The Short Version
An annual contract moves the risk of a bad fit from the agency to you. A 90-day proof period shifts some of that risk back.
Ninety days won't prove revenue for most B2B channels. It can, however, demonstrate whether the agency understands your business, builds the right foundations, and improves leading indicators.
Demand three deliverables in the first 30 days: a written plan, working measurement, and a baseline.
Agree on the day-90 pass and fail criteria in writing before you sign.
An agency that refuses to agree to a proof period may be signaling a lack of confidence in its own work.
Most founders who have hired a marketing agency have a version of the same story. The pitch was compelling, the contract ran for twelve months, and by month three, it was clear the fit was wrong. The next nine months were already paid for.
The solution isn't to avoid agencies or insist on month-to-month terms from day one. It's to treat the first 90 days as a proof period, with agreed deliverables, measurable indicators, and a clear exit option. Here's the framework we'd use as a buyer.
Why Annual Contracts Protect Agencies, Not Clients
An agency's costs are front-loaded. Onboarding, research, account setup, and the initial strategy development all happen in the first few weeks. A twelve-month contract guarantees that the agency recovers those costs, whether or not the work delivers results. It also provides predictable revenue that the agency can plan its hiring around.
Both benefits make sense for the agency. Neither necessarily protects you.
To be fair, some marketing activities genuinely take time to deliver results. Google's guidance on hiring an SEO, presented by Maile Ohye, explains that SEOs typically need four months to a year to implement improvements and see benefits. Paid campaigns also require a learning period after launch, during which automated bidding systems calibrate. Judging performance in the second week is therefore unfair.
The answer isn't necessarily to eliminate minimum commitments. Instead, match the commitment to the time required for the work to produce meaningful signals, establish proof criteria within that period, and move to month-to-month terms afterward.
The 90-Day Proof Framework
Divide the first 90 days into three phases. Each phase should have a clear purpose and end with deliverables you can verify.
Phase | What the Agency Does | What You Should See by the End |
|---|---|---|
Days 0–30: Diagnose and Build | Learns the business, establishes tracking, and develops the strategy. | A written plan, working measurement, and baseline metrics. |
Days 31–60: Launch and Learn | Executes the agreed plan and evaluates early performance data. | Planned activities launched on schedule, with at least one adjustment made based on data. |
Days 61–90: Prove and Decide | Reports leading indicators against the baseline and evaluates progress. | A clear go/no-go decision based on criteria agreed upon at the start. |
Days 0–30: Three Deliverables to Demand
The first month should establish the foundation for everything that follows. Require the agency to deliver three things.
1. A Written Plan Tied to Your Business Goals
The plan should identify:
Which buyers the agency is targeting and why.
Which marketing channels it will use and why they fit your business.
What the targets are for days 60 and 90.
Which activities will be prioritized and which will deliberately be postponed.
The strategy should connect directly to your business objectives rather than rely on a generic marketing playbook.
2. Working Measurement
Ensure that conversion tracking is verified, CRM fields are configured correctly, and UTM tagging is agreed upon.
The goal is to make every lead traceable to its source. Without reliable measurement, you cannot confidently determine which activities generate qualified leads or contribute to your pipeline.
3. A Baseline
Record the current performance of your marketing activities, including:
Website traffic.
Cost per lead (CPL).
Conversion rates.
Lead quality.
Pipeline generated by each source.
Without a baseline, there is nothing meaningful to compare against on day 90. Statements such as "performance is improving" need evidence.
This is also the month that requires the most founder involvement. Expect interviews, access requests, and strategy reviews. If an agency asks for none of your time during the first month, it may not be making enough effort to understand your business.
What Proof Looks Like on Day 60 and Day 90
Day 60: Test Execution
By day 60, everything promised in the plan should be live or completed according to the agreed schedule.
The agency should also be able to identify at least one change it made because the data indicated a better approach. If nothing has been adjusted despite having usable performance data, ask whether the agency is actively learning from the results.
Day 90: Test Direction
By day 90, evaluate whether the work is moving in the right direction. The evidence you should expect depends on the channel.
Channel | Fair Proof at Day 90 | Not Fair to Expect Yet |
|---|---|---|
Paid search | Relevant search terms, a stable or declining cost per lead, and initial qualified conversations. | A fully optimized cost per acquisition when conversion volume is low. |
SEO and content | Technical fixes implemented, content published on schedule, and early rankings for low-competition commercial keywords. | A substantial organic pipeline at scale. |
LinkedIn and founder content | Consistent publishing, growing reach among target buyers, and initial inbound conversations. | Predictable lead volume. |
Overall pipeline | Qualified opportunities from the fastest-performing channel, measured against the baseline. | Closed revenue when the sales cycle is long. |
The objective is to assess execution, measurement, and early momentum—not to demand revenue before the relevant channels have had a reasonable opportunity to perform.
Exit Criteria to Include in the Contract
Before signing, agree on the conditions that determine whether the engagement continues.
Named metrics with thresholds: Define the metrics and targets on day one, using the actual baseline rather than assumptions from the pitch deck.
A dated deliverables list: Specify what must be delivered by days 30, 60, and 90.
A no-fault exit at day 90: Agree that either party can end the engagement if the criteria are not met, with a short notice period and no early termination penalty, subject to the contract terms.
Ownership of all assets: Advertising accounts, analytics properties, CRM data, and content should remain under your ownership or control from day one. Leaving the agency should not mean losing access to assets you've paid for.
A scheduled day-90 review: Put the review meeting on the calendar when the contract is signed so the decision happens on time.
Make sure these conditions appear in the signed agreement, not just in emails or verbal promises.
Red Flags in Agencies That Refuse a Proof Period
Watch for these warning signs before committing to a long-term engagement.
No exit before month twelve, under any circumstances. The agency expects a long commitment before demonstrating its ability to deliver.
No targets in writing. "SEO takes time" is true, but it should not prevent the agency from committing to measurable leading indicators within 90 days.
Advertising accounts or analytics set up in the agency's name. This can leave you dependent on the agency for access to your own marketing data.
No baseline captured in month one. Without baseline figures, the agency cannot demonstrate meaningful progress.
Reports focused on activity rather than outcomes. A long list of tasks completed is not the same as evidence of improved performance. Our guide to marketing theater explains what to challenge.
Senior team members disappear after signing. If the people who sold the engagement are not involved in delivery as promised, ask for clarity on who is accountable for results.
How mrktrs Structures Engagements
Every mrktrs engagement begins with a one-time setup fee covering foundational work, including strategy, ideal customer profile (ICP) development, messaging, tracking, and the systems required to support ongoing marketing.
The ongoing work then runs on a monthly fee, with a minimum commitment matched to the time required for the work to produce meaningful signals. Awareness-focused engagements have a three-month minimum, while fuller programs have a six-month minimum, followed by month-to-month terms. The Leads Generator Starter tier is month-to-month from the start.
The Marketing Foundation engagement concludes with a 90-day action plan, a KPI framework, and clearly defined triggers for adjusting course. This means the evaluation criteria exist before campaigns begin.
Weekly syncs and a monthly accountability report keep performance, progress, and next steps visible throughout the engagement.
Book a 30-minute diagnostic to see how this framework applies to your business stage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can a Founder Test a Marketing Agency Before Committing?
Treat the first 90 days as a proof period with agreed deliverables, a documented baseline, and written pass/fail criteria. A paid pilot with a clear exit option provides a more reliable assessment of fit than pitch-stage due diligence alone.
How Long Should a B2B Marketing Pilot Run?
The pilot should last long enough for the slowest channel in scope to produce meaningful leading indicators. Ninety days can work for paid campaigns and awareness activities. Programs that rely heavily on SEO may need around six months before the results become more reliable. The 90-day review should therefore assess execution and direction rather than demand substantial revenue.
What Should an Agency Deliver in Its First 90 Days?
During the first 30 days, expect a written plan, working measurement, and a documented baseline. By day 60, the planned channels and activities should be live according to the agreed schedule. By day 90, the agency should demonstrate progress against the baseline and provide evidence to support a clear continuation decision.
Is a Long-Term Contract With a Marketing Agency Ever the Right Choice?
Yes. A longer commitment can make sense after the agency has demonstrated its value, particularly if the agreement provides a concrete benefit, such as a lower monthly fee or reserved senior-team capacity.
Signing a twelve-month contract before seeing evidence of performance, however, transfers much of the risk to the client.
What Are Good Exit Criteria for a Marketing Agency Engagement?
Good exit criteria are measurable, based on the client's actual baseline, and agreed upon before work begins.
Examples include verified tracking by day 30, all planned channels launched by day 60, and a specified leading indicator improving by an agreed amount by day 90. The targets should reflect the channel, available data, budget, and sales cycle.
Final Takeaway
A marketing agency should not need twelve months to demonstrate that it understands your business, measures performance correctly, executes its plan, and learns from the data.
A structured 90-day proof period gives both parties a fair opportunity to establish whether the relationship is working. Define the deliverables, establish the baseline, agree on the exit criteria, and make the day-90 decision based on evidence rather than promises.