Agency Search Costs

In the land of agency search firms, not all search firms are created equally. There are different options available to your company, but beware, the costs associated with each search option can be very misleading. Below is a cost analysis breakdown for you to review many of the typical costs associated with the agency search options from an in-house search to the two other primary search firm options (online and traditional), and our search process.

In addition, we have broken down some of the typical costs associated with each search option into sub-categories for you to see the real difference in each search option and be able to compare apples to apples, instead of apples to oranges.

After reviewing the analysis below, you will see comparing Marketing Sense to the other search options is really like comparing apples to oranges. Take a moment to review the costs and you will see that Marketing Sense International is the definitive leader in agency search options.

Agency Search Costs Analysis Chart

***Agency Search Costs without Labor***
	*Online Search Firm*	*Traditional Search Firm*	*Marketing Sense International*
*Search Costs*
Up-Front Costs	No Cost	Up to $200K	No Cost
*Optional Search Related Services*
Business & Operational Evaluations	Up to $100K	Up to $100K	No Cost
Strategic & Brand Review	Up to $75K	No Cost	No Cost
Agency - Client Review (6-Months)	Up to $75K	No Cost	No Cost
Agency - Client Review (1-Year)	Up to $75K	Up to $75K	No Cost
*Total Search Costs*	*Up to $325K*	*Up to $375K*	*No Cost*

***Agency Search Labor Costs***
	*Online Search Firm ²*	*Traditional Search Firm ³*	*Marketing Sense International ⁴***
Estimated Labor Costs
Executive Management ¹	$37,987	$28,490	$28,490
Marketing Staff ¹	$32,260	$25,808	$16,634
Support Staff ¹	$2,447	$2,447	$1,631
*Est. Total Labor Costs*	$72,694	$56,745	$46,755

**Total Agency Search Costs**
	*Online Search Firm*	*Traditional Search Firm*	*Marketing Sense International*
*Est. Total Search Costs*	*Up to $397,694*	*Up to $431,745*	*$46,755*

The chart below lists common issues often associated with conducting an agency search. These issues can be costly to your organization in the event they occur during the search and selection process. By utilizing a professional search firm, you can virtually eliminate any such risk, ensuring that your bottom-line is protected. In the event that one of these issues arises during the search, you can be sure that there will be more to follow. Rarely will one issue occur without triggering other issues as a result.

The costs associated with these problems can, on average, add upwards of $1,500.00 per million dollars of a marketing budget, per day. Therefore, in this example (a $2,000,000.00 marketing budget) the costs could exceed $180,000.00 over a period of just 60 days.

***Search Related Issues Chart***
	*No Search Firm*	*Professional Search Firm*
Incumbent Notification	Often	Never
Loss of Key Management and or Staff	Sometimes	Never
Press Interferes	Often	Never
Review Goes Public	Often	Never
Stockholders Loose Confidence	Sometimes	Never
Unqualified Agencies (No Certification)	Yes	Yes ⁵ (No w/Marketing Sense)
*Rating for Each Option*	Bad	Good

If you have any questions regarding any of the costs or services listed in this chart, contact our client relations team via the contact form or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it today for more information.

Notes Regarding the Charts

(1) Common employee breakdown for a company seeking to place a similar marketing budget. The Breakdown is as follows: Executive Management – CEO, CFO, COO; Marketing Staff – EVP Sales and Marketing, Marketing Manager, Public Relations Director, Product/Brand Manager, and a Marketing Assistant/Coordinator; Support Staff – Executive Assistants and Administrative Assistants. (2) Based on a 3-month search with executive management averaging 4 hours per week, marketing staff averaging 10 hours per week, and support staff averaging 3 hours per week. (3) Based on a 3-month search with executive management averaging 3 hours per week, marketing staff averaging 8 hours per week, and support staff averaging 3 hours per week. (4) Based on a 3-month search with executive management averaging 3 hours per week, marketing staff averaging 5 hours per week, and support staff averaging 2 hours per week. (5) Only Marketing Sense requires Agency Certification for all Agency Partners.