Playbook
Agency Fee Should-Cost
Outcome: An independent, bottom-up estimate of what your agency fee should cost, plus a negotiation brief you can bring into the room.
Build a bottom-up should-cost model for any marketing agency fee, retainer, scope of work, or proposal — and walk into your next negotiation with an independent estimate and a ready brief.
The old way
Specialist consultant
- Typical cost
- $25K-$100K
- Typical time
- 4-8 weeks
With MorningAI
Under 30 minutes
Included in your MorningAI platform — 4 deliverables, ready to use
What you get
- A bottom-up cost model of the team your scope of work actually requires, with a low, expected, and high range
- A comparison of your quoted fee against market-rate benchmarks for your agency type
- A list of red flags found in the scope of work or proposal language, with what to ask for instead
- A ranked negotiation brief with specific levers, fallback positions, and what to trade
When to use it
Before an agency fee negotiation or annual fee review, or whenever you're evaluating a new proposal and asking what it should actually cost.
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