A proposal is written to win the pitch, not to survive month six. It will have the right channels, a tidy timeline, and a case study or two. None of that tells you how the relationship actually runs once budget is live and the first bad month arrives. That's what the questions below are for.
Questions to ask before you sign
Strategy and scope
- What specific baseline are you measuring against, our current CAC, ROAS or lead cost, or an industry average you're assuming?
- What's explicitly in scope and what's billed separately, creative production, landing pages, influencer fees, tool licenses?
- Who is the named person running this account day to day, not the person pitching it?
- What does month one actually look like, audit and setup, or live spend from day one?
Pricing and contract
- Is the fee a flat retainer, a percentage of ad spend, or performance-based, and what happens to it as spend scales up or down?
- What's the minimum term, and what's the exit clause and notice period if it isn't working?
- Who owns the ad accounts, pixels, GA4 property and creative files during and after the contract?
- Is there a trial or pilot period before the full-term contract starts?
Reporting and ROI
- Can I see an actual monthly report you send an existing client, not a template?
- What happens when a campaign underperforms, is there a defined response, or is it a conversation you have to initiate?
- How do you separate what the ad platform reports from what actually converts in our CRM or POS?
Five red flags to watch for
RED FLAG 01
A scope with channels and deliverables, but no baseline or target number anywhere in it
Why it matters
Without a number to measure against, "performance" becomes whatever the agency reports at the end of the month, on their terms.
Ask for
A written baseline (current CAC, ROAS or CPL) and a target range for month three and month six, both in the proposal.
RED FLAG 02
Case studies presented as directly comparable, with no budget, timeframe or category disclosed
Why it matters
A 3x ROAS at ₹2 lakh/month spend in a low-competition category tells you nothing about what happens at ₹15 lakh/month in yours.
Ask for
Spend level, duration and category for every case study cited, or don't count it toward the decision.
RED FLAG 03
No named point of contact, just "our team" or "a dedicated account manager" to be assigned later
Why it matters
Agencies frequently pitch with senior staff and staff the account with juniors once it's signed.
Ask for
The actual name and experience level of who runs the account, written into the contract, not just the pitch deck.
RED FLAG 04
A minimum term of six months or more, with no early exit clause of any kind
Why it matters
A long lock-in removes the agency's incentive to perform well early, since you can't leave regardless.
Ask for
A 30 to 60 day exit clause after an initial three-month term, with full asset and data handover on notice.
RED FLAG 05
Reporting described as "regular updates" or "transparent communication" with no cadence, format or metric named
Why it matters
Vague reporting language in a proposal usually becomes vague reporting in practice, chased over WhatsApp instead of received on schedule.
Ask for
A monthly report on a fixed date, in a fixed format, with the metrics named below, written into the contract as a deliverable.
What a real ROI report should contain
Ad platforms report clicks and impressions by default. A report that stops there hasn't done the work of connecting spend to outcomes. This is the minimum a monthly report should cover:
| Section | What it should show |
|---|---|
| Spend vs. plan | Actual spend against the budgeted amount, with a reason for any variance over 10%. |
| Outcome metric | CAC, ROAS or cost per qualified lead, current month vs. prior month vs. target, not just platform-reported conversions. |
| Source of truth | Numbers reconciled against CRM, POS or GA4, not taken at face value from the ad platform's own attribution. |
| What changed | The specific tests, creative swaps or targeting changes made this month, and their measured effect. |
| Next month's plan | What's being tried next and why, tied to what this month's data showed. |
If a proposal can't tell you, in advance, that a report will look roughly like this, ask why. It's a reasonable thing to expect before any money moves.
FAQ
What is the single most important question to ask a performance marketing agency before signing?
Ask them to show a report from an existing client of a similar size, with the numbers unredacted or lightly redacted for names only. A proposal is a sales document; a real client report shows whether they actually track and explain performance month over month.
How often should a performance marketing agency report on ROI?
Monthly at minimum, with a live dashboard available in between for anyone who wants to check sooner. A monthly report should tie spend to CAC, ROAS or cost per qualified lead, not just impressions and clicks, and should compare the current month against the prior one and against target.
What's a red flag in a performance marketing proposal?
A scope of work that lists channels and deliverables but no baseline numbers, no target, and no named point of contact. Also watch for case studies presented as directly comparable without disclosing budget or timeframe, and contracts with no exit clause shorter than six months.