Agency Services, Scoping, and Retainers
Agency Services, Scoping, and Retainers
This domain tests whether you can package, price, and protect agency work. Expect questions on statements of work, deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, change orders, retainer models, utilization, and profitability.
Scoping
A statement of work should define the client, objectives, deliverables, timeline, roles, assumptions, exclusions, acceptance criteria, fees, and change-order process. Scope by outcome and deliverable, not by vague activity. List what is not included: ad spend, third-party software, content approvals, extra revisions, and rush turnaround. Confirm who provides access and approvals.
Pricing models
- Project-based: fixed fee for a defined deliverable.
- Hourly: billed by time; simple but rewards inefficiency and caps trust.
- Retainer: recurring fee for ongoing capacity or services.
- Value-based: price tied to business impact; requires measurement.
- Performance-based: tied to results; risky without control over client-side execution.
Retainers
Define the monthly fee, included hours or deliverables, rollover rules, overage rate, reporting cadence, review period, and termination terms. A retainer is not unlimited access. Track time and capacity so the team can deliver without burnout.
Worked example
A client asks for ongoing marketing help for $5,000 per month. Reasoning: convert that into a retainer with 30 hours per month, a monthly content package (four blog posts, two emails, one landing page), a monthly performance call, a quarterly strategy review, and a 10% overage rate. Exclude ad spend, design beyond two revision rounds, and new website builds. This gives the client predictable output and the agency a margin.
Traps
- Accepting vague scope and then absorbing unlimited revisions.
- Pricing hours without accounting for project management and QA.
- Letting retainers become all-you-can-eat support.
- Not issuing change orders when requests exceed scope.
- Ignoring utilization and capacity when selling more work.