Fire your marketing agency if they can't answer this question

So you hire a digital marketing company to grow your business. You pay them a retainer fee to run ads with high hopes. Then at your first 30-day meeting you hear something like:

"You got over 10,000 impressions!
And 437 hits on your website this month.
AND 213 clicks."

They say it all with a smile like it's great news.

You nod along as they spew layer upon layer of digital bull spit on you.

But let's be honest... they have ZERO idea how this helped your business, and neither do you.

Hard truth: it probably didn't.

But you remain optimistic because you want it all to work. You want the gurus to magically make things better, so you keep paying them hoping things will change.

More hard truth: It's not gonna.

After witnessing thousands of failed agency relationships over the last 10 years, I can confidently tell you that you're not alone.

I can also confidently tell you that there is ONE question you can ask that will very quickly separate the men from the boys when it comes to marketing professionals:

Ask: "What is my cost per selling opportunity?"

If the marketing nerd can't answer what it cost you to have a selling opportunity with a customer, they simply are not qualified to be your guru. But if that's not clear, you have no business advertising.

Quick timeout:

Notice we're using the words "Selling Opportunity" instead of "Lead". This is intentional. A "lead" can mean too many different things to give you clarity on business growth. 

More on this next time...

 
If your ad guys can't get a tracking code on there that would tell you exactly, we want to give you a quick math lesson to calculate.

You'll need two things. The total number of selling opportunities for a given time period (we recommend looking at two months or more). And the total spent on ads for that same timeframe.

It's pretty simple: Total spent on ads / (divided by) Total number of selling opportunities (true leads)

Let's say you've got a cost per selling opportunity of $100. Then you know that for every $100 you spend on ads, you could reasonably expect another selling opportunity.

Now, you've got a powerful growth tool that you can turn up whenever you want.

Don't waste your time worrying about impressions or CPM. Ask them about your cost per selling opportunity.

If they're unable (or unwilling) to give it to you, get out NOW! They aren't equipped to chase after things that will actually grow your business.

We cover this and other ways to save you from wasting your hard-earned $$$ in our book, The Maven Marketer. Get your copy here.