The short answer
Compare the operating model and responsibilities before comparing price. Select a partner whose scope matches the constraint you actually need to solve.
Before you start
- Write down the product, ideal customer, target markets and delivery constraints without marketing jargon.
- Collect recent sales outcomes, objections and the economics the acquisition plan must respect.
- Identify who can approve changes and who owns each step after an enquiry arrives.
Put it into practice
01Define the starting point
Ask for a relevant project explanation. Clarify the starting point, role performed, channels used, measurement definitions and limits of the result. Large numbers without context are weak evidence of fit.
02Build the next step
Review account ownership, access and handover. Your business should understand where campaigns, assets and data live and how they remain accessible if the engagement ends.
03Review the evidence
Agree the first phase in concrete terms. Specify outputs, review meetings, approvals and what evidence will support further investment. Distinguish work commitments from outcomes influenced by your product and sales process.
A worked example
A mistake to avoid
Avoid demanding guaranteed revenue from someone who cannot control pricing, stock, sales response or fulfillment. Accountability should reflect the actual area of influence.
How to evaluate the result
A useful strategy should change a concrete decision: which customer to prioritize, what to offer, where to invest or which bottleneck to fix. Test the plan against recent real enquiries and the team’s operating capacity. If several plausible explanations remain, record the uncertainty and choose an experiment that separates them. Review the assumptions when the offer, market or sales process changes. Keep the plan short enough that the people executing it can explain the priorities without reopening a large presentation.
Apply this to your business
Create a comparison grid covering diagnosis, creative, pages, measurement, sales feedback, account ownership, reporting and exit arrangements. Ask candidates to explain gaps rather than filling them with assumptions.
Your working notes
Copy these prompts into your project document. Keep observations separate from assumptions and give the next action an owner.
- Customer situation and primary business constraint
- Chosen action and reason to defer alternatives
- Evidence, accountable owner and decision checkpoint
Record what happened at the next review. If the evidence is incomplete, write down what would resolve the uncertainty instead of forcing a positive or negative verdict.