in writing.
- Compare sheets side by side. Count the vague and missing answers. The agency with the fewest gaps is often a safer bet than the one with the most polished slides.
If you want a second opinion on answers you have already collected, message us on WhatsApp.
The answers that should end the conversation
Some answers are worth more than a polished deck, because they show how the agency will behave once you have signed.
"We guarantee page one" or "we guarantee X leads." No agency controls Google's rankings or Meta's ad delivery. As Google's guidance on hiring an SEO warns: no one can guarantee a #1 ranking. A guarantee on outcomes usually means the target is trivial or the methods are risky. What you can fairly ask for is a commitment on what the agency controls: deliverables, dates, access, reporting and a clean exit. See our guide on whether an agency can guarantee results for how to turn those claims into written contract commitments.
"Ad spend is included in our monthly package." Never agree to a bundled invoice where management fees and ad spend sit in one total. Agencies that bundle have an incentive to reduce your actual media spend to preserve their margin. Ad spend should always be paid directly to Google or Meta from your corporate card, with the agency billing a separate, transparent management fee.
"We'll set up the accounts for you." That can be fine if they are set up under your company and you hold primary admin rights. It is not fine if they sit under the agency's business account or their WhatsApp Business Solution Provider. Ask to see where they will live before any work starts.
"Our team handles everything." Ask who. A team with no names usually means junior staff who change frequently, or work passed to an offshore third party you never meet.
"Arabic is included." Ask how. Translating English campaigns word for word into mechanical Arabic is a different job from writing natively for a Gulf audience. Ask for samples and who wrote them.
Choosing the shape of help
Sometimes the vetting shows you don't need an agency yet. A narrow job with a clear brief can suit a strong freelancer. A broad job across several channels, languages and markets usually needs a team with one owner. Our guide on the AI-native agency vs freelancers and tool stacks covers that choice.
The AI question on the sheet deserves a plain answer. A good one is specific: where AI drafts and sorts, and where a named person checks and approves. If the job is to change an internal workflow, like how enquiries are routed or reports are built, that is AI Integrations & Solutions work, scoped on its own.
Bring the sheet to your first call
Use the same sheet with every agency you meet, including us. When you're ready to talk about your job, book a call and bring your brief and the sheet. You can read about Digital Marketing work at Voyuma before we talk.