Most agency discovery calls are optimized by the agency. Their deck runs the meeting. By the time you get to Q&A at the end, you've absorbed a lot of confident language and very little verifiable information. These four questions flip that — and they work for almost any marketing agency in any vertical.
1. What's your average cost per booked job (or signed case, or new patient) for clients in my vertical?
A specialist answers in a specific range with context ("$65–$140 depending on market and service mix"). A generalist deflects to leads, sessions, or rankings — the metrics that are easiest to move and least tied to your P&L.
If the number they quote is suspiciously precise ("exactly $82"), press them on the range across their roster. A specialist has a roster to draw from. A salesperson has an impressive-sounding number.
2. Who owns my Google Ads account, website, and Google Business Profile when the engagement ends?
Standard answer should be: you do. Everything. Account ownership, domain, content, CRM data, pixel history, review platform integrations — all of it stays with the business.
Agencies that retain account ownership aren't necessarily crooked, but they make switching painful. That's a real switching cost that you're paying in the retainer whether you realize it or not. Push for explicit ownership language in the contract.
3. What metrics will you report on monthly, and how do you attribute them?
The answer has two parts. First, what metrics — cost per booked job or signed case should lead the report, not sessions or keyword rankings. Second, how — call tracking, CRM integration, UTM discipline, all three? An agency that's serious about attribution will name the tools and describe the workflow. An agency that's not will say "Google Analytics."
If a monthly report leads with traffic and hides revenue attribution in an appendix (or doesn't track it at all), the program is being optimized for the wrong thing. You'll realize it six months in, after you've paid six months in.
4. Are you working with my direct competitor in my metro?
Not a dealbreaker in every category, but a fair question — and the answer tells you two things. First, whether exclusivity is part of the package. Some specialists protect a territory per metro (common in home services and local professional services); some don't. Second, how transparent the agency is about its roster. An agency that hedges here usually has other things it's hedging about too.
If the agency is working with a direct competitor, that's fine — provided it's disclosed up front and the team structure is set up to handle it (separate pods, separate ad accounts, no conflict on bidding strategy).
What each answer actually reveals
| Question | What a good answer proves | What a vague answer hides | | :-- | :-- | :-- | | Cost per booked job in my vertical | Specialist depth, CRM integration | Reliance on generalist playbooks | | Account ownership on termination | Long-term respect for the client | Lock-in built into the model | | Monthly metrics + attribution | Revenue-oriented measurement | Activity-oriented busywork | | Competitor roster in my metro | Transparency + conflict management | Roster instability + hedging |
Ten minutes, four questions, and you've learned more than you would in an hour-long pitch.