How to Ask Your Boss to Hire a Marketing Agency

ask sign
Written By: Holmes Team

Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to ask your parents to let you and your friend hang out after school? This is kind of like that, only way more important for your organization’s long-term success.

Asking your boss for anything can be stressful. Even if you work for is very understanding and agreeable, it is still a big deal to ask someone to spend funds that you recommend. Especially if that means outsourcing a portion of your organization to another agency.

It can be near impossible in a small to mid-sized business to keep your marketing afloat. Even when you have a fully dedicated marketing person, you probably regularly see your to-do list growing, getting behind on writing and booking advertising space, creating collateral, etc.

Below, we share some key indicators that your organization is in need of a marketing agency along with some tips to keep in mind when going to ask your boss.

The indicators

1- You don’t have the budget, time, or resources to hire on a full-time marketing team member. Companies and organizations can spend upwards of $100k a year on hiring and maintaining a new marketing professional. Why not save on a large sticker price and reallocate to an entire team of professionals instead?

2- Your organization is growing and you no longer have the capacity to handle all the marketing needs. So say you are the full-time marketing person for your organization, but your team has seen a lot of success lately and you are being overrun with the new ideas, opportunities, and tasks? This is the time to reach out and add to your brainstorming, planning, and executing.

3- Your current marketing agency doesn’t have the capacity, knowledge, expertise, or the right understanding of your organization. If your current marketing partner can’t or won’t meet you where you need to be, it is time to realign yourself before you are too far in.

What to Keep in Mind When Asking

1- TIMING IS EVERYTHING. If you know your boss just got off the phone with a difficult client, their day is already filled with another decision making, or they just seem like they’re not in a good mood, this is not the time to ask. We recommend taking some time to look at their schedule and ask for an hour or two of their time when you think they are going to be able to give you the most undivided attention.

2- Figure out their communication style. (FYI – You should know this anyway). Then, communicate with them in the “language” that makes the most sense for them. If they enjoy power points, make a powerpoint. If they require a lot of visuals, practice your graphics making ability! Here’s a great tool for that.

3- Have as much knowledge of the organization’s full picture as possible. Try to find out before you are presenting if what you are asking is financially possible. Find out if they’ve already been in conversation with agencies, and find out which ones. You want to do everything you can to not be blindsided.

4- Do as much of your own research as possible beforehand. Search and find 2-3 marketing agencies in your surrounding area that you think have the capabilities you are in need of. Give those agencies a call and ask what they specialize in and if they would be interested in an introductory meeting. This intro meeting would help you gain a first impression of the people you could be potentially signing yourself up to work with for years to come.

5- Make everything as easy as possible for your leadership to want to move forward. Offer to set times, objectives, and agendas for meeting with potential agencies.

Be Patient

Finding the right partner in your marketing might take some time, but in the end, ROI will be worth your hard work and dedication.