Company Age
Established companies are more likely to hire you unless they’re a well-funded startup with an incentive to grow quickly.
Employee Count
Small companies rarely hire marketing help, or they’d hire a solo consultant.
Number of Marketing Employees
No marketing employees means you don’t have an internal champion. Instead, you’re dealing with someone who’s doing a million other things and doesn’t care about marketing as a priority.
Revenue
Tells you if they can afford you. Also lets you say, “Companies in your industry should spend [X%] of revenues on marketing,” and see how they react to that figure.
Project / Retainer Budget
Tells if they can afford you, for the level of work they want/need.
Overall Marketing Budget
Shows how this work fits into their other marketing.
Do they currently work with an agency? Which one?
You don’t want to be their first agency. You also want to know why they’re firing their last agency. They may be firing the agency after having unrealistic expectations… which means a high chance that it’ll happen to you, too.
What’s the project deadline?
Get input from your PM team on whether it’s doable given the current project workload. Helps you add a rush-rate premium to your quote(s) if you have to bring in extra resources.
What’s their ideal outcome when the project (or retainer) is done?
What do they expect? Is it realistic? Can you deliver, especially on their budget?
Who do they see as their competitors?
Gives you data for discussions, and you can briefly check out the competition to see what they’re doing. Also helps you understand if they have national competitors or local competitors, which would significantly affect minimum budgets.
What other companies do they admire (even in other industries)?
Who are they comparing themselves to? If they expect Apple-level marketing on a tiny budget, you want to know ahead of time.
What prior projects has your agency done in their industry?
It’s easier to sell a prospect if you have relevant portfolio work.
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