Reference Conversations With an Agency’s Existing Clients: What to Ask and How to Read the Answers

Editorial team Spend Ledger

Why reference conversations matter

An agency’s existing clients can offer a useful view of how the relationship works after the proposal and onboarding are over. Their experience may help you assess communication, reporting, billing, problem-solving and the practical arrangements around advertising accounts.

A reference conversation is not an audit, a guarantee or a substitute for written terms. The advertiser you speak with may have different goals, account structures, spending patterns and expectations from yours. They may also be sharing only part of their experience. Use the conversation to identify issues to clarify, not to assume that your results or working relationship will be the same.

This is especially important when an agency provides access to advertising accounts or manages accounts within a business-level structure. Ask who owns and controls each account, what access your team receives, how payments and records are handled, and what happens if the relationship ends. Any arrangement must remain consistent with the advertising platform’s rules. A reference cannot validate an arrangement that the platform does not permit.

How to request a useful reference

Ask the agency whether it can connect you with a client whose work is reasonably comparable to yours. “Comparable” might mean a similar campaign objective, operating model, level of agency involvement or account arrangement. The closest match may still differ in important ways, so ask the agency to explain the basis for its choice.

You can also ask whether the reference is a current client and whether the agency selected the person. It is normal for an agency to choose whom it introduces, but that means you are hearing a curated perspective. Do not treat the introduction as independent verification.

Before the conversation, agree on a suitable format and keep the request respectful of the client’s time and confidentiality. Avoid asking for private account access, confidential performance data, customer information or documents they are not authorised to share. If the agency cannot arrange a conversation, ask what other evidence it can provide, such as a clear description of its process or sample reporting with sensitive information removed.

Prepare questions before you speak

Decide what you need to learn, rather than trying to cover every detail of the other advertiser’s business. Keep questions open-ended and ask for examples where the person can share them without breaching confidentiality. A useful follow-up is: “What happened next?” This can distinguish a general impression from a specific account of how the agency behaved.

You may want to take notes, but do not record the conversation unless everyone agrees. Separate what the client directly observed from what they inferred. For example, a delayed response is an observation; a claim that the agency did not care is an interpretation.

Consider preparing questions about these areas:

• Day-to-day communication and escalation.
• The accuracy and clarity of reporting.
• Billing, fees and account-related charges.
• Handling of policy, verification or account-access problems.
• Account ownership, permissions and continuity.
• The process for reducing or ending the agency’s involvement.

The following questions are prompts, not a checklist that every reference must answer in the same way.

Questions about communication and reporting

How does the agency communicate when work is progressing normally, and when something needs attention? Listen for a clear working rhythm, agreed points of contact and an understandable way to raise urgent issues. A polished answer is less informative than an example of how expectations were set and met. If the client describes inconsistent contact, ask whether the agency addressed it when raised.

Can you describe a time when a campaign or account issue did not go to plan? The point is not whether problems occurred; advertising work can involve uncertainty. Listen for whether the agency explained what it knew, what remained unclear and what it proposed to do. Be cautious if the account becomes only a story of blame, with no explanation of the agency’s actions or the client’s role.

How do you check whether the reports reflect what is happening in the account? Ask what the client can see directly, how reporting connects to the platform’s own records and how differences are discussed. A report should make its definitions and limitations understandable. If the client cannot explain what is included, excluded or attributed, treat that as a reason to seek a reporting walkthrough before signing.

Has the agency corrected a report or changed its explanation after reviewing the underlying information? A willingness to correct an error can be a positive sign, but the details matter: Was the correction clear, timely and documented? Do not assume that one correction proves reporting is reliable, or that a minor discrepancy proves dishonesty. Ask how the agency distinguishes platform-reported performance from other measures used in the client’s business.

Questions about billing and problems

How are fees, media charges and other account-related costs explained and reconciled? Look for a distinction between the agency’s fee, advertising spend and any other agreed charges. Ask whether invoices and platform records are easy to compare, and what happens when they do not match. Vague answers call for clearer written terms, not an assumption of misconduct.

What happens when there is a payment, access, verification or policy issue? Ask who is responsible for communicating with the platform, what information the client is expected to provide and how the agency keeps the client informed. The agency should work through official support and appeal channels where appropriate and address the underlying issue. A reference who describes bypassing checks or restrictions is not evidence of a sound process; it is a reason to pause and verify that the proposed work complies with platform rules.

How does the agency respond when the client challenges a decision or asks for a change? Listen for a process that allows questions, explains trade-offs and records agreed actions. A respectful disagreement can be normal. What matters is whether the agency gives a reasoned answer and whether the client can make informed decisions about budgets, account access and campaign direction.

Questions about account arrangements and ending the relationship

Who controls the advertising accounts and access, and what can the client see or manage directly? Ask the reference to describe the practical arrangement without sharing confidential credentials or account details. The answer should help you understand ownership, permissions, billing responsibility and access to campaign history. Ask the agency to confirm the same points in writing and ensure the setup complies with the platform’s current terms.

If the relationship ended, what happened to access, records and ongoing work? This question can reveal whether responsibilities were clear before a disagreement arose. Listen for how access was handled, whether records were available and how outstanding invoices or tasks were settled. A client who has never ended the relationship may not know how the process works; in that case, treat the answer as incomplete and ask the agency to explain its offboarding terms directly.

What would you want to clarify before starting with this agency? This broad closing question can surface practical lessons the client did not mention earlier. Ask what they would put in writing, such as response expectations, reporting definitions, approval responsibilities, account control or the process for changing scope. Take the answer as one person’s perspective, not as a universal rule.

How to weigh answers selected by the agency

A reference chosen by the agency is inherently selective. The client may be satisfied, may have a particularly strong working relationship or may be comfortable discussing only certain aspects. That does not make the conversation worthless, but it limits what you can conclude from it.

Look for consistency between the reference’s account, the agency’s proposal and the written agreement. If the client says reports are reconciled regularly, ask the agency how that process is documented. If the client describes clear access and ownership, make sure your own contract and account setup reflect the same arrangement. Differences may have a reasonable explanation, but they should be resolved before work begins.

Give more weight to concrete examples than broad endorsements. “They are responsive” tells you less than a description of how a missed deadline was handled. At the same time, do not overread a single incident without understanding its context. Ask what the client expected, what was agreed and how the agency responded.

Be alert to answers that are unusually vague, rehearsed or focused only on results. Campaign outcomes depend on factors beyond the agency’s control, so a positive outcome alone does not establish reliable conduct. Likewise, an advertiser’s disappointment does not by itself show that the agency acted improperly. Separate process quality from performance claims.

Turn the conversation into written checks

After speaking with a reference, write down the points that matter to your decision and raise them with the agency. Ask for clear written explanations of scope, fees, reporting methods, account ownership and permissions, payment responsibilities, escalation paths and exit arrangements. Confirm which party is responsible for approvals and for responding to official platform requests.

For budgets and expected returns, use your own assumptions and make them explicit. A reference’s past spending or results cannot establish what your business will achieve. Work through your own break-even logic, test plan and risk tolerance, then agree on how changes to spend will be reviewed. Keep access and account structures within the platform’s rules; do not treat an agency’s practices or a client’s anecdote as permission to avoid limits, checks or verification.

Reference conversations are most useful when they produce specific questions and verifiable commitments. If answers remain unclear, seek clarification through the agency’s official channels and review the platform’s current help and policy pages. Treat uncertainty as something to resolve before relying on the arrangement, not as a reason to assume the best or the worst.