25-Point Verification Framework to Validate Agency Claims & Protect Your Budget

by: Muiz Thomas | Founder of GrowUp

How to Use This Checklist

Use this to evaluate agencies systematically before signing. Each item includes what to verify, questions to ask, and red flags. Score agencies 1-5 on each point, weight by importance to your business, and compare.

Recommended:

• Have agencies complete this as part of your RFP
• Conduct reference calls to validate their responses
• Share with Procurement, Finance, and Legal for alignment

1. Business Outcomes & ROI (35% weight)

1.1 SaaS-Specific Case Studies

• [ ] Verify: Request 2-3 case studies from B2B SaaS companies at your stage (early/growth/enterprise) with similar ACV and sales cycle.

Ask:

• Show me traffic → pipeline → revenue impact, not just vanity metrics
• What was baseline, timeline, and business context?
• How does your work integrate with product-led growth or sales-led motion?

Red flags: Generic “200% traffic increase” without revenue context; e-commerce or local business examples; can’t tie SE to pipeline

Score (1-5): ___