I’m at a point where I need to start saying yes to partnerships, but I’m honestly scared of picking the wrong collaborator. We’ve had two situations recently where I got excited about a partner on paper, and halfway through the project, I realized we had completely different working styles, quality standards, or communication expectations.
So I want to reverse-engineer what actually matters before you say yes. Not the stuff that sounds good in a Zoom call—the stuff that actually predicts whether you’ll work well together.
Right now, my vetting is pretty loose: I look at their portfolio, maybe ask for a reference or two, and then jump in. But that’s clearly not enough. I’m wondering what questions I should be asking, what flags I should be watching for, and whether there’s a way to do a small test run before committing to a big project.
Have any of you developed a system for this? What’s been the difference between partners that worked out and ones that didn’t?
This is real. I’ve made bad partner picks, and it’s brutal. Here’s what I do now:
The questions that actually matter:
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How do they handle scope creep? Don’t ask ‘do you handle scope creep’—ask ‘tell me about a project that went sideways. What was the scope issue? How did you deal with it?’ Their answer tells you everything.
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What’s their communication cadence? I explicitly say ‘we do three sync calls a week during active campaigns.’ If they push back or seem annoyed, that’s a signal. I need responsive partners.
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How do they measure success? If they can’t clearly articulate ROI metrics, that’s a red flag. We’re aligned when we both care about the same end result.
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Conflict resolution. Ask ‘when was the last time you disagreed with a client (or partner) on strategy? How did you handle it?’ If they always agree or never push back, they’re either lying or they’re not thinking critically.
The test run:
I’ve started doing ‘mini-projects’ first. Like, we’ll co-create one asset or run a small campaign for a mutual client before committing to a larger partnership. Costs us maybe 20–30 hours of work, but it’s worth it to see how they actually operate versus how they present.
The vibe check:
If I get off a call with someone and I’m exhausted instead of energized, that’s data. Partnership energy matters more than people admit.
One more thing: check their client retention rate if you can. Ask how long their average client relationship lasts. If agencies have high turnover, it’s usually not because clients are fickle—it’s because the agency isn’t delivering or there’s friction. I’ve started asking this directly, and honest partners will tell you.
And honestly? If someone won’t share references or gets defensive about vetting, that’s your answer right there. A good partner wants to be vetted because they know they’ll pass.
I like Alex’s approach. From a strategic angle, I’d add one more layer: alignment on timeline and resource allocation.
I’ve partnered with agencies that looked great until we realized their ‘dedicated team’ was actually three people who were spread across twelve projects. Suddenly our campaign get 20% attention instead of 100%.
Before committing, I ask: who’s on the team? How many concurrent projects are they running? What’s their capacity model?
Then—and this is important—I ask for a written summary of how they’d staff my specific project. Not a vague ‘we’ll assign a team.’ Actual names, roles, and time allocation. If they can’t or won’t do that, they’re probably not organized enough to be a reliable partner.
The other thing: understand their operating model. Are they expensive because they’re better, or because they have high overhead? Do they want monthly retainers or project-based fees? These things reveal a lot about how aligned you actually are. I’ve seen partnerships fail not because of execution but because the cost structure created incentive misalignment.
I’m connecting a lot of agencies right now, and I always tell them the same thing: chemistry isn’t everything, but it matters more than most people think.
Before any vetting, I have a simple conversation: Why do you want to partner? What’s the real reason? If someone says ‘to fill capacity’ versus ‘because we genuinely complement each other,’ that tells me something.
Then I create a small collaborative session—like, we all hop on and work through a hypothetical brief together. How do they think? Do they ask questions or just execute? Do they seem interested in your perspective, or are they just waiting for their turn to talk?
I’ve seen partnerships thrive not because both agencies were individually amazing but because they actually wanted to learn from each other and collaborate. And I’ve seen partnerships with two great agencies fail because they were just… incompatible personality-wise.
So my advice: do the vetting that Alex mentioned. But also spend time with them in a low-stakes creative setting first. That’s where you see someone’s true working style.
I haven’t done this many times, but when we partnered with our Russian marketing agency to help with US expansion, the main thing that worked was… asking them to actually do something first.
We had them write up a brief strategic recommendation on our US market entry approach. No payment, just intellectual work. Cost them maybe four hours. And it told us immediately whether they understood our business or were just nodding along.
Then when we hired them, we knew they got it. There was no ‘surprise’ where they asked basic questions we’d already covered.
My advice: don’t just interview partners. Get them to produce something. Doesn’t have to be massive. Could be a competitive analysis, a messaging framework, whatever. If they won’t invest that minimal effort upfront, why would they later?
And honestly, make sure you’re vetting them on your terms, not just theirs. You need to feel like you’re making an informed decision, not just hoping it works out.