How to Know If Your Marketing Agency Is Working (5 Warning Signs They’re About to Ghost You)
You’ve been here before.
You hired a marketing agency. They promised the moon—more leads, more revenue, total market domination. The pitch was flawless. The case studies looked incredible. You signed the contract, wrote the check, and felt that rush of optimism that comes with finally getting help with marketing.
Then… nothing.
Emails started taking days to get answered. Reports became dashboards full of numbers that didn’t translate to phone calls or booked jobs. And that account manager who seemed so attentive during the sales process? Suddenly impossible to reach.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. The marketing industry has turned service business owners into ATMs—agencies promising the moon, locking you into contracts, collecting fees, and ghosting the moment the invoice clears.
The good news? There are warning signs that appear before the ghosting happens. If you know what to look for, you can spot a bad agency before you waste another $10,000—or get out before they disappear completely.
Red Flag #1: They Lock You Into Long-Term Contracts
If an agency requires you to sign a 6-12 month contract before they’ve proven they can deliver results, ask yourself: Why do they need to trap you?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth most agencies won’t tell you: contracts exist to protect them, not you.
Think about it. If an agency was confident in their ability to deliver results, why would they need to legally bind you for a year? A great agency should be able to earn your business month after month through performance, not paperwork.
When you’re locked into a contract, you lose all leverage. The agency knows you can’t leave, so there’s less incentive to go above and beyond. You’re trapped even when they underperform. They collect fees regardless of whether your phone is ringing.
What this looks like in practice:
- They require 6-12 month minimum commitments before showing any results
- Early termination fees that make leaving financially painful
- Auto-renewal clauses buried in the fine print
- Vague deliverables that make it hard to prove they’re not meeting obligations
Red Flag #2: The Bait-and-Switch with Junior Staff
The senior partners with 20 years of experience closed the deal. But who’s actually doing the work on your account? Probably someone who graduated last spring.
This is one of the oldest tricks in the agency playbook. During the sales process, you met with the agency’s A-team. Experienced strategists. Polished presenters. People who clearly understood your business and your industry.
But once the ink is dry on that contract? You’re handed off to whoever has capacity on their roster. Often, that’s the newest (and cheapest) person on the team.
Warning signs of the bait-and-switch:
- Your account manager changes every few months
- You never hear from the people who pitched you again
- Answers to your questions feel scripted or uncertain
- Nobody seems to understand your business or industry
- When you call, you get voicemail more often than a real person
You’re not a partner to these agencies. You’re a number in their portfolio.
Red Flag #3: Vanity Metrics Instead of Revenue
Your dashboard shows 50,000 impressions and 2,000 clicks. Great! But how many of those turned into phone calls? How many became paying customers? If your agency can’t answer that, you have a problem.
Let’s be blunt: if you can’t take it to the bank, it doesn’t count.
Many agencies have become experts at one thing—making reports look impressive. They’ll show you graphs going up and to the right. Engagement rates. Impressions. Click-through rates. Website traffic.
But here’s the question that matters: Is your phone ringing with qualified leads ready to hire you?
If the answer is no, all those pretty metrics are worthless. They’re vanity metrics—numbers that look good in reports but don’t translate to actual revenue for your business.
Vanity metrics vs. revenue metrics:
- Impressions vs. phone calls from qualified leads
- Clicks vs. booked appointments
- Engagement rate vs. closed deals and revenue generated
- Follower count vs. cost per acquisition
- Website traffic vs. return on ad spend (ROAS)
The average website converts at just 2-3% of visitors. Meanwhile, the best-performing service business websites convert at 15-20%—and some achieve even higher. That’s the difference between a website that looks nice and a website that generates revenue.
Red Flag #4: “Trust the Process” as a Stall Tactic
“Just give it time.” “We’re building the foundation.” “Trust the process.” If you’re hearing these phrases months into a campaign with no results to show, your agency is stalling.
Yes, marketing takes time. SEO doesn’t happen overnight. Building brand awareness is a long-term game. We get that.
But there’s a difference between legitimate strategy-building and using “trust the process” as a shield against accountability.
Good agencies set clear expectations from day one. They tell you exactly what they’re going to do, when you should expect to see results, and what metrics will indicate progress along the way. Bad agencies keep things vague so they can never be held to a standard.
Questions a good agency should answer:
- What specific results will you deliver, and by when?
- How will we measure success at 30, 60, and 90 days?
- What happens if you don’t hit those targets?
- How often will we review performance together?
- What’s your process for course-correcting if something isn’t working?
If an agency can’t answer these questions clearly, they’re not running a strategy—they’re gambling with your money. Marketing should be predictable, not a pleasant surprise.
Red Flag #5: Slow Response Times After Payment
They responded to your inquiry within minutes when they were trying to close you. Now that you’re a paying client, it takes three days to get an email back. This pattern only gets worse.
This is the clearest indicator that ghosting is coming.
Think back to how responsive the agency was during the sales process. Emails answered within hours. Calls returned the same day. That’s because you were a prospect, and prospects represent new revenue.
But once you’re locked in—especially if you’ve signed a contract—you’re no longer a priority. You’re already in the revenue column. Their attention shifts to closing the next deal.
The ghosting timeline:
- Month 1: Responsive, attentive, everything looks great
- Month 2: Response times start to slip
- Month 3: You’re waiting days for simple answers
- Month 4+: Emails go unanswered, calls go to voicemail
If they ghost when you’re paying, imagine what happens when you try to leave.
What to Look for Instead
Now that you know the red flags, here’s what you should be looking for in a marketing partner that won’t disappear on you:
- No contracts: You should be able to fire your agency anytime. If they’re confident in their work, they won’t need to trap you.
- Performance guarantees: Look for agencies that put their money where their mouth is—results guaranteed, or they work for free.
- Real humans who answer the phone: Your marketing partner should actually be reachable when you need them.
- Revenue-focused metrics: They should measure phone calls, booked jobs, and dollars—not just impressions and clicks.
- Proven retention: Ask about their client retention rate. Agencies that deliver results keep their clients.
- Transparency on who does the work: You should know exactly who’s working on your account and their qualifications.
The right marketing partner should feel less like a vendor and more like an extension of your team. They should care about your success as much as you do—because their success should be directly tied to yours.
Ready to Work With an Agency That Gives a Damn?
We’ve generated $57M+ in trackable client revenue and maintained 100% client retention since 2022—with zero contracts. How? Because we guarantee results or we work for free.
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Only 4 new clients accepted monthly to maintain quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the biggest red flags when hiring a marketing agency?
The five biggest red flags include: requiring long-term contracts before proving results, passing you to junior staff after the sale, focusing on vanity metrics instead of revenue, using “trust the process” to deflect accountability, and becoming increasingly unresponsive after you pay invoices.
Why do marketing agencies ghost their clients?
Marketing agencies ghost clients because they’ve already secured payment through contracts and have moved on to acquiring new clients. Without accountability measures or performance guarantees, there’s no financial incentive to maintain communication or deliver results.
How can I protect myself from a bad marketing agency?
Look for agencies that offer no long-term contracts (allowing you to leave anytime), provide performance guarantees, measure revenue instead of vanity metrics, maintain high client retention rates, and have real humans who answer the phone promptly. Ask for references and actually call them.
What should I do if my current agency is showing these red flags?
Document your concerns in writing and request a meeting to discuss specific deliverables and timelines. If your contract allows, negotiate an exit or transition plan. If you’re locked in, start planning your exit strategy for when the contract ends and avoid auto-renewal.
How long should I give a marketing agency before expecting results?
This depends on the service. Paid advertising should show directional results within 30-60 days. SEO typically takes 3-6 months to see significant movement. However, a good agency should set clear milestones and show measurable progress at each stage—not just ask you to “trust the process” indefinitely.
Are there any marketing agencies that actually guarantee results?
Yes, though they’re rare. At Fuel Results, we guarantee results or we work for free. We operate without contracts because we’re confident in our ability to deliver. This puts all the risk on us and none on you—which is how we believe it should be.
The Bottom Line
You deserve a marketing partner that delivers results, not excuses. One that answers the phone. One that measures what matters—revenue—not vanity metrics designed to make reports look good.
If you’re seeing these red flags with your current agency, it might be time to make a change. And if you’re shopping for a new agency, now you know exactly what to look for—and what to avoid.
Remember: Contracts exist to protect agencies, not clients. Guarantees protect clients. Choose accordingly.
