The Firing Your Agency Cheat Sheet is a practical guide that helps marketing leaders objectively assess underperforming agency relationships and execute a smooth, professional transition to a better partner.
The Firing Your Agency Cheat Sheet is a practical, step by step guide designed to help marketing leaders navigate one of the most difficult decisions they will ever face: ending a relationship with an underperforming agency. With forty percent of marketers planning to switch agencies last year, this resource provides clarity, structure, and confidence at a time when emotions and risks often run high.
Read: How-To Guide - How to Fire Your Marketing Agency: A Practical Guide for Making a Clean Break
The cheat sheet breaks down everything you need to know into clear sections that simplify a complex transition. It explains why firing an agency is hard, from personal relationships to legal risk, and outlines the most common reasons agency partnerships fail, including lack of transparency, insufficient reporting, missed targets, unresponsiveness, and shifting priorities.
It provides eight essential actions you can take immediately to assess your situation, gather stakeholder input, communicate concerns openly, review contracts with legal, plan your transition, and issue a formal termination letter when necessary. You will also find a breakdown of the business risks of keeping an underperforming agency too long, such as wasted budgets, missed opportunities, low morale, and damaged brand reputation.
The cheat sheet includes helpful Do and Don’t guidance to protect your professionalism and reduce friction during the transition. It also points you to related tools that make the process smoother, such as the Agency Management Playbook, Agency Performance Review Template, Agency Transition Model, Termination Letter, Selection Tool, and Onboarding Checklist.
Use this cheat sheet to assess your agency relationship objectively and execute a smooth, well planned transition to a better partner, without putting your brand, budget, or momentum at risk.
The Firing Your Agency Cheat Sheet is a practical guide that helps marketing leaders objectively assess underperforming agency relationships and execute a smooth, professional transition to a better partner.
