When should you fire your marketing agency, and how do you exit cleanly?
Fire on a decision rule, not a bad month. Then exit in order: audit access, give written notice, freeze changes, export data, hand off, revoke access.
ReadNo vanity metrics, no theatre. Just what actually moves revenue for $1M–$10M service businesses: Google Ads, SEO, content, and conversion, written by the firm that installs them as one managed system.
Fire on a decision rule, not a bad month. Then exit in order: audit access, give written notice, freeze changes, export data, hand off, revoke access.
ReadHire a marketing agency in writing: brief, shortlist, written answers, references, a paid first deliverable, then a contract your attorney has read.
ReadAccess, baselines, priorities, and a 30-day plan beat “we’ll optimize as we go.” Here’s what good onboarding looks like for service operators.
ReadAccount ownership, termination, auto-renew, and scope vagueness show up before performance does. Operator checklist, then have your attorney review.
ReadMissed forecasts, vanity dashboards, and no revenue metrics are signals, not vibes. Use this operator checklist before you renew or replace anyone.
ReadHours, retainers, and % of spend buy activity. Fixed-fee models buy a scoped system. Here’s how operators should compare incentives, before they sign.
ReadScore agencies on systems, measurement, and commercial model, not pitch decks. Use this operator RFP checklist in writing before you hire anyone.
ReadAgency churn peaks at agencies that sell tactics, not systems. Use this checklist before you sign, then apply if you want fixed-fee infrastructure.
ReadLinks are the third-biggest local ranking factor, and the one service businesses do the least about. How to earn them without a national PR budget.
ReadEvery engagement begins with the Growth Blueprint: a complete audit and a 12-month roadmap that turns the ideas in these posts into a system built for your business specifically.
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