A contractor I know fired three marketing agencies in two years. He was spending $10,000 a month and had no clear picture of what was working. When I asked him what each agency was supposed to be doing for him, he gave me three different answers — none of them connected to his actual revenue goals.

This is the norm, not the exception. The problem usually isn't the agency.

Agencies Execute. They Don't Build Strategy.

The most important thing to understand about marketing agencies: agencies execute marketing strategies. They don't create them for your specific business.

When a contractor hires an agency expecting them to figure out what marketing should look like for their business, they're expecting the wrong thing. Agencies are built to run campaigns at scale. They're not built to understand your specific margins, your best customer profile, your operational capacity, or the competitive dynamics of your local market.

The missing piece is internal marketing leadership — someone who understands your business deeply and can translate that into a strategy that agencies can actually execute against.

The timing framework: Under $2M, build internal capability first. At $2–3M, hire a marketing person, not an agency. At $5M+, agencies become the right execution partners — but only once you have someone overseeing the strategy.

Agency Profiles

Scorpion Internet Marketing

Founded 2001. 1,000+ employees. $150M+ revenue. Based in Utah, serving legal, healthcare, home services, and franchises. Services include website development, SEO, PPC, social media, and reputation management.

Scorpion is the most visible name in the space, which makes it the most common first hire for contractors who don't know where else to look. The core problem: Scorpion builds your website on their proprietary CMS, which you don't get to keep when you leave. Contractors also report overworked account managers and significant early termination fees.

My take: Despite the name recognition, I don't recommend Scorpion for home service companies. The lock-in structure isn't in your interest.

Ryno Strategic Solutions

Founded 2008. 150+ employees. Based in Phoenix, AZ. Home services exclusive. Services include website design, SEO, PPC, Local Service Ads, video, and proprietary reporting.

Ryno has a solid reputation among larger contractors. Recent acquisitions have created some instability and account manager turnover that's worth asking about before signing.

My take: A reasonable choice for $10M+ companies that already have internal marketing leadership in place.

Hook Agency

Founded 2012. 30+ employees. Based in Minneapolis, MN. Home services only. Deliberately focused on Google-only marketing: SEO, PPC, website, and Google My Business.

Hook gets consistently positive feedback from contractors who are clear about wanting a Google-first strategy. The smaller team means more personalized attention than the large shops.

My take: A good fit if you've already determined that Google is your primary channel and you want a specialist who knows it well.

Relentless Digital

Founded 2020. 20+ employees. Based in Phoenix, AZ. Specializes in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, garage door, pest control, and septic. Services include GBP optimization, websites, Local Service Ads, SEO, and retention automation. Month-to-month contracts.

My take: Many contractors in my network recommend Relentless Digital, particularly for trade-specific businesses. The flexible contract terms are a meaningful differentiator.

Ten Questions to Ask Any Agency

Before you sign anything, get clear answers to these:

  1. What's your average client retention period, and can you show me the data?
  2. Can you provide references from companies similar in size and trade to mine?
  3. Who owns the website, creative, and data if I cancel?
  4. Who is my account manager, and what's their caseload?
  5. How do you integrate with my CRM and financial reporting?
  6. What happens to my campaigns and data when the contract ends?
  7. How do you measure success beyond lead volume?
  8. What's your process when performance is below target?
  9. Can I access the raw data — not just your dashboard?
  10. What are the real termination costs and terms?

Protective Contract Provisions

If you do sign with an agency, make sure your contract includes:

  • Month-to-month terms after an initial 90-day period
  • Full asset ownership — website, social accounts, creative, all data
  • Direct data access — not just a proprietary reporting dashboard
  • Clear termination procedures with defined asset transfer timelines
  • Performance metrics with consequences — not just vanity metrics

Types of Agencies to Understand

Generalist Digital Agencies

Companies like WebFX and Thrive serve multiple industries. They have solid technical execution but lack the industry-specific knowledge to understand your seasonality, project sales cycle, or what "a good lead" actually means in your trade.

Home Services Specialists

Companies like Hook and Ryno understand the industry. Less hand-holding required. The trade-off is they may apply more standardized playbooks rather than building something specific to your business.

Lead Generation Mills

Promise guaranteed lead volumes using cookie-cutter approaches. They optimize for lead count, not lead quality. Proceed with caution and make sure you're tracking cost-per-booked-job, not just cost-per-lead.

AI-Powered Agencies

The newest category. Legitimacy varies significantly. Don't accept performance claims at face value, and don't go all-in on an unproven solution. Ask for references and case studies from businesses in your trade and revenue range.

The Better Model: Marketing Leadership + Specialist Execution

The highest-ROI approach for most $5M–$25M home service companies isn't a full-service agency. It's a combination of marketing leadership and specialized vendors:

  • Fractional CMO: 10–20 hours/month, $3,000–$8,000. Handles strategy, oversight, performance accountability.
  • Specialized vendors: PPC specialist, SEO agency, web developer, automation specialist — each focused on their lane.

This model typically produces 30–50% better ROI than a single full-service agency at lower total cost. The reason is simple: you get genuine expertise in each channel instead of generalists spread across all of them.

When to Hire an Agency

Only engage an agency once you can say yes to all of these:

  1. You've identified at least one channel contributing 10%+ of revenue or $1M+ annually
  2. You have a proven process for converting leads into booked jobs
  3. You have operational capacity to handle more volume
  4. You have clear attribution connecting marketing spend to revenue

Agencies are best suited for executing and scaling proven marketing systems — not for discovering what works for your unique business. That discovery work is what marketing leadership is for.

If you're trying to figure out whether an agency is the right next step for your business, or you've been burned and want to understand what went wrong — book an intro call. I'll give you a straight answer.