Selection framework & scorecard

Choose an agency the same way you hire a senior operator: test for judgment, stamina, and honesty. This framework forces comparison across the hard things that actually matter.

Must-have evaluation criteria

Strategic fit (vision, industry experience)

Strategy is not a slide deck. Look for:

• Clear POV on your vertical and buying cycle.
• Examples of decisions they made that changed outcomes, not just campaigns they ran.
• Answers that include tradeoffs. If they promise everything, they don’t know your problem.

Example: if you sell embedded software to manufacturers, a partner who has shipped content that reduced demo friction for engineers is worth more than one with only pure SaaS case studies.

Execution capability (channels, creative, tech)

Don’t buy channels. Buy consistent delivery across them.

• Can they show repeatable processes for paid, email, ABM and organic content?
• Ask for specific recent creative samples and how they were reworked after A B testing.
• Confirm technical chops: tag management, pixel hygiene, CRM integration.

Measurement & attribution approach

If they can’t explain how a campaign influenced pipeline without hand-waving, walk away.

• Look for multi-touch thinking and a plan to reconcile marketing touch data with closed won.
• They should own lead quality metrics, not just clicks and impressions.

Team experience and continuity

Who’s actually doing the work?

• Check tenure and turnover. A churny vendor means re-dos.
• Meet the handful of people who will own day-to-day. If they dodge that, it’s a red flag.

Commercial fit (price, capacity, notice)

Budget alignment is tactical but lethal if ignored.

• Verify current capacity and notice period for ramping up or cancelling.
• Price should map to outcomes and deliverables, not vanity services.

Proposal scorecard template

Weighted scoring example (strategy 30 / execution 25 / measurement 20 / team & culture 15 / price 10)

Score each proposal 0–5 per criterion, multiply by weight, then sum. Use this to force a choice rather than falling for presentation polish.

How to score deliverables and risks

• Deliverables: score 0 for vague, 3 for plausible, 5 for reproducible with proof.
• Risks: list top 3 risks per vendor and rate probability and impact. High-impact, high-probability risks should knock a vendor down the list even if their score is otherwise high.

Essential discovery questions

12 tactical questions to ask on first call

1. What three metrics will you guarantee or materially affect in 90 days?
2. Who will lead our account and how much of their time is dedicated to us?
3. Show one example of a campaign that failed and what you changed next.
4. What tech stack do you require access to, and why?
5. Describe your QA process for creative and tracking.
6. How do you qualify leads before pushing to sales?
7. Give one example of a cross-channel sequence that generated pipeline for a client like us.
8. How do you handle IP and content ownership after engagement ends?
9. What does your onboarding look like in weeks 1 to 8?
10. What’s your typical ramp time to hit steady state?
11. Who pays for media and third-party vendor costs?
12. Share two references with similar business models and stage.

Immediate red flags

Signs to walk away (vague KPIs, no references, hidden fees)

• Vague KPIs that cannot be mapped to revenue. If they default to impressions or followers, they are not B2B focused.
• Refusal to share references or examples of similar work.
• Ambiguous billing: unclear what’s included, pass-through costs, or sudden “platform fees”.
• No written SOW or acceptance criteria.
• Overpromising timelines that ignore your sales cycle.

Essential services & deliverables

You need modules, not packages. Pick the ones that match your funnel gaps.

Core B2B service modules

Demand generation (ABM, paid, content syndication)

Not just ads. Real demand gen ties targeted account lists to tailored creative and a cadence that maps to buyer jobs. Syndication is useful but test conversion rigorously.

Product positioning and messaging

Good messages reduce friction. Look for frameworks that map features to buyer outcomes and incorporate competitive tradeoffs.

Creative & content production (formats and cadence)

Formats matter: engineer audiences read long-form technical notes; procurement prefers datasheets and ROI models. Ask for a content calendar showing formats, owners, and review cycles.

Sales enablement and field marketing

Deliverables here are playbooks, objection handlers, and battle cards. Field events need enablement kits that sales will actually use.

Deliverable checklist by phase

Phase 1 — Strategy: audit, ICP, messaging, channel plan

• Technical audit: tracking, attribution gaps, tag map.
• ICP profiles with buying triggers and personas.
• Messaging hierarchy and proof points.
• Channel plan with prioritized experiments and success metrics.

Phase 2 — Launch: campaigns, playbooks, creative assets

• ABM target list and outreach sequences.
• Paid creative sets with A B test plan.
• Sales playbooks, call scripts, and email templates.
• Tracking implementation and QA report.

Phase 3 — Scale: automation, nurture streams, scaling creative

• Lead scoring and routing rules.
• Multi-touch nurture streams by persona and buying stage.
• Creative production schedule and variant templates.
• Optimization plan tied to cost-per-opportunity targets.

Specializations worth prioritizing

Vertical expertise, complex-sales experience, technical content capability

If you sell into regulated industries or long sales cycles, vertical experience beats generalist marketing knowledge. Also prioritize partners who can write code-level or product-architect content if your buyers are technical.

Pricing, contracts, timelines

Be transactional but fair. Contracts are your insurance policy.

Common pricing models

Monthly retainer, project fees, performance incentives, blended rates

• Retainer for ongoing ops, predictable velocity.
• Project fees for discrete launches.
• Performance incentives for risk-share on pipeline metrics.
• Blended rates when agencies mix senior strategic work and junior execution.

When each model makes sense

• Use retainers when you need continuous campaign execution.
• Choose project fees for one-off audits or launches.
• Use incentives cautiously. They often distort behavior unless incentives are tightly defined and measured.

Contract clauses to require

Clear SOW with milestones and acceptance criteria

SOW should list deliverables, formats, and acceptance tests. No acceptance criteria, no closure.

IP, data access, and reporting rights

Specify ownership of creative and data. Require raw reporting access and extracts on request.

Exit provisions, notice periods, and handover obligations

Define notice periods and a mandatory handover with documentation, asset delivery, and a transition week.

Typical timelines and milestones

Example timeline: 2–4 week discovery, 3 months to first results, 6–12 month maturity

Expect early measurable signals at three months. Predictable, repeatable impact usually shows up after six months.

Milestone payment schedule example

• 20 percent on kickoff
• 30 percent after strategy sign-off
• 30 percent at launch
• 20 percent on steady-state handoff or monthly retainer thereafter

KPIs, attribution, dashboards

Measure what you can tie back to revenue. Anything else is vanity.

North-star and supporting metrics

Revenue-aligned KPIs (pipeline, ARR influence, cost-per-opportunity)

Your north-star is pipeline influenced or ARR influenced. Support with cost-per-opportunity and average deal velocity.

Leading indicators (engagement, MQL→SQL conversion)

Track engagement depth, meeting set rate, and MQL to SQL conversion as early warnings.

Attribution and measurement plan

Recommended models (multi-touch, weighted, closed-loop CRM mapping)

Use a multi-touch approach with weights that reflect typical influence: for example 40 percent to first touch, 40 percent to opportunity-creating touch, and 20 percent spread across mid-funnel touches. Always close the loop to CRM.

Minimum tracking & data requirements (events, UTM taxonomy, CRM fields)

• Event tracking for content consumption and demo requests.
• Rigid UTM taxonomy enforced at the creative level.
• CRM fields for original source, last marketing touch, campaign id, and account score.

Reporting cadence and templates

Weekly tactical, monthly performance, quarterly strategic reviews

Weekly: channel-level KPIs and blockers. Monthly: pipeline and lead quality analysis. Quarterly: strategy changes, budget reallocation.

Dashboard widgets to require (pipeline funnel, cohort LTV, campaign ROI)

• Funnel with conversion rates by stage.
• Cohort LTV and deal velocity by source.
• Campaign ROI and cost-per-opportunity by channel.

Onboarding, team integration

Skip the fluff and get operational fast.

30–60 day onboarding checklist

Stakeholder alignment, data handover, tech access, content audit

• Confirm decision owners and escalation path.
• Hand over CRM access, analytics, and past campaign data.
• Run a content audit mapping assets to funnel stages.

Roles, RACI and working rhythms

Recommended meeting cadence (daily standups, weekly ops, monthly strategy)

• Daily 15 minute standup for blockers.
• Weekly ops for tactical prioritization and backlog grooming.
• Monthly strategy for roadmap and budget alignment.

Communication tools and escalation path

Use shared task boards, a single source for creative assets, and a documented escalation path. Phone numbers matter; email chains do not.

CRM & tech integration checklist

Data mapping, lead routing, SLA automation, testing plan

• Map fields and define lead status transitions.
• Set routing rules and SLA for follow-up.
• Build a testing plan for end-to-end lead flow before any paid push.

Stockholm-specific considerations

Local context changes how you pick a partner.

Local market realities

Language, buying cycles, and B2B buyer conventions

English works broadly, but use Swedish for procurement and public sector buyers. Decision-making is consensus-driven and slow. Expect multiple stakeholders in procurement and technical sign-off.

Budget and rate expectations

Typical retainer bands and one-off project ranges (approximate)

• Small retainers: 40 000 to 80 000 SEK per month for tactical execution.
• Mid-market: 80 000 to 200 000 SEK per month for integrated demand gen and content.
• One-off strategy or audits: 50 000 to 250 000 SEK depending on scope.

Adjust up for multi-language work or heavily technical content.

Compliance and culture points

Data privacy expectations and local business norms

Sweden has strict privacy expectations on top of GDPR. Expect requests for data processing details and minimal tolerance for sloppy tracking. Business relationships value directness and reliability. If you see theatrical salesmanship, be skeptical.