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The Agency Worth Hiring Workbook

By the end you'll know the one thing you need help with. You'll also have every agency on your list sorted by what it actually does, their answers to the five questions side by side, and a pick (or a clear 'not yet') with the promise and end date in writing.

Free workbook12 pagesabout 45 minutes, plus the time to send messages and take calls

What you'll have at the end

  • The one thing you need an agency to do, in one sentence
  • A short list sorted by what's done for you, not by price
  • Every agency's answers to the five questions, side by side
  • Your pick (or a clear no), with who answers leads, who closes, the promise and the end date in writing

Inside

  1. Name the one thing you're missing
  2. List your agencies by what they actually do
  3. Ask every agency the five questions
  4. Put them side by side and pick one, or none
  5. Get the promise and end date in writing
  6. Your 7-day plan
Jason O'DellBy Jason O'Dell, founder of RiseForIt. Goes with the free guide Pick a Fitness Marketing Agency That's Worth the Cost.
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RRiseForItThe Agency Worth Hiring Workbook

Step 1 of 5 · Learn it

Name the one thing you're missing

If you hire for the wrong gap, you pay every month and nothing changes. My first three online trainers all ghosted me for the same reason: "I just don't know what to post." That was a content gap, and more ads would not have fixed it.

How to do it

  1. Go down the checklist below and tick what already happens without you forcing it.
  2. Look at the last 30 days. Count your posts, the messages or comments asking about training, the calls you booked, and your new paying clients.
  3. Find the first place it stops. If nobody sees your content, you need content. If people message you and nothing happens, you need follow-up and someone to sell.
  4. Write that one thing in a single sentence. That's what you hire for.
  5. Write down what you already have covered, so you don't pay for it twice.

Example: Maya, an in-person trainer in a commercial gym who wants online clients

Already happening: I film fine on my phone. I answer every DM the same day.

Last 30 days: 9 posts, about 200 views each, 2 messages, 1 call, 0 new clients.

Where it stops first: hardly anyone sees my posts, and I never know what to say in them.

The one thing I need: scripts and posting, so the right people see me.

Already covered, don't pay for it: answering DMs.

Your turn on the next page →

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Step 1 of 5 · Your turn

Name the one thing you're missing

Already happening without an agency (tick what's true)

My last 30 days: posts, messages, calls booked, new paying clients

Where it stops first

The one thing I need an agency to do

What I already have covered (don't pay for this)

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Step 2 of 5 · Learn it

List your agencies by what they actually do

Two agencies can quote you the same price and hand you two completely different jobs. If you compare price alone, you can end up paying for editing when what you needed was someone to answer your leads.

How to do it

  1. Write down 2 to 4 agencies you're thinking about, with their monthly price. Most charge $1,000 to $10,000 a month. Premium ones go past $15,000.
  2. Next to each one, write its type: ads management, editing only, done-for-you content (scripts, editing and posting), or lead follow-up and sales.
  3. Write how many videos a month they make, if any. Short-form content agencies usually make about 20 to 40 at that price.
  4. Check each one against your one thing from page 1. Write Y if it covers it, N if it doesn't.
  5. Cross off every N unless they can add the missing part.

Example: Maya's list

Agency A: $2,500 a month. Ads management. 0 videos. Covers scripts? N. Crossed off.

Agency B: $1,800 a month. Editing only, 30 videos. I'd still write every script. N. Crossed off.

Agency C: $4,000 a month. Scripts, editing and posting, 25 videos. Y. Keep.

Agency D: $3,500 a month. Scripts, editing, posting, plus follow-up and sales, 20 videos. Y. Keep.

Your turn on the next page →

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RRiseForItThe Agency Worth Hiring Workbook

Step 2 of 5 · Your turn

List your agencies by what they actually do

My agency list

AgencyPrice a monthType (ads / editing / done-for-you / follow-up and sales)Videos a monthCovers my one thing? Y/N
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Step 3 of 5 · Learn it

Ask every agency the five questions

A good agency answers in plain words and doesn't get defensive. A bad one goes vague, and vague is your answer. If you don't write the answers down, every call blurs together by the end of the week.

How to do it

  1. Send the message below to every agency still on your list, so you get their answers in writing first.
  2. On the call, ask anything they skipped. Ask for a name, not a team: "Who, by name, answers my messages?"
  3. Write each answer in their words. If they dodge, write "vague".
  4. Ask them to show you what happens after a lead comes in. Ask for a real message thread or their follow-up steps, not a description.
  5. If we're on your list, ask us the same five questions. Same rules.

Example: Maya's notes on Agency C

Scripts: their writer, Sam, used to coach. Clear.

Comments and messages: 'we hand those back to you.' So that's me.

Sales call: 'that's your side.' So that's me.

End date: none, month to month for as long as I stay.

Promise: 'you'll be really happy with the results.' Vague.

Your turn on the next page →

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RRiseForItThe Agency Worth Hiring Workbook

Step 3 of 5 · Your turn

Ask every agency the five questions

The message to send each agency

Hi , I'm a personal trainer looking for help with . Before we get on a call, can you answer five things in writing? 1. Who writes the scripts, and do they know training? 2. When someone comments or messages me, who answers, and how fast? 3. Who takes the sales call? 4. When does our work together end? 5. What exactly do you promise, and how will we check it? Thanks,

Their answers (write their words, or 'vague')

QuestionAgency 1: ______Agency 2: ______Agency 3: ______
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Step 4 of 5 · Learn it

Put them side by side and pick one, or none

The agency with a clear name next to 'who answers leads' and 'who closes' is the one doing the hard part. Skip this step and you'll pick on price, or on whoever was nicest on the call.

How to do it

  1. Fill in the grid below. Down the left, write: scripts, editing, posting, answering comments and messages, taking the sales call, end date. For each agency, write Agency, Me, or Nobody.
  2. Tick the red flags for each agency.
  3. Cross off any agency with 'Nobody' next to your one thing, answering leads, or the sales call. Only keep it if you'll do that job yourself and you really have the time.
  4. From what's left, pick the one that does the most of the hard part: scripts, follow-up and the sales call. Price breaks a tie. It doesn't make the choice.
  5. If none pass, write 'none yet'. Not hiring is better than paying for views.

Example: Maya's choice

Agency C: scripts and posting covered. Leads and sales calls come back to me. No end date. Vague promise. Red flags: 3.

Agency D: scripts, posting, answers every lead the same day, their closer takes the call, ends at day 90, promise is a number. Red flags: 0.

My pick: Agency D. It covers my gap and the hard part I'd skip.

Who answers my leads: Agency D. Who takes my sales calls: Agency D.

Your turn on the next page →

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Step 4 of 5 · Your turn

Put them side by side and pick one, or none

Who does each job (write Agency, Me, or Nobody)

JobAgency 1Agency 2Agency 3

Red flags (tick any that apply, and write which agency)

My pick and why (or 'none yet')

Who answers my leads, and who takes my sales calls

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RRiseForItThe Agency Worth Hiring Workbook

Step 5 of 5 · Learn it

Get the promise and end date in writing

A vague promise that you'll be 'satisfied' means nothing. If the promise, your part of the deal and the end date aren't written down, you can't hold anyone to them later.

How to do it

  1. Write the promise as a number and a day. For example: one new paying client by day 90.
  2. Write the conditions, meaning what you have to do for the promise to count. Make sure you can check it.
  3. Write the end date and what you want to understand yourself by then.
  4. Write who answers leads and who takes sales calls, by name.
  5. Ask them to put every row in the agreement. Don't sign until each row says Y.

Example: Maya with Agency D

Promise: one new paying online client by day 90. In writing? Y.

My part: post at least 90% of the videos they make. In writing? Y.

End date: day 90. By then I want to know why each video works. In writing? Y.

Leads answered by: their team, same day. Sales calls: their closer. In writing? Y.

How we check: a weekly call. In writing? N. Asked them to add it before I sign.

Your turn on the next page →

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Step 5 of 5 · Your turn

Get the promise and end date in writing

What goes in the agreement

ItemWhat they saidIn writing? Y/N

Anything still missing before I sign

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The plan

Your next 7 days

One small job a day. By day 7 you've picked an agency worth the cost, or you've kept your money.

Your answers, in one place

The one thing I need
My pick
Who answers leads and closes

One small job a day

DayDo thisDoneNotes
Day 1Write the one thing you need in one sentence and stick it where you'll see it.
Day 2List 2 to 4 agencies with price and type. Cross off any that miss your one thing.
Day 3Send the five-question message to every agency still on your list.
Day 4Write their answers into the table as they arrive. Anyone vague gets one follow-up, then a line through their name.
Day 5Ask each agency left to show you what happens after a lead comes in.
Day 6Fill in the who-does-each-job grid and the red flags. Write your pick, or 'none yet'.
Day 7Get the promise, your part, the end date, and who answers leads and closes into the agreement before you sign.
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