A lot of the teams we speak with have been burned before. Some by an agency, some by cheap callers, some by an in-house hire who didn't work out.
We went back through our sales calls from the last six months and listened for how past programs failed. The same stories came up again and again. This isn't about any one agency. These are patterns, and a few of them we had to fix in our own business too.
For each one, there's a question to ask before you sign with anyone, including us.
1. They contact the wrong people
The most common story. The agency builds a big list fast, sends to everyone on it and calls it reach. Buyers told us about meetings outside their market, and about outreach that hurt their reputation with the very accounts they wanted.
This usually happens because the agency is measured on activity and meetings, not on fit, and nobody on the client side approved the list.
Ask: Who builds the list, how is it checked, and do I approve it before anything goes out?
2. One rep does everything
Many programs assign one SDR to research, write emails, run LinkedIn, make calls and follow up. Those are different skills. In practice the rep does what they're best at and the other channels quietly fade.
Ask: Who runs each channel, and what happens to the others when that person is busy?
3. You can't see the work
"We don't know what's happening" is how a lot of agency relationships end. A monthly slide deck with dial counts tells you very little. You can't hear how your product is being pitched, and you can't tell a bad week from a bad strategy.
Ask: Can I listen to the calls? What exactly do I get every week?
4. Meetings that go nowhere
Buyers described meetings that were booked to hit a number: the wrong title, no real interest, no context. Their AEs walked in blind, the meeting went nowhere, and the AE stopped trusting outbound leads.
Ask: What counts as a qualified meeting, in writing? What arrives with each meeting I'm sent?
5. Pay-per-meeting pricing rewards the easiest meetings
Paying only for meetings sounds safe. But think about what it rewards. If the agency is paid per meeting, the hardest and most valuable accounts are the ones they have every reason to skip, and the definition of a "meeting" tends to stretch. One CRO told us pay-per-meeting programs gave him poor results, and another buyer worried it would push the hard accounts aside.
Ask: How does your pricing change what your team works on day to day?
6. Reading a script instead of having a conversation
Buyers can tell when a caller doesn't understand the product. Several teams told us about vendors whose callers read scripts word for word. It sounded like a call center, and it didn't work.
Ask: Who exactly will be on the phone? How do they learn my product? Can I review the script and hear the first calls?
7. Automation instead of people
Inboxes are full of AI-written outreach. One buyer told us they get more than a hundred low-quality AI emails a week. When an agency leans on volume and automation, replies drop, domains get burned and your brand ends up in that pile.
Ask: Who writes the copy, how many emails go out per inbox, and how do you protect deliverability?
8. Big promises on the sales call, no plan when it's slow
A common pattern: a specific meeting number is promised to win the deal, the first weeks come in under it, and there's no plan for what happens next. The client is left to chase.
Outbound takes time to ramp, usually around 90 days. A good partner tells you that up front and has a plan for when results are behind.
Ask: What happens in weeks four to eight if we're behind target? Who owns the fix?
9. Turnover resets everything
SDRs move on. Median annual SDR attrition is around 40% (The Bridge Group, 2025). When the one rep on your account leaves, the learning often leaves with them, and you start again.
Ask: What happens when someone on my account leaves? Do I keep the lists, scripts, recordings and playbook?
A checklist to take into any agency call
| Ask this | A good answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| Do I approve lists and messaging first? | Yes, in writing, before launch |
| Who runs each channel? | A named specialist per channel |
| Can I hear the calls? | Every call is recorded and shared |
| What do I get each week? | A report on every channel, plus a review call |
| What counts as a qualified meeting? | A written definition you agree on |
| How are you paid? | A model that rewards the right meetings, not the easy ones |
| What happens if we're behind? | A named owner and a written plan |
| What do I keep if we stop? | Lists, scripts, recordings and playbook |
We built BizDev Labs around these questions. If you want to see how we answer each one, read why teams bring in BizDev Labs or why we built BizDev Labs this way.
