Why do some agency partnerships feel like smooth sailing and others feel…exhausting? It usually comes down to one thing: operational maturity. Choosing the right agency partner goes beyond the flashiness of their creative work or the compellingness of their pitch. The best ideas can fall flat without the structure and discipline to bring them to life on time and on budget. That’s where operations and project management come in, and where many agencies fall short.

If you’re involved in an RFP or partner evaluation assessment, this is where to look under the hood. It’s worth finding out more about your marketing team’s processes beyond surface-level credentials. Here’s a checklist of six operational red flags that may indicate an agency is more sizzle than substance, and what to look for instead.

1. Do They Offer a Clear Project Management Approach?

Red Flag: The agency can’t articulate how they manage timelines, resources, or approvals. They mention “collaboration” but can’t describe their workflow.

Brand building and marketing campaigns involve complex timelines. Between managing internal stakeholders, aligning on messaging, launching assets across multiple channels, and meeting hard deadlines, there’s a lot that can go off track.

At Frankel, our project management approach blends structure with flexibility. Every engagement kicks off with a clear plan that outlines timelines, deliverables, roles, and communication protocols. We use Kantata to manage resourcing, deadlines, and task-level accountability, giving both our team and clients full visibility from day one.

Clients can expect visual project roadmaps, weekly status reports, and real-time dashboards that track progress and flag potential risks early. We set consistent meeting cadences to keep everyone in sync, and we don’t hide the ball—every piece of project documentation is accessible to you. Open communication and proactive problem-solving are baked into our process, so nothing gets lost and no one’s left guessing.

Before signing on with your first agency (or your next), ask about how they approach keeping projects on track.

What to look for instead:

• Defined project phases and checkpoints
• Use of project management tools (e.g., Kantata, Trello, Wrike, Monday)
• Dedicated project managers (and account managers leading internal client advocacy)
• Sample timelines or process documentation

2. Can They Demonstrate Strong Scope & Budget Control?

Red Flag: Vague language around scope or a “we’ll figure it out as we go” attitude. No clear process for change orders or budget tracking.

Creative work is inherently iterative, but that doesn’t mean the process should be chaotic. When there’s no clear process for managing scope or adjusting for change orders, your budget (and your sanity) are at risk. Small tweaks can balloon into major delays or unexpected costs without anyone flagging it until it’s too late.

Frankel takes a transparent approach from the start to limit costly surprises later. We define every project’s scope, build detailed timelines, and clarify budgets from our initial conversations. We also track changes collaboratively and communicate any impact on the timeline or budget in real-time. With these measures in place, we deliver above 70% of our projects on time, and over 85% finish within budget.

Discipline is built into our workflow, and that makes a difference in maximizing ROIs and executing campaigns successfully.

What to look for instead:

• Detailed scoping methods                      
• Transparent pricing models
• A plan for managing out-of-scope requests
• A project management department or operations team responsible for maintaining alignment

3. How Do They Handle Multi-Stakeholder Environments?

Red Flag: The agency appears unfamiliar with complex organizational structures like universities or financial institutions. They assume a single point of contact will drive everything.

If your organization has multiple decision-makers, like a university, healthcare system, or financial institution, you need an agency that can manage layered feedback, long approval chains, and competing priorities.

At Frankel, we’ve worked with clients whose stakeholder groups look more like ecosystems. Managing these ecosystems requires a balanced approach. We understand that presidents, internal marketing teams, legal reviewers, and other key leadership have a stake in the project and their input matters to the success of the project. A project management team helps build in review time, uses stakeholder maps, and keeps everyone informed through constant communication to streamline feedback effectively.

Working with an agency that “gets it” will mean less time educating and more time executing strategically aligned marketing.

What to look for instead:

• Experience managing layered approval processes
• Tactics for stakeholder alignment and documentation
• Communication cadences designed to keep multiple teams informed
• Confidence handling strategic pivots or delayed feedback

4. Are They Proactive Communicators?

Red Flag: They don’t define how often they’ll meet with your team, what reporting looks like, or how they flag project risks.

You shouldn’t have to chase your marketing agency down for updates. John C. Maxwell once said, “If you’re proactive, you focus on preparing. If you’re reactive, you focus on repairing.” Being in a constant state of repair doesn’t exactly spell “partnership” or “success.”

You should never have to wonder where your project stands. We establish that framework from day one. Through recurring meetings, defining primary contacts, and outlining how and when we expect feedback, our team knows how to keep the momentum going.

In the thick of the project, managers are trained to anticipate challenges and troubleshoot efficiently. As the go-between for leadership and marketing, they can translate any updates and prioritize action items to ensure it’s delivered on time.

True partnerships are built on trust. And trust isn’t built in silence, it’s built in sync.

What to look for instead:

• Regular status updates (weekly or biweekly)
• Real-time dashboards or reporting tools
• Escalation protocols and proactive risk management
• Strong communication between strategy, creative, and execution teams

5. Is Their Team Structured for Delivery (Not Just Pitching)?

Red Flag: The team presented in the pitch seems heavy on leadership but light on delivery. You’re unsure who will actually be doing the work.

It’s one thing to pitch big ideas. It’s another to have the people, process, and structure to make those ideas happen. When your agency is vague about who’s doing what, or if the delivery team seems like an afterthought, that’s a problem.

Frankel believes in full transparency. The team we introduce during the proposal process is the same team you’ll work with day-to-day. Everyone has a clearly defined role, from project managers to creative leads, so you always know who’s handling what and how to reach them. This shows your agency is prepared and ready for the scale of the project.

We also value continuity. Our clients work with the same core team year after year. The more familiar you and your agency are with each other, the more strategic and effective your projects can be. And as that relationship deepens, so does the trust, alignment, and shared success.

What to look for instead:

• Introductions to day-to-day leads, including PMs and account partners
• Defined roles and responsibilities
• Team continuity between pitch and execution
• A culture of accountability and ownership

6. Do They Have a Plan for Measuring Success?

Red Flag: Success is framed only in terms of creative output (“it’ll look great!”) with no tie to timelines, budgets, or KPIs.

Maintaining a high level of quality and success is a good mark of a careful agency. Whether your goals were to drive engagement, support enrollment goals, or strengthen your brand presence, it should have the numbers to prove it.

Success can also mean different things to different clients, so we define it together. From the outset, we outline budgets, benchmarks, and project timelines, then revisit them through quarterly business reviews to ensure we’re still aligned. Engagement rates, impressions, clicks, and form fills are all signs of creative doing its job. In real-time, we analyze campaign performance and make enhancements. 

Our standards for measuring your success are the same standards we hold for ourselves. At the end of projects, we track metrics like time spent on rework, efficiency in delivery, and client satisfaction to understand how and where we can improve processes.

What to look for instead:

• Clear success metrics
• Post-project reviews or retrospectives
• Realistic goal setting tied to business or enrollment outcomes
• Willingness to adapt based on results

Operational Maturity = Project Confidence

A high-performing agency doesn’t just promise outcomes, they’re built to deliver them. When evaluating potential partners, take the time to dig deep. Interview them on their operational discipline, project management experience, and collaboration style. It may not be the flashiest part of their proposal, but this foundation is what will either make or break your success.

Remember, you’re not just hiring creative ideas—you’re hiring execution. Ask the tough questions up front, and take the time to understand how your agency will manage the behind-the-scenes processes. This could make all the difference in making your projects happen and ultimately achieving the outcomes you’ve envisioned.

If you’re looking for more than promises and you want an agency with the processes to back them up, let’s have a conversation. Frankel has the operational structure and resources to turn your objectives into impactful initiatives. Contact our team today!