Working tests during a pitch reveal more about agencies than any deck does

What to take away

What a working test is

A working test is a bounded, paid piece of real work done during a pitch. It is not a speculative campaign. It is one task, with your data or a sanitized version of it, finished inside a week or two.

The point is simple. A deck is written by whoever is best at decks. A working test is done by whoever will run your account. Pitches put senior people in the room, and delivery often falls to juniors. The test closes that gap.

Five tests that reveal character

The calendar rebuild. Give the agency your last ninety days of posts from Meta Business Suite and ask for a revised calendar with rationale. Watch whether they check what already worked before proposing changes. Ask them to tag each post in Sprout Social, Later or Hootsuite so the plan stays measurable.

A strong answer names your top three posts by reach and explains the format behind them.

The boosted-post split. Hand over one live post and a CAD $500 budget. Ask where the money goes and why, boosted post against Facebook ads manager. Request a projected CPM range. Canadian Meta CPMs typically run between CAD $8 and CAD $25 depending on audience and season. The reasoning matters more than the number.

The reporting read. Ask for a redacted monthly report from a comparable client, exported from Sprout Social, Brandwatch, Meltwater or a Google Looker Studio dashboard. The chart is easy. The commentary underneath tells you if anyone is thinking. Ask who writes it and how long it takes each month.

The French-first check. For Quebec campaigns, ask how they would run the same ad in French and English under Bill 96. The Charter of the French Language requires French to be markedly predominant in commercial advertising. Agencies that have done it answer in minutes and show a real bilingual asset. The regulator is the Office quebecois de la langue francaise.

The crisis hour. Give them a comment thread going wrong and one hour. Watch who answers, which tool they open (Sprout Social Smart Inbox, Agorapulse or Hootsuite Streams), and who can pause spend in Meta Ads Manager or TikTok Ads Manager. You learn who answers the phone, and how fast.

Verify the credentials yourself

Platform partner badges are checkable. Meta Business Partners, Google Premier Partners, TikTok Marketing Partners and LinkedIn Marketing Partners all publish directories. Look up the exact legal entity, not the trading name. Record the specialty, the region, and the date you checked. Google Premier Partner status also carries certification and ad spend requirements, so the date matters.

A badge proves the badge. It does not prove the team in your city knows your category.

Screen with an RFI before you test

Send a short questionnaire first. Company details, the proposed team, specialties, and conflicts. Current capacity, data handling, commercial basis, and two references. Keep the working test for the shortlist.

A test costs the agency real hours, and you should pay for it. Budget it as a line item, not a favor. In Canada a single-task test typically runs CAD $1,500 to $4,000. A half-day workshop with two or three exercises runs CAD $5,000 to CAD $15,000.

Sort out who controls the data

Under PIPEDA the brand is the controller and the agency is the processor. The brand stays responsible for consent, for the purpose of collection, and for what happens to the data afterward.

The ICO's guidance on controller responsibility when using a processor sets out the pattern: written terms, documented instructions, ongoing checks. Canadian practice follows the same shape under PIPEDA. Ask a qualified Canadian lawyer to paper it.

CASL consent sits with the brand too. An agency can send the email, but the consent record is yours. Quebec's Law 25 adds its own consent and privacy rules for residents of the province.

Check capacity the way buyers check suppliers

The FAR's general responsibility standards ask whether a supplier has the resources, schedule capacity and performance record to do the job. They also ask about integrity, controls and facilities. Private buyers can borrow the questions without borrowing the process.

Ask what else the agency has booked in your launch month. Ask who covers holidays. Ask what happens when the account lead leaves. Ask which platforms they hold licenses for, such as Sprout Social, Hootsuite or Brandwatch, and who pays for them.

Contract the operating reality

The GOV.UK technology selection guidance is written for public services, but its questions about data control, security review and total ownership cost transfer to any buyer choosing tools an agency will run.

The CISA software acquisition fact sheet adds supply-chain questions: who develops the tool, who can see your data, how vulnerabilities get patched. Worth asking before an agency puts your accounts inside a new platform.

Compare the shortlist

Read next: Reviewing social media agencies specialties: strengths, gaps and a verdict.

Read next: 9 things to check in social media management tools.

Common questions

Should I pay for a pitch test?

Yes. Unpaid tests get junior work or none. A paid test buys you the attention of the people you are hiring, and it keeps the outputs yours to use. Expect CAD $1,500 to $4,000 for one task.

How many agencies should reach the test stage?

Two or three. More than that and you are running a competition, not a selection. Fewer and you have no comparison.

What should the test not cover?

Live account control, your customer data without a processing agreement, and anything you would not want a losing bidder to keep. Define ownership before you start.

Does a partner badge mean anything?

It means the entity met the platform's program requirements on the date you checked. It says nothing about the team assigned to you. Verify it in the directory and then test the team.