Heads of Marketing - How to Inherit Agencies Without Creating Chaos

You’ve just joined a new company. New title. New mandate. Maybe board expectations. Definitely pipeline pressure.

And you discover you have three agencies already on retainer...

Inheriting agencies is one of the most delicate parts of stepping into a senior marketing role. Handle it poorly and you create instability. Handle it well and you unlock momentum fast.

I’ve walked into businesses where agencies were embedded, underperforming, overperforming, misaligned, loyal to founders, or quietly drifting.

Here’s how to do it properly.

1. Assume Nothing (Especially the Narrative)

When you arrive, you’ll hear one of three stories from your team or people around you:

1. “The agencies are great.”

2. “The agencies are the problem.”

3. “We’ve always done it this way.”

All three can be misleading.

Agencies reflect the structure they operate in and the brief they've been given.

If marketing lacked clear targets, agencies will have defaulted to activity. If reporting was vague, accountability will be vague. If founders were inconsistent, strategy will be inconsistent.

Before you judge suppliers, assess the system. Ask yourself:

• What commercial targets were agencies aligned to?

• What were they briefed?

• How were they measured?

• Who owned outcomes internally?

You might find the issue wasn’t the agency - it was governance.

2. Don’t Create Panic on Day One

Agencies assume new Heads of Marketing will replace them. That fear creates defensive behaviour.

Suddenly they over-report. Over-promise. Over-justify past decisions.

You don’t need that energy.

Instead, signal calm: “I’m here to understand what’s working and where we can improve. No sudden changes.”

That buys you space. But it doesn't stop you making a decision down the line one way or the other.

3. Clarify Your Mandate First

Before reviewing agencies, get absolute clarity on:

• Revenue targets

• Board expectations

• PE investor pressure (if relevant)

• Time horizon for impact

Because this determines everything.

If you’ve been hired to:

• Drive pipeline quickly - you’ll evaluate differently

• Reposition the brand - different lens

• Improve efficiency - different criteria

• Professionalise structure - different expectations

Without this focus, agency reviews become subjective.

4. Run a Structured Review (Not a Witch Hunt)

In your first 30-45 days, run a calm, structured review.

This is not an emotional reaction. Professionally review each agency against:

• Commercial contribution

• Strategic thinking

• Proactivity

• Clarity of reporting

• Alignment with the team and sales

• Ease of collaboration

Then ask each agency: “What would you prioritise in the next 90 days to support our goals?”

Their answer will tell you everything.

5. Separate Performance From Structure

Often you’ll discover that the agency is good, but your own internal structure is weak.

Common inherited problems include:

• No clear ICP definition

• Confused positioning

• MQL definitions unclear

• CRM not aligned

• Sales complaining about lead quality

• Budget spread thinly across channels

Agencies cannot fix structural confusion alone. That’s your job!

If you strengthen structure, performance often improves without changing suppliers.

6. Give Agencies a Fair Reset Window

If you believe there’s potential, give agencies a defined reset period. For example:

• 90 days

• Clear KPIs

• Defined revenue alignment

• Agreed reporting cadence

• Structured monthly performance reviews

This achieves two things:

1. It’s fair.

2. It tests their ability to adapt.

Good agencies welcome focus. Weak agencies struggle with it.

7. Watch for Founder Legacy Bias

If the founder hired the agency personally, be very careful. They might be close personal friends. I've seen it more times than I care to admit!

There may be loyalty, history, emotional investment. Don’t bulldoze that!

Instead:

• Frame changes around commercial outcomes

• Use data

• Align decisions to growth targets

It keeps potentially difficult conversations objective.

8. When You Do Need to Change Agencies

Sometimes change is necessary. If it is, do it cleanly.

• Avoid public criticism

• Keep relationships professional

• Manage transition carefully

• Protect institutional knowledge

The marketing world is smaller than you think and word will go around - about the agency, and also about you.

9. The Bigger Mistake to Avoid

The biggest mistake new Heads of Marketing make isn’t keeping the wrong agency. It’s changing agencies before fixing structure.

If your positioning is weak, pipeline unclear, or governance loose, a new agency will inherit the same confusion.

And you’ll repeat the cycle.

Agencies amplify structure. They don’t create it. Get your own ducks in a row first of all.

At the end of the day, inheriting agencies isn’t about proving authority. It’s about establishing direction.

Your role is to:

• Set the commercial north star

• Introduce accountability

• Align marketing to revenue

• Strengthen structure

Once that’s in place, good agencies become powerful partners. Without it, even strong agencies drift.