The short answer
Before you sign with any marketing agency, find out who pays the ad spend and whether it is marked up, whose name is on the ad account, whether your leads are shared with anyone, who calls the leads and how fast, what counts as a lead, how long the contract runs, and what you own if you leave. Get the answers in writing.
Bad ads are only one way an agency deal goes wrong. The other is terms you did not understand until later: a long contract, ad spend bundled into a fee, leads that went to three other contractors, or an account they could not take with them. Here are the questions that surface those problems before you sign. We have included our own answers so you can see what a straight answer looks like.
The ten questions
1. Who pays for the ads, and is it marked up?
Ask exactly how much of your money goes to Meta or Google and how much goes to the agency. The cleanest setup is that you pay the ad platform directly on your own card. Our answer: on our standard plans you pay Meta directly, and we never mark up ad spend.
2. Whose name is on the ad account and the page?
Agencies set this up different ways. Some run ads from your page and your own ad account, some run them from an account they manage. Either can work. What matters is that you know which, and what happens to the page, the ads and the lead history if you leave. Get that in writing.
3. Are the leads only mine?
Many lead services sell the same homeowner to several contractors at once, so you are racing three other companies to the phone. Ads run for your business, under your name, produce leads that go only to you. Our answer: nobody else gets your lead.
4. Who calls the leads, and how fast?
This is the question most agencies hope you will not ask. Leads that sit for hours go cold. Ask what happens in the first five minutes after an inquiry, and who is responsible for the phone call. Our answer: it depends on the plan. Either we call and vet every lead and book the visit on your calendar, or your team makes the calls and we set up the follow-up system that tracks every attempt.
5. What counts as a lead?
A "lead" can mean a click, a form fill, or a homeowner who actually spoke to someone and wants the work. If an agency reports results, make sure you know which one they are counting. Our answer: when we commit to a lead count, a lead means a homeowner we reached by phone who wants work you do, in your area, owns the property, and wants it done within 60 days.
6. How long is the contract, and how do I get out?
Watch for twelve-month terms, automatic renewals and long notice periods. Our answer: month to month, no minimum term, 30 days written notice.
7. What do I own if I leave?
Your leads, your customer list, your page and your ad account should all stay yours. Our answer: our current agreement says it plainly. Your leads, customers and accounts belong to you.
8. What exactly happens if it does not work?
Do not accept a vague "we'll make it right." Ask what is written into the agreement. If an agency promises a specific number of jobs or a specific amount of revenue, be careful. Nobody controls whether a homeowner signs. Some agencies do commit in writing to a number of qualified leads, with a set remedy if they fall short. That is a real commitment you can check.
9. What will you report, and how often?
You should be able to see spend, inquiries, booked appointments and sold jobs, not just impressions and clicks. If the report never gets to booked appointments, ask why.
10. Can I see real results, from a real client?
Ask for something you can check: a named client, a video, or real numbers. Our answer: our proof page has a named client's sold jobs and a client talking on camera, and our Phoenix case study walks through the setup and the numbers.
Red flags
- They will not say how much of your monthly fee is ad spend.
- They want a twelve-month contract before they have produced anything.
- They promise a specific number of jobs or a dollar figure in revenue.
- They cannot tell you whose ad account the ads run from, or what happens to it if you leave.
- Nobody can tell you who calls the leads.
- Every result they show you is anonymous.
Common questions
Do I need an agency to run Facebook ads?
No. You can run them yourself. What an agency should bring is the offer, the creative, the targeting, and above all the follow-up system that turns inquiries into appointments. If you or someone on your team has the time to do all of that well, you may not need one.
How much does a remodeling marketing agency cost?
It varies widely, and ad spend should always be counted separately from the agency's fee. We give our price on a short call because it depends on what you need, and we would rather explain it than post a number without context.
What should a marketing agency for remodelers actually do?
Run ads that reach homeowners in your area, follow up with every one who responds, and get the serious ones onto your calendar. Everything else is a means to that end.
Want the estimates booked for you?
We run the ads and the follow-up for remodelers. 30 minutes on a call, and you hear the price on the call.