Evaluate an agency proposal line by line, not by its headline price. Score eight areas out of 100: goals and understanding, scope, deliverables, tracking and account ownership, reporting, team and process, fees and spend handling, and exit terms. Give a section zero if it is missing, partial credit if it is vague, and full credit only when it is specific and written. Request three proposals from one identical brief, score each, and ask the highest scorer to fix every item that scored under half. Any proposal that keeps the ad accounts in the agency's name or has no exit clause should be fixed before you sign.
Why a proposal needs a teardown, not a read-through
A proposal is a sales document. It is built to be read quickly and to look complete. Pages of ambition, a polished slide on strategy and a monthly fee at the end can feel like a plan, yet the details that decide whether the engagement works are usually small: who owns the ad account, whether tracking is included, what a monthly report contains, how you leave if it does not work. Those details live in single lines, or are missing entirely.
We already published general guidance on how to choose a marketing agency in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and a legal-style marketing agency contract checklist. This article sits between them. It starts when the proposals are already on your desk and shows how to score each line so you can compare them fairly. The tools here are our own working method, not an industry standard.
Step 0: send every agency the same brief
Comparison collapses when each agency answers a different question. Write a one-page brief and send it to all of them: your business and sectors, the areas you serve, the services you sell, your goal in plain numbers (for example, qualified enquiries a month, if you know them), your current channels, the budget range you are willing to discuss, and the date you need a decision. Ask each agency to respond in the same order. The differences you see after that are the agencies' differences.
The proposal anatomy table
Most proposals can be broken into eight parts. For each part, here is what a specific line looks like, and what a vague one looks like.
| Part | Specific looks like | Vague looks like | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals and understanding | Repeats your business, areas and target customer correctly and names a measurable aim | Generic text that could fit any client | Which part of my business did you check before writing this? |
| Scope | Lists channels, campaigns, pages, platforms and what is excluded | 'Full digital marketing' with no list | What is not included? |
| Deliverables | Quantities and dates, such as number of pages or videos per month | 'Regular content', 'ongoing optimisation' | How many, by when, who approves? |
| Tracking and ownership | Names the tracking set up, the accounts and who owns them | 'Analytics included' | Whose email creates each account? |
| Reporting | Frequency, format, metrics, a review call | 'Monthly report' | Can I see a sample report? |
| Team and process | Roles, a main contact, response routines | 'Dedicated experts' | Who does the work and who reviews it? |
| Fees and ad spend | Agency fee and ad budget shown separately, with what is billed to whom | One bundled number | Does the ad budget go straight to the platform? |
| Exit terms | Notice period, handover list, final billing | Silent, or a long lock-in | What do I receive if I leave? |
The 100-point scoring sheet
Use this sheet for each proposal. The weights are ours: they reflect what most often goes wrong for service businesses, not a universal truth. Change them if your situation differs, but decide the weights before you read the proposals.
| Area | Max points | Full marks when | Zero when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals and understanding | 10 | Your market and goal are described correctly | Generic or wrong |
| Scope | 15 | Included and excluded items are listed | Only a broad label |
| Deliverables | 15 | Quantities, dates and approvals are stated | No numbers |
| Tracking and ownership | 20 | Calls, WhatsApp and forms are tracked; you own the accounts | Agency owns accounts or tracking is absent |
| Reporting | 10 | Fixed schedule, sample shown, includes lead outcomes | Only clicks and impressions |
| Team and process | 10 | Named roles, a clear contact | Unclear who does what |
| Fees and spend handling | 10 | Fees and ad spend are separate and itemised | One unexplained total |
| Exit terms | 10 | Notice, handover and final billing are written | Missing or lock-in without review |
Score each area as zero, half or full. Total out of 100. Our rule of thumb: above 75 is worth negotiating, 50 to 75 needs written fixes before signing, and under 50 means ask for a rewrite or walk away. These are working thresholds from our own method, not a measured benchmark.
Line by line: five sections that deserve extra attention
Scope: read the verbs
Look at the verbs. 'Manage', 'optimise' and 'support' describe activity, not output. Ask the agency to translate each verb into a task and a frequency: manage campaigns means reviewing search terms weekly, adding negatives, checking budget pacing, testing ads monthly. Then you can check it happened. Also look at what is left out. Landing pages, call handling, creative production and tracking are the common gaps.
Deliverables: numbers or nothing
Count nouns and numbers. Six posts a month is a deliverable; 'regular social media' is not. For websites, ask about page count, revisions, languages and the handover of source files. For ads, ask about the number of campaigns and how new ones are approved. A proposal with no numbers cannot be audited, and the disputes in month four begin here.
Tracking and ownership: the section that decides your freedom
Check for the following, each on its own line in the proposal.
- Google Ads, analytics, tag manager and Business Profile accounts created under your business, with the agency added as a manager.
- Call tracking and WhatsApp click tracking, as covered in our tracking guide.
- A definition of a conversion that includes answered calls or qualified chats, not only clicks.
- Access to all dashboards, not only screenshots.
- The call-recording and data policy, if recordings are used.
If an agency insists on owning the ad account, ask why. There may be a technical reason, but the proposal must then state what you receive on exit. Without ownership of history and tracking, switching agency means starting from zero.
Reporting: ask to see a real one
A sample report shows more than any description. Check that it covers leads and outcomes, not only traffic. For service businesses the key lines are calls, WhatsApp chats, qualified enquiries and, where you share data, bookings. If the sample shows only impressions and clicks, the agency is reporting what it can show, not what you need. The same applies to costs: compare the proposal's fee against realistic cost ranges in guides such as our articles on Google Ads cost in the UAE, SEO cost in Dubai and social media marketing cost.
Fees and spend: separate the two
Agency fee and ad spend are different money. The ad budget should be visible, and, ideally, paid to the platform from an account you control. Ask what percentage, if any, is added on top of ad spend, and how reports show both. Our marketing budget guide for small businesses helps you decide a sensible total.
Red-flag phrases and what to ask
| Phrase in the proposal | What it may hide | Ask this |
|---|---|---|
| 'Guaranteed first page' | A promise nobody controls, or a narrow keyword that brings no customers | Which keywords, and how do they connect to enquiries? |
| 'Results in 30 days' | A timeline unrelated to your market | What will be done by day 30 and how will we know? |
| 'Proprietary platform' | Lock-in to the agency's tools | What happens to my data if I leave? |
| 'Unlimited revisions' | No defined finish line | What counts as a revision and who approves? |
| 'Package price, all included' | Ad spend mixed with fee | What portion goes to ads? |
| 'Exclusive agreement for 12 months' | Lock-in without a review point | Is there a review at 3 months and can I leave then? |
A hypothetical comparison
This is an illustration with invented numbers, not a real agency review. Agency A's proposal has a lower monthly fee, scores 6 of 10 on scope, 4 on deliverables, 5 on tracking, 5 on reporting and 3 on exit: 62 of 100 in total once other areas are added. Agency B costs more but states quantities, names account ownership, includes a sample report and a notice period: 81. The owner does not simply choose B. They ask A to put ownership and a sample report in writing. If A does, its score rises and the price gap becomes a real choice. If A refuses, that tells the owner something too. The sheet turns a feeling into a conversation about specific lines.
After you choose
Put the agreed answers in the contract, not only in an email. In the first month, confirm that the accounts are in your name, the tracking works by test calls and test messages, and the first report matches your own lead sheet. Our guide to invalid clicks for service businesses explains one more check on whether the reported traffic is genuine. Then schedule a review at the end of month three.
How we work at ZED
We would rather you compare us with the scoring sheet than trust a pitch. Our method has four steps: research, setup, call and WhatsApp tracking, and monthly reporting, across our listed services: Google Ads, SEO, websites, social media, content videos and conversion tracking. You can see our work in the portfolio and learn more on the about page. We do not publish a price list, we do not promise rankings or a number of leads, and we reply to your business details with an initial plan that you can score like any other.
Frequently asked questions
What should a good marketing proposal include?
At minimum: the goal in your words, the exact deliverables with quantities and dates, who owns each account and asset, how tracking will be set up, the reporting format and schedule, the fees split into agency fee and ad spend, the contract term, and how either side can end it. If any of these is missing, ask for it in writing before signing.
Is the cheapest proposal the one to avoid?
Not automatically. The question is what the price buys. Compare scope, hours, deliverables and what is excluded. A low fee that leaves out tracking or reporting, or an unclear ad budget handling, may cost more later. Use the scoring sheet and compare totals, not headline prices.
Who should own the Google Ads and analytics accounts?
You should, as the business. Ask that accounts are created under your own email or company profile and the agency is added as a manager or user. Then, if you part ways, your history and tracking stay with you. Ask for this in the proposal, not after launch.
What does a fair exit clause look like?
A notice period you can plan around, no penalty beyond the notice, a handover of accounts, creatives and tracking, and clarity about the final invoice. Be wary of a long lock-in with no performance review point. Our contract checklist goes further on legal clauses, though a lawyer should review the final contract.
Should an agency promise results?
Be careful with promises of exact rankings, a fixed number of leads or a result within a fixed number of days. Markets, competitors and your own follow-up affect outcomes. A serious proposal explains what it will do, how it will measure and when it will review, and does not guarantee outcomes outside its control.
How many proposals should I compare?
Three is practical. Fewer gives you no reference point, and more makes the comparison unwieldy. Send all three the same one-page brief so that differences come from the agencies, not from different questions.
How do I judge case studies in a proposal?
Ask what the starting point was, what was done, over what period, and what was measured. Treat unlabelled percentages and screenshots without context as marketing, not evidence. Ask whether a client can confirm the work.
How does ZED present its proposals?
We send a plan that follows our four steps: research, setup, call and WhatsApp tracking and monthly reporting. We do not publish prices and we do not promise rankings or lead counts. Send your details on WhatsApp for an initial plan.
Comparing proposals and want a second pair of eyes?
Send us the proposal questions you have, or your business details if you want our plan. We reply on WhatsApp with an initial plan, and you can score it with the same sheet.
Send your questions on WhatsApp Call 01097079170