Before you sign with a marketing company: 14 questions that separate the real ones from the rest
Print this. Bring it to the call. Make them answer every line. If they won't, that is your answer.
By Daniyal Saleem · Founder, DM Marketing · Last reviewed: November 1, 2026
Choose a contractor marketing company the way you would choose a sub: own your ad accounts, keep ad spend separate from the fee, get a written way out, know the named person who runs your account, insist on recorded calls, demand reporting in signed jobs instead of clicks, and call a current client in your trade before you sign.
Before you get on a call
Four quick checks you can run from your truck in ten minutes. If a company fails two of them, you can skip the call. For a longer, step by step process, see how to find and vet a marketing firm in Richardson.
- 01Do they publish pricing anywhere?
A company that will not put a number in writing before the call usually prices by what it thinks you will pay.
- 02Do they name contractors in your trade as clients, or only “businesses”?
Roofing, HVAC and remodeling leads behave differently, and experience in your trade is something they should be able to show.
- 03Do they have a real local address and a Google profile with reviews from contractors, not from other agencies?
Reviews from other agencies and marketers are favors traded, not proof of work done for someone like you.
- 04Does their own website load fast on your phone?
If they cannot make their own site work on a phone, they will not make yours work either, and your customers are looking at you on a phone too.
The 14 questions
Ask every one of these, in this order, and write down what they say. If you are still working out a budget before the call, read how much contractor marketing should cost in 2026.
01Who owns the ad accounts, and what happens to them if we part ways?
The answer you want: You do. The accounts are opened in your business name with your payment method, and the company is added as a manager you can remove at any time.
The answer that should worry you: “We set everything up in our account to keep it simple.” If you leave, the account history, the data and often the phone numbers stay with them.
02Is ad spend billed separately from your fee, and do I pay the platforms directly?
The answer you want: Yes. You pay the ad platform directly on your own card, and the company's fee is a separate line you can see.
The answer that should worry you: One bundled monthly number. You cannot tell how much reached the ad platform and how much was kept as markup.
03How long is the contract, and how do I get out?
The answer you want: A short starting term, then month to month, with a written notice period spelled out in the agreement.
The answer that should worry you: A twelve-month term with an early termination fee, or an answer that changes when you ask to see it in writing.
04Who runs my account day to day, where are they, and can I talk to them?
The answer you want: A named person, where they are based, and how to reach them directly. You can talk to the person doing the work, not only a salesperson.
The answer that should worry you: “Our team handles it.” No name, no direct number, and a different contact every time you call.
05Do you record and listen to the calls your ads generate?
The answer you want: Yes. Every call from the ads is tracked and recorded, and someone listens to judge lead quality and how your office answers.
The answer that should worry you: They count calls but never listen to them, so a wrong number and a signed roof look the same on the report.
06Will I see cost per signed job, or only cost per lead?
The answer you want: Cost per signed job, built from your closed jobs, sitting next to cost per lead so you can see both. Here is how cost per signed job works for DFW contractors.
The answer that should worry you: Cost per lead only, or a claim that what happens after the lead is not their job.
07What happens to a lead that comes in at 9 pm on a Saturday?
The answer you want: A specific answer: an automated reply within minutes, who calls back and when, and a record of both you can check.
The answer that should worry you: “It goes to your inbox.” That homeowner calls the next contractor long before Monday.
08Are the leads exclusive to me, or are they sold to other contractors too?
The answer you want: Exclusive. The leads come from ads run in your name, so no other contractor receives them.
The answer that should worry you: Vague talk about a network or a pool of leads. That usually means the same homeowner is sold to several contractors.
09What do you actually do in the first thirty days?
The answer you want: A written list with dates: tracking and call recording installed, accounts audited or built, follow-up set up, then campaigns launched.
The answer that should worry you: “We hit the ground running.” No sequence, no deliverables and nothing you can check off.
10Do you build on my website and my Google profile, or on pages you own?
The answer you want: Everything lives on your website and your Google profile, and it stays yours if you leave. If the site itself was built by a different company, check whether your website agency is good at getting leads before paying for a redesign.
The answer that should worry you: Landing pages, domains or listings they own. When you leave, the rankings and the traffic leave with them.
11What do you need from me every week, and what happens if I do not do it?
The answer you want: A short, honest list, usually answering leads fast and telling them which jobs closed, plus a plain answer about what slips if you skip it.
The answer that should worry you: “Nothing, we handle everything.” Nobody can report signed jobs without hearing from you which jobs signed.
12How do you report, how often, and can I log in and see it myself?
The answer you want: A set schedule, a report built around calls, estimates and signed jobs, and a login so you can check the numbers yourself any day.
The answer that should worry you: A monthly file of clicks and impressions, and no way to see the data between reports.
13What is your guarantee, and is it in the agreement?
The answer you want: A specific guarantee with a number and a remedy, written into the agreement where you can point to the clause.
The answer that should worry you: A guarantee that only exists on the sales call, or one built on rankings or clicks rather than results you can count.
14Can I call a current client in my trade?
The answer you want: Yes, with a name and a phone number for a contractor they work with today, ideally in your trade.
The answer that should worry you: Only written testimonials, only past clients, or a promise to send references later that never arrives.
The six ways contractors get burned
Shared leads sold as exclusive
A lead is described as yours, but the same homeowner's request goes to three or four contractors at once. You find out when the homeowner mentions that someone else already came by. Every contractor then races on price, so the lead costs more than the invoice shows. Ask in writing whether each lead goes to anyone else.
Agency-owned ad accounts you lose when you leave
The company opens the ad account under its own name and runs your campaigns there. When you leave, the account, its history and everything the ad platform learned from your spend stay behind. You start over from zero with the next company. Avoid it by owning the account from day one and adding them as a manager.
“SEO packages” with no deliverable you can see
You pay a monthly fee for search work, and the report says the work is happening. There is no list of pages written, listings fixed or problems solved, only a ranking chart that moves around. If you cannot see what was delivered, you cannot tell whether anything was. Ask for a monthly list of completed work you can open and look at.
Six-month contracts with no exit
The agreement locks you in for six or twelve months with no way out, even if results never arrive. The company has little reason to fix a bad month because the fee arrives either way. By the time the term ends, your busy season is gone. Ask for month to month after a short starting period, with written notice.
An offshore account manager behind a local phone number
The sales call comes from a local number and a local name, but the person running your account is somewhere else and has never seen your market. Questions take days, and nobody knows that hail season matters or which suburbs you serve. You only find out when you ask for a meeting and nobody can make it. Ask who runs the account, where they are, and whether you can speak with them before you sign.
Reports that show clicks and impressions and never a job
Each month a report arrives full of charts showing clicks, impressions and traffic going up. It never mentions a phone call, an estimate or a signed job. Those numbers can rise while your calendar stays empty. Ask for reporting that ends at signed jobs, checked against your own closed-job records.
A one-page version to print
One page, the fourteen questions with a checkbox next to each. No email required. Print it, bring it to the call and check off each answer that holds up.
How DM Marketing answers these
Fair is fair. Here are our answers to the same fourteen questions.
- 1You own them. We are added as a manager.
- 2Yes. You pay the platforms directly, and our fee is flat.
- 3Month to month after the first ninety days, with written notice.
- 4A named account manager in Dallas-Fort Worth. You have their number.
- 5Yes, every call, and we send you the ones worth hearing.
- 6Cost per signed job. That is the number on your report.
- 7An automated text within a minute and a human call the next morning. You see both.
- 8Exclusive. We never sell leads.
- 9Tracking, call recording and the follow-up system first, then ads.
- 10Yours, always.
- 11Answer the leads and tell us what closed, weekly.
- 12A live dashboard you log into, plus a monthly call.
- 13The booked appointment guarantee, in section 5.4 of the agreement.
- 14Yes.
Our management fee is $3,000 a month for Core, $4,500 for Growth or $9,000 for Full Service, with ad spend paid separately to the ad platforms. See what each plan includes on our pricing page, or how we work with contractors across Dallas-Fort Worth.
Book a twenty-minute review →Frequently asked
How much should a marketing company cost for a contractor?
Compare every quote as two separate numbers: the management fee and the ad spend. Fees vary widely with scope, and ad spend sits on top, paid to the ad platform. Ask exactly what the fee includes, such as call tracking, recording, follow-up and reporting, because similar fees often cover very different work. The cost that matters most is what you pay per signed job.
Should a contractor sign a long-term marketing contract?
Usually not without a way out. A short starting term is reasonable, because the first weeks go into tracking, accounts and setup. After that, month to month with written notice keeps the company earning your business every month. If a company insists on a long term, ask what you get in exchange and what happens if results do not arrive.
What is the difference between buying leads and running ads?
When you buy leads, a marketplace sells you a homeowner's contact details, often to several contractors at once, and you pay per lead whether it signs or not. When you run ads, the ads run in your name and the calls come straight to you, so nobody else receives them. Ads take more setup, tracking and follow-up, but the leads are yours alone and the account and data stay with you.
Should I give a marketing company access to my Google Business Profile?
Yes, as a manager, never as the owner. You should stay the primary owner of the profile, and the company should be added as a user you can remove at any time. Ask what they plan to change, such as services, photos, posts and review replies, and ask for a list of changes each month.
How do I know if my marketing company is actually working?
Track three numbers from your own records each month: calls and forms from marketing, estimates scheduled from them, and jobs signed. Divide what you spent, fee plus ad spend, by signed jobs to get cost per signed job. If that number holds steady or improves and you can trace each job to its source, it is working. If the company cannot help you calculate it, treat that as a warning.
Can I run my own ads instead of hiring a company?
You can, and some owners do it well. You need time every week to manage campaigns, a way to track and record calls, someone who follows up on every lead fast, and the discipline to judge results by signed jobs rather than clicks. If you do not have that time, hire help, and use the questions on this page either way. Whoever runs the ads, keep the accounts in your name.