Most failed engagements showed their warning signs in the first meeting. The problem is knowing how to read them. Here are the ones worth pausing over.
During the pitch
1. They quote before asking questions
Anyone giving you a number before understanding your business, margins and customer value is guessing. A serious agency asks first: what do you sell, what is a customer worth, what have you already tried?
2. They guarantee a specific result
“We'll get you to number one on Google” or “100 leads guaranteed.” Nobody controls the auction or the algorithm. The only legitimate guarantee is one of method — here's how we'll work, measure and adjust.
3. They blend ad budget into the fee
“10,000 all inclusive.” This makes both impossible to evaluate — you'll never know whether the advertising worked or the agency did.
4. Implausibly cheap
If a quote is far below the others, ask who will do the work and for how much. An agency sells human time. If the price can't cover decent hours, the work gets done fast or by someone very junior.
5. The accounts will be in their name
The most dangerous one. If the ad account and pixel belong to them, you're building an asset in someone else's house — and leaving means starting from zero.
Once work is underway
6. Reports made of reach and engagement
Reach, views and followers feel like success and pay no invoices. If a report contains no cost per result, it's measuring activity, not outcomes.
7. Nothing ever fails
Every campaign has creative that worked and creative that didn't. An agency whose reports are all good news either isn't testing or isn't telling you.
An agency that never reports a failure isn't testing anything.
8. You don't know who works on your account
You met the senior team in the pitch and got handed to the most junior person after signing. Ask by name upfront.
9. Slow replies, cold leads
If the agency itself takes two days to reply to you, imagine the response time on your prospects. In Egypt specifically, a warm lead goes cold in hours.
10. The creative never changes
Same templates, same angles, month after month. Creative fatigue quietly raises your costs while nobody mentions it.
11. They never say no
An agency that agrees with every idea isn't thinking — it's executing. One doing its job will sometimes push back and explain why.
12. They never ask about your sales
If nobody asks “how many of the leads we sent actually closed?”, their job ends at the lead. And a lead that doesn't convert isn't a result — it's a number.
The difference is in the answers
| Question | An agency that works | An agency that talks |
|---|---|---|
| What did a result cost? | A specific figure with context | “Reach was excellent” |
| What failed? | Examples and the changes made | “It all went well” |
| Who works on my account? | Names and roles | “A full team” |
| Whose name are the accounts in? | Yours, of course | An evasive answer |
| What do you guarantee? | Method and measurement | A specific outcome |
We publish our real numbers and full pricing — so you can judge for yourself instead of taking anyone's word.
What's the most serious red flag?
Guaranteeing a specific result. Nobody controls the ad auction or Google's algorithm. Anyone promising “first place” or “100 leads a month” is either lying or will use methods that damage you later.
How can I tell if an agency actually measures?
Ask what a result cost in their last three campaigns and how that number moved over months. Agencies that measure answer with figures immediately. Agencies that don't talk about reach and engagement.
Is it a red flag if an agency never reports failure?
Yes, a strong one. Every campaign has things that worked and things that didn't. An agency whose reports are all good news either isn't testing anything or isn't telling you the truth.