Agency Briefs
Agency search by project type
Search for an agency by the evidence needed for a website rebuild, multi-location business, complex B2B service or limited pilot.
Base your agency search on the work to be delivered and the constraint most likely to make it hard. A service list can help you find candidates. To narrow the field, request evidence that matches your project and speak with the people proposed to do the work.
Choose a search route
| Project | Look for evidence of | Main shortlist question |
|---|---|---|
| Website rebuild | Design and build work carried through to release | Who will handle content, integrations, accessibility and any URL changes? |
| Multi-location business | A method for maintaining accurate details for each location | Who sets shared rules, and who approves local changes? |
| Complex B2B service | Work that explains a difficult offer accurately to a defined buyer | How will specialists, marketing and sales agree on claims and useful enquiries? |
| Limited pilot | A bounded piece of work with a usable decision at the end | What can the pilot establish, and what will remain untested? |
These are search routes, not agency categories or quality ratings. One agency may suit several routes, yet its available team may suit only one of your projects.
Identify the project's hard part
Name the intended result, the first output you need and the condition that could defeat an attractive approach. For a rebuild, that might be an integration that must keep working at launch. For multiple locations, it might be a branch's ability to correct its details without changing every location. For a B2B service, it might be claims that require specialist approval.
Keep confirmed facts separate from suspicions. If you do not know whether an existing system can be reused, ask candidates how they would inspect it. An unresolved question can shape the first stage of work; it need not be disguised as a settled requirement.
Request evidence suited to the project
Ask each candidate to walk through relevant work: its starting conditions, the agency's role, a difficult decision and the handover. Then ask the proposed team how it would approach your main constraint. A portfolio example and the people available for your project provide different evidence.
For a website, ask how the agency planned a release and checked an important user journey. If URLs will change, ask how it would map old pages to relevant new ones, handle redirects and check the move after launch.
For multiple locations, ask how the agency would maintain an approved record for each location while allowing genuine differences in hours, services and contact routes. If Google Business Profiles are in scope, ask how it would manage them for each location.
For a complex B2B service, give candidates an approved explanation that specialists consider accurate but buyers find hard to use. Ask what they would learn about the buyer, which claims they would verify and what sales needs after an enquiry. For a pilot, ask what decision its output would support and what a wider rollout would still need to establish.
Narrow the field
Give plausible candidates the same account of the first stage. Ask what each would deliver, who would do the work, what your team must supply, what is excluded and which assumptions affect timing or cost.
Australian Government quoting guidance identifies a clear work description, itemised and total costs, applicable GST and terms as elements of a written quote. Those fields help explain an offer; they do not decide which agency fits.
A candidate may recommend a different first stage. Consider why it is needed and what you could decide when it ends. Keep essential work visible: if a website agency excludes content migration, or a location agency expects branch staff to maintain records, confirm who will take that responsibility.
Shortlist candidates that meet the essential conditions and can explain the project's hardest decision. Record what each has demonstrated, what it has proposed and what your team still needs to confirm.
Before you shortlist, check that any written quote identifies the agency's business name, ABN and contact details. It should set out the first-stage work, costs including GST where applicable, and the assumptions or variations that affect scope.
Australian Government guidance says an accepted quote becomes a legally binding contract. Resolve unclear scope or assumptions before accepting it.
Key facts from Australian procurement and quoting guidelines
- Required elements in a written quote (Australian Government)
- Clear work description, itemised and total costs, applicable GST, terms
- Legal status of an accepted quote
- Becomes a legally binding contract
- GST application
- Must be included where applicable in quotes
- ABN requirement
- Must be identified in any written quote
Essential criteria when reviewing agency proposals
- Does the proposal include the agency's business name and ABN?Yes/No
- Are costs itemised and totalled, including GST where applicable?Yes/No
- Are assumptions affecting scope clearly stated?Yes/No
- Is there a clear definition of first-stage deliverables?Yes/No
- Does the agency explain how they would handle the project’s hardest constraint?Yes/No
In this guide
- Shortlisting agencies for a website rebuildShortlist website rebuild agencies by examining their release experience and who would own content, integrations, accessibility and URL changes.
- Comparing agencies for a multi-location businessCompare agencies on location information, local exceptions and the customer journey across a multi-location business.
- Evaluating partners for a complex B2B serviceEvaluate an agency for a complex B2B service through buyer questions, claim review, specialist input and the sales handoff.
- Choosing an agency for a limited pilot projectChoose an agency pilot with a clear decision, bounded deliverables, an understandable quote and a separate choice about wider work.
