Ask each prospective provider to show or explain these six areas
- Ownership: Who controls the website domain, Google Ads account, Meta business assets, analytics, phone numbers and CRM data? What can be exported if the relationship ends?
- Scope: Who writes creative, approves budgets, builds landing pages, checks tracking, answers inquiries and follows up? What work is excluded?
- Evidence: Are case studies attributable to the provider, from actual clients, and measured over a stated period? Is a demonstration real or illustrative?
- Operations: Who notices when a number breaks, a lead fails to sync, a calendar disconnects, or a campaign begins producing low-quality inquiries?
- Economics: What is the recurring fee? Are ad spend, phone minutes, SMS, software, setup, creative or cancellation charges separate?
- Reporting: Can the provider distinguish impressions, clicks, inquiries, qualified leads, booked appointments, attended appointments and won customers?
Score without pretending the result is scientific
Mark each dimension Clear and verified / Explained but not verified / Unclear or missing. Request a written scope and actual contract before paying. A polished presentation is not evidence that handoffs, permissions or account ownership have been solved.
Three buying structures worth comparing
Separate agencies: flexible specialists but more handoffs to manage. In-house operator: direct control, but one person may not cover creative, media, CRM and technical work. Managed system: fewer interfaces, but scrutinize vendor dependence, service boundaries, accountability and portability.
Warning signs
Guaranteed ranking promises, vague attribution, no access to accounts, results quoted without baseline or timeframe, unclear cancellation terms, and a seller who cannot explain how leads reach the person responsible for closing them.
Is a fully managed system a fit?
We work with established businesses that have meaningful customer value and enough capacity to serve more customers. The Growth System is a complete managed engagement, not an individual SEO or software subscription. Advertising spend and metered AI phone/text usage are separate.