By role · 11 min

How CMOs should evaluate a marketing agency for SaaS

You have been through the RFP theatre. The decks all say integrated, data-driven, and passionate. None of that ships a page. A CMO’s evaluation is simpler and ruder: what is live in week two, who holds the logins, and can they write the board paragraph without a producer.

Written for: CMOs and VPs of Marketing choosing or firing a partner before the next board

Score artifacts, not chemistry

Chemistry is how you hire a dinner guest. Harbor’s board-ready case is the kind of object you should demand: MQLs 42 → 70, time-to-asset 6×, cost analog on the same page. If the agency cannot show a before/after with a window, they are selling mood.

The five questions that end a bad pitch

Ask them in the first meeting. Take notes in the open. Anyone who defers all five to “discovery” is not a partner.

What ships in week two, named as a URL or a file?
Who is the named lead, and are they on this call?
Who owns ads, analytics, and source files on day one?
What is the standing review in my HQ timezone?
What will you refuse to take as a brief?

How to compare a Lagos pod to a US/UK roster

Do not compare city. Compare week-two artifacts and the first-quarter invoice, including their discovery month. Jordan Miles’ filter still holds: growth metrics and craft in the same sentence. If you need a London office for politics, say that out loud — it is a real constraint, not a quality argument.

Checklist

Send the same one-page brief to every shortlisted firm.
Demand a week-two artifact list in writing.
Confirm account ownership in the MSA, not a slide.
Sit in one working session before you sign a retainer.
Price the delay (pipeline) next to the fee.
Keep a 90-day kill criterion the board can read.

Common mistakes

Running a 12-shop RFP for a $2.5k sprint.
Scoring “cultural fit” higher than a live URL.
Letting procurement own the brief so vendors invent the strategy.
Keeping a legacy retainer because switching feels political.

Benchmarks

A URL — Week two. Or you bought a workshop
+68% MQLs — Harbor memo. The shape of proof a CMO can reuse
On the call — Named lead. Not introduced after signature
Same day — Overlap. London all day / NYC morning from WAT

FAQ

How many agencies should a CMO shortlist?

Two or three on the same brief. More than that is how you get generic proposals.

Should we require a local office for US or UK coverage?

Only if you need bodies in the room. Buyers do not see the SOW letterhead. They see the site.

What red flag ends the conversation immediately?

They will not name a week-two delivery, or they need to own your ad account with no admin seat for you.

How do we evaluate creative quality without a taste fight?

Ask whether sales sent the last three assets twice. Unused beauty is inventory.

Can a CMO keep media in-house and creative with Omnidemerge?

Yes. That is a common split. The test list still needs one owner.

What should we put in the first 90-day success clause?

A live destination, a weekly cadence, and a number sales will defend. Not a brand score.