Looking for a new PR agency? Here’s the one question to ask first.

One of the common questions I hear from startups is “I want to find a new PR agency. Who should I hire?”

OK. If we’re being honest, the question is usually: “most PR agencies are terrible, how can I find a good one?”

And founders often have this bias because they’ve been burnt before. It goes like this: they hire a Shiny New Agency with Great Relationships who will Help Build the Business. There’s a honeymoon period where the founder is featured in a great story. But soon the productivity of the relationship mysteriously drops off. “PR isn’t helping their business.” Their agency “doesn’t have the right contacts”, and it’s “too expensive for what they’re getting.” The relationship becomes strained, and founders are convinced that they didn’t make the right hire. They just need to replace the agency, right?

Here’s the thing — at this point, founders are probably down the path to another frustrating relationship. Because the number one question to ask is not “who’s the best agency,” but “what kind of client will I be for the next 12–24 months?”

Let me explain.

Of course, there are terrible PR agencies, like there are terrible VCs, marketers, and NFL quarterback prospects. Sometimes people simply are all talk and can’t deliver. But honestly, these cases are rarer than founders (and sometimes investors) want to think. More often, like the quarterback who struggles with one team and flourishes in another organization, agency success is a matter of fit, of expectations and management.

I’m continuing the metaphor with you, Alex Smith.

You’d never hire a general contractor, say “build me a house,” and come back in a year to see what happened, right? But very often companies will hire an agency partner that pitches well and then expect that agency to “run itself” without much more than a weekly status call and 14-days’ notice in advance of a product launch. Sometimes this works! Usually it doesn’t.

Truth is, you get out of any external partner what you put into the relationship, and mutual success depends less on the skills and pedigree of the agency partner, and more on how well you establish the relationship from the very beginning.

Which gets us back to that question — “what kind of client will I be for the next 12–24 months?” No agency is right for every business, and clearly understanding who you are and what you need today is key to establishing a strong, productive partnership.

Here are some aspects to consider before an agency search:

Think about your business:

1. What impact do you need from press this year? Do you expect press to drive direct transactions? (e.g. app downloads, customer inquiries, purchases) Help with fundraising? Grease the wheels for hiring?
2. Do you operate in an esoteric space where subject-matter expertise or specific relationships are valuable, and/or do you need generalists who can translate your product for a wide market?
3. Do you have 12–24 months of topics that will be interesting to an outside audience? Do you even need an ongoing agency or would a project-based consultant be better?

Think about resources:

1. Who will manage this agency, what expertise do they have, and how much time can they spend on it?
2. Do you have money or in-house resources (design, data, etc) to support PR activities beyond agency fees?

And think about expectations:

1. What will success look like in 12 months? Is it a specific type of story? Customer inbounds? Becoming known for a specific market or attribute?
2. Do you expect a PR agency to manage multiple areas (presentation building, media relations, event management, IR, strategic partnerships) or are you only focused on press coverage?

Once you’re clear on who *you* are, it’s easier to find a partner that matches these needs. Sure, in a pitch process, agencies might say “we can do all of this and more!” Similar to a job interview, it’s your role to ask the right questions and then listen between the lines. Importantly, it’s a chance to make your expectations clear before any engagement.

For example: if your product is complicated, ask how this partner has helped simplify a story for mass engagement. If you’re in a service space, have they successfully worked with small businesses who don’t have a physical product? If simply hiring the agency stretches your budget, don’t select a partner whose work typically centers around activations, content strategies and partnerships. Have discussions beyond their pitch deck and case studies, and don’t be afraid to walk away from a nice team that doesn’t seem like a fit.

When you’ve found The One — congratulations! Now the real work begins in holding this team to the brief that, happily, you have already created. Don’t just have a junior team member nod along to the weekly status call reporting — use the time to discuss how the plan is delivering on your expectations. If it’s not, ask your agency partner why and really work with the answer.

Lastly, re-assess this question regularly (yearly will do). A clear vision will help you navigate your working relationship with your agency and most importantly, get the results you want.