Before hiring a marketing agency for your trades business, ask 12 key questions covering specialisation, proof of results, ad account ownership, landing page strategy, lead qualification, automated follow-up, guarantees, contract terms, reporting metrics, area exclusivity, onboarding process, and time commitment. If an agency cannot answer these clearly, they are not set up to deliver for a trades business.
If you have been burned by a marketing agency before, or even if this is your first time looking, you need to walk into that conversation with the right questions. Most tradies sign up based on a slick sales pitch, pay for 3 to 6 months, and walk away with nothing to show for it.
The problem is not that marketing does not work. It is that most tradies do not know what to ask, so they cannot separate the agencies that deliver from the ones that just collect fees.
Here are 12 questions to ask before you sign anything. If the agency cannot answer them clearly, keep looking.
The Questions
1. "Do you specialise in trades, or do you work with everyone?"
An agency that works with cafes, dentists, e-commerce brands, and tradies is a generalist. They use the same templates and strategies for everyone. Trades marketing is different: the buying cycle, the lead follow-up, the way tradies work (on site, on their phones, cannot take calls during the day). A generalist will not understand these nuances.
Green flag: "We only work with trades" or "80%+ of our clients are trades businesses."
Red flag: "We work with businesses across all industries."
2. "Can you show me results from other tradies in my trade?"
Not a testimonial. Not a vague case study. Actual numbers: cost per lead, number of leads, number of booked jobs, revenue generated. Ideally from a tradie in a similar trade to yours. Check our results page for what real reporting looks like.
Green flag: Specific numbers with context. "$57 average cost per qualified lead for a concreting business in Sydney."
Red flag: "We helped them grow their online presence" or "results vary."
3. "Do I own the ad account, or do you?"
If the agency runs ads in their own account, you lose everything when you leave: the data, the audiences, the performance history. You start from scratch with the next agency. You should always own your own ad account, even if the agency manages it.
Green flag: "You own everything. We manage it on your behalf."
Red flag: "We run it in our account for efficiency" or hesitation.
4. "Where does the ad traffic go?"
If the answer is "your website," that is a problem. Ad traffic should go to a dedicated landing page built specifically to capture leads. Not your homepage, not your services page. A page with one goal: get the visitor to enquire. If you are not sure whether you even need a website as a tradie, we have a separate guide for that.
Green flag: "We build you a dedicated landing page as part of the setup."
Red flag: "We will send traffic to your website."
5. "How do you qualify leads before they reach me?"
If the agency sends you every form submission without filtering, you will get flooded with tyre-kickers. A proper system asks qualifying questions on the landing page (suburb, job type, budget, timeline) and filters out people who are not a fit before they hit your phone. This is the difference between lead quality and lead quantity.
Green flag: "We pre-qualify every lead. You only get contacted by people who meet your criteria."
Red flag: "We send you all the leads and you follow up."
6. "What does your follow-up system look like?"
A lead that comes in at 2pm while you are on site is useless if nobody responds until 7pm. The best agencies have automated follow-up: instant text confirmation, email sequence, CRM integration. The lead is acknowledged within seconds, even when you cannot pick up the phone.
Green flag: "We set up automated responses and CRM follow-up so no lead goes cold."
Red flag: "We send you the lead by email and you take it from there."
7. "What do you guarantee?"
This is where you separate the real from the pretenders. "We will get you leads" is not a guarantee. Leads can be junk. "We will get you impressions" is worthless. "We will get you X booked jobs" or "X dollars in booked work within 90 days" is a guarantee tied to outcomes.
Green flag: A revenue or booked-work guarantee with clear terms about what happens if they miss it.
Red flag: "We cannot guarantee results" or "we guarantee X leads per month" (leads, not jobs).
8. "What is the minimum contract term?"
A 12-month lock-in contract protects the agency, not you. If month 3 delivers nothing, you should not be stuck for another 9 months. Month-to-month or 90-day terms with clear benchmarks are standard for agencies that are confident in their delivery.
Green flag: Month-to-month or 90-day terms with clear exit criteria.
Red flag: 12-month minimum with no performance clause.
9. "What do you report on, and how often?"
Monthly reports should tell you: how many leads came in, where they came from, what the cost per lead was, how many converted to booked jobs, and what the revenue impact was. If the report is all impressions, clicks, and "brand awareness," you are not getting useful data. Know the difference between ROAS and ROI so you can hold your agency accountable.
Green flag: "We report on leads, cost per lead, and booked jobs monthly."
Red flag: "We send a monthly report with campaign performance metrics." (Translation: impressions and clicks.)
10. "How many other tradies in my trade and area do you work with?"
If the agency runs ads for three plumbers in the same suburb, your ads are competing with each other. That drives up costs and means the agency is double-dipping: getting paid by multiple clients for the same audience.
Green flag: "We only take one client per trade per area. Exclusivity is part of our model."
Red flag: "We work with multiple clients in similar areas" or silence on the topic.
11. "What happens in the first 30 days?"
A good agency should be able to walk you through exactly what happens from the moment you sign: landing page build, ad creative production, campaign setup, CRM integration, launch, initial testing. If they cannot articulate a clear onboarding process, they are winging it.
Green flag: A step-by-step onboarding timeline with clear deliverables.
Red flag: "We will get things set up and you will start seeing leads soon."
12. "What do you need from me?"
The best agencies need minimal input from you after setup: access to your ad account, some photos of your work, your service details, and approval on ad creative. If they need you managing things daily, it is not a done-for-you service.
Green flag: "We need about 2 hours of your time during setup, then we handle everything."
Red flag: "You will need to be involved in managing the campaign."
The Scorecard
Count the green flags. If the agency scores 10 or more out of 12, they are worth a conversation. If they score under 7, they are probably not set up to deliver for a trades business. If they score under 4, run.
And one more thing: trust your gut. If the sales pitch feels too polished, if they make promises that sound too good, if they cannot answer a straight question with a straight answer, that tells you something. The best agencies do not need high-pressure tactics. They let the work speak.
If you have already been burned and are trying to figure out whether your current agency is wasting your money, we have a checklist for that too. And if you are weighing up whether marketing is even worth it for your trade, start there before you talk to anyone.
Common Questions
What is the most important question to ask a marketing agency before signing?
"What do you guarantee?" is the question that separates real agencies from pretenders. A vague promise of "leads" or "impressions" is not a guarantee. Look for agencies that guarantee revenue outcomes or booked work within a defined timeframe, with clear terms about what happens if they miss the target.
Should a marketing agency own my ad account or should I?
You should always own your own ad account, even if the agency manages it. If the agency runs ads in their own account, you lose everything when you leave: the data, the audiences, the performance history. You start from scratch with the next agency. Any agency that pushes back on this is prioritising their lock-in over your interests.
How do I know if a marketing agency is wasting my money?
Ask for four numbers in every monthly report: cost per lead, close rate, cost per booked job, and total revenue generated from marketing. If the agency reports on impressions, clicks, and "brand awareness" instead of these metrics, they are not tracking the right things. Read our full guide on signs your agency is wasting your money.
Is a 12-month marketing agency contract normal?
A 12-month lock-in contract protects the agency, not you. Month-to-month or 90-day terms with clear performance benchmarks are standard for agencies that are confident in their delivery. If month 3 delivers nothing, you should not be stuck for another 9 months paying for zero results.
Should my marketing agency work with other tradies in my area?
No. If the agency runs ads for three plumbers in the same suburb, your ads compete with each other, driving up costs. Look for agencies that offer exclusivity: one client per trade per area. This ensures your marketing spend is not undermined by the agency's other clients targeting the same audience.