Nick Is a Tool · X-Ray

What is really on your agency invoice?

Agencies run on a rule of thumb: the person doing your work has to bill out at about three and a half times what they are paid. Put in your numbers and see how much of your money reaches the person actually doing the work.

From Chapter 19 of Picklefarts: Why I Will Never Be an Agency

Your agency

Sample: a small business on a $3,000 monthly retainer. Type over it.

Their hourly rate

Hours a month

Retainer? Divide it by their rate.

Who do you talk to?

The person who actually does the work An account manager who passes it along Honestly, it keeps changing

How do they bill you?

Hourly, with timesheets and notes I can see A flat project price A monthly retainer, no timesheets

What does their monthly report show?

Leads, customers and revenue Impressions, clicks and reach We do not really get one

Who owns your accounts, files and domain?

We do, and I could prove it this afternoon I think we do The agency

Estimated pay of the person doing your work$0

The person doing the workEverything else

Ask questions

Ask these on your next call

To be fair: agencies have real costs, and the good ones are specialists who do one thing very well. The 3.5x figure is a rule of thumb, not your agency's books. The problem is not that they make money. It is paying expert rates for work you cannot see, by people you have never met.

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