Insight · Working with agenciesBOFU
What to prepare before your first call with a performance marketing agency
The short answer
A first call with an agency goes best when you treat it like a briefing, not a sales meeting. If you bring your goals, your numbers and a sense of what's been tried, you'll get a specific view of what's wrong and what to do first. If you bring only "we want more leads", you'll get a generic pitch.
1. Goals and constraints
- What you want in three, six and twelve months — revenue, customers, qualified leads, new markets
- The metric you'll judge marketing on
- Budget range for ad spend and for agency fees
- Constraints: stock, capacity, sales team size, regulatory limits, seasonality
- Deadlines: launches, festive season, funding milestones
2. Unit economics
- Average order value or average deal value
- Gross margin and contribution margin after shipping, payment fees and returns
- Return, cancellation and COD refusal rates for eCommerce
- Lead-to-sale rates and sales cycle length for lead businesses
- Repeat purchase rate or customer value (LTV) if you know it
- Current or acceptable CAC
These decide what the agency can afford to spend per customer. If you don't know them, say so — a good agency will help you work them out.
3. Current marketing
- Channels and spend — by month, for the last six to twelve months
- Results — revenue, orders or leads by channel, from your own data
- What's been tried — campaigns, offers and creative that worked or failed
- Current partners — agencies, freelancers, in-house team and what each does
- Tools — store or website platform, CRM, analytics, call tracking
- Known problems — tracking issues, lead quality complaints, rising costs
4. Access or screenshots
Read-only access to ad accounts, GA4 and Search Console lets the agency look at real data rather than guess. If you're not ready to grant access, screenshots of the last few months' performance help. Under a non-disclosure agreement, this is normal practice.
5. Your questions for the agency
- Who would run our account day to day, and how senior are they?
- What would you do in the first 30 days?
- How will you measure success, and from which data?
- What's included in the fee, and what's extra?
- Who owns the accounts, pixels, data and creative?
- What are the notice period and minimum term?
For a fuller list, see how to choose a performance marketing agency and red flags in an agency proposal.
What you should get back
After a good discovery call and a look at your data, expect a short written view: what's working, what's broken, the three moves the agency would make first, the scope and team they'd propose, and how they'd measure success. At PMG that starts with a free written audit — you can request one here.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sharing only vague goals ("more sales") and no numbers
- Asking for a fixed quote before the agency has seen any data
- Leaving the person who owns the numbers off the call
- Not asking who would actually do the work
- Comparing agencies whose proposals cover different scopes
A one-page pre-call brief (illustrative)
Business: D2C kitchenware, website plus Amazon. Goal: grow website revenue by 40% in 12 months at MER of 3.5x or better. Economics: AOV ₹1,850; contribution margin 42% after shipping, fees and returns; repeat rate about 25% within six months. Current marketing: Meta ₹4 lakh/month, Google ₹1.5 lakh/month, no email flows. What's worked: creator videos, recipe content. What hasn't: static discount ads, broad Google Display. Known problems: purchase tracking inconsistent since a checkout change; rising Meta CPA over three months. Questions for the agency: see the list above.
Sending something like this before the call usually turns a sales meeting into a working session.
After the call
- Write down what you learned — the agency's diagnosis and first moves.
- Check the follow-up — did they send what they promised, when they promised?
- Compare proposals on the same scope before comparing price.
- Ask for clarification on anything vague before signing.
- Agree a start plan — access, kick-off date and the first review.
Questions agencies will ask you
Expect questions about margins, customer value, stock, sales capacity, past results and decision-making. Being ready for them saves a second call. If an agency doesn't ask about your economics at all, that tells you something too.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a first agency call?
Usually 30 to 60 minutes. Longer if the agency is reviewing your data live.
Should we share our numbers before signing?
Sharing key numbers under an NDA is normal and leads to a far more useful proposal. Share only what's needed, and grant read-only access rather than admin.
Who should attend from our side?
Whoever owns the budget and results, and someone who knows the numbers — often the founder or marketing head, plus finance or sales for lead businesses.
What if we don't know our margins or CAC?
Say so. A good agency will help you calculate them; our break-even ROAS calculator and CAC:LTV calculator are a start.
How soon should we expect a proposal?
Often within a week of the call and data access, once the agency has looked at your accounts.
Can we share data with several agencies at once?
Yes, under NDAs, but share read-only access or summaries rather than admin rights, and remove access for agencies you don't appoint.
Should we tell agencies our budget?
Yes, at least a range. It shapes the scope, channels and team they'll propose.
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