YourAgencyIsUsingYourBudgetforTraining
Most agency work is done by people with 6 to 18 months experience. Senior strategists pitch the work; junior executives execute it. Your budget funds their learning curve.
The Bait-and-Switch of Agency Pitches
The pitch meeting includes the agency's best people. Experienced strategists, confident presenters, people who have seen everything and solved complex problems.
You sign the contract. A week later, your day-to-day contact is someone with a year of experience managing eight other accounts. The senior team has moved on to pitching the next client.
"The people who sell you are rarely the people who serve you. This is not hidden; it is just not mentioned."
How Agency Staffing Actually Works
Typical Agency Structure
- • Directors: Pitch, set strategy, attend quarterly reviews
- • Account Managers: Client communication, reporting, escalation
- • Executives: Daily campaign management, actual work in the account
Most of your fee pays for executives. They are the least experienced and lowest paid.
The Utilisation Economics
Agencies measure success by utilisation: what percentage of staff time is billable. Higher utilisation means higher profit.
Junior staff are cheaper. Using them maximises the gap between what you pay and what the agency spends on salaries. This is called "leverage" and it is how agencies make money.
The Learning Curve Cost
A junior executive making their first significant decisions will make mistakes. These mistakes are made with your money. By the time they are experienced, they often move to another agency or get promoted off your account.
Questions to Ask
- "Who specifically will manage my account day-to-day?"
Not the team, the person. Get a name and a LinkedIn profile. - "How many years of experience do they have?"
Be direct. Vague answers like "very experienced team" are non-answers. - "How many other accounts do they manage?"
More than 10 means you are getting hours, not attention. - "Can I meet them before signing?"
If no, why not? What are they hiding? - "What happens if they leave?"
Staff turnover is high. Know the transition plan.
What Good Looks Like
Good agencies are honest about staffing:
- • They introduce you to your actual team before signing
- • They explain the experience level and role of each person
- • They describe how senior oversight actually works
- • They have reasonable account-to-staff ratios
- • They acknowledge trade-offs in their model
Our Approach
We are a small team. That means the people you meet are the people who do the work. We do not have layers of junior staff learning on your account.
This limits how many clients we can serve. We accept that trade-off because we think the alternative is worse for everyone.