What to bring to a first call with a Marketing Agency

Most brands who get in touch with us are not actually prepared to have a conversation with an agency - and so often fall into the trap of following the agencies lead, rather than truly uncovering the core problem to be solved.

You have a brand people like, ad spend that works to some degree, and a sense that growth has stalled. What you may not have is a clear idea of what to prepare, or what you should know by the end of the call.

Here is the short answer. Bring five numbers, bring your best and worst ads, and tell us what you have already tried. In return, you should leave with a view on where your growth is stuck.

You should not leave with a pitch for more spend nor should you expect, in case run fast away from anyone who expects you to have the answer within the first call.

Start with the numbers that decide the budget

We do not need a perfect dashboard. We need a handful of figures you can pull in ten minutes:

• Revenue over the last twelve months, and the trend by month.
• Gross margin, because it sets how much you can afford to spend to win a customer.
• Monthly ad spend, split by channel.
• Blended return: total revenue against total ad spend, not what each platform reports about itself.
• The share of orders from new customers versus returning ones.

Platform reports tend to flatter themselves. Blended return and new customer share tell us what is happening to the business, which is the thing we care about.

Note: often clients can become protective of their data or feel the need to make things sound better than they are.

Bring the creative, not just the account

Founders often expect us to ask for account access first. We would rather see the ads. Send your best performing ad, your worst, and the one you are proudest of, if it is a different one.

For a design-led brand, the gap between those three is usually informative.

Sometimes the product story is strong and the ads do not carry it.

Sometimes the ads are good and the problem sits in how the budget is spread across channels.

You can only tell by looking at both together.

Tell us what you have already tried

Tell us about the previous agency, the freelancer, the in-house hire, the channel you switched off. Be specific about what you changed and when.

Often we are told how bad the current solution is, without any reflection from the brand or Founder/team about their role in this - without this point of reflection, you are likely to repeat the same mistake.

For Intentional, if we here someone has chopped & changed in the last 3 years - to us this more is a reflection of something red flagged on your side, not the provider.

So be honest, about what you do not know. If you are unsure whether the problem is the media buying, the creative or the offer, say so. Working that out is part of the job.

What you should leave with

A first call should end with something useful, whether or not you work with us. We aim to come to the call with a view on your numbers, so you leave with:

• Our read on where growth is stuck, in plain language.
• The one or two things we would look at first, and why.
• A clear sense of whether we are the right fit, including when we are not.

If you leave with only a sales deck, the call was not done properly.

What we will not do on the call

We will not promise a result or a timeline. Nobody can responsibly do that before seeing the account, and anyone who does is selling. We will not ask you to commit to anything either. The call is for both sides to decide whether a deeper look is worth the time.

What to do next

Gather the five numbers, pick three ads, and write down what you have already tried. That is the whole preparation, and it is enough.

If you want a second opinion on where your growth is stuck, book a call at https://crm.intention.al/start and we will take it from there.