Choosing a marketing partner for a development is a bigger decision than most sponsors treat it as, because the right partner shortens your timeline to capital and to lease-up, and the wrong one costs you both time and credibility with investors.

Step 1: Define What You Actually Need First

Before evaluating agencies, get specific about what this engagement needs to cover: a single OM, ongoing digital marketing through lease-up, a full investor materials rebuild, or all of the above. A clear scope makes every subsequent conversation more productive.

Step 2: Run Every Candidate Through the Five-Question Filter

Specialization, market breadth, full-service capability, real operating experience in the industry, and real credentials. Covered in depth in this month’s pillar post, this filter eliminates most generalist agencies in the first conversation.

Step 3: Ask to See Work on a Comparable Asset Type

A portfolio full of residential listing photography does not tell you much about an agency’s ability to build a ground-up industrial OM. Ask specifically for examples closest to your asset type and deal stage.

Step 4: Talk to the Team You’d Actually Work With

Agency pitches are sometimes led by senior partners who are not who handles day-to-day production. Ask directly who your point of contact and production team would be, and talk to them before signing.

Step 5: Start With a Defined, Scoped Project

Even when the long-term need is ongoing, starting with one clearly scoped deliverable, an OM, a deck rebuild, is a lower-risk way to evaluate fit before committing to a larger retainer relationship.

Where to Start This Conversation

If you are weighing your next development’s marketing partner, the five-question filter above is a faster way to narrow the field than a stack of portfolio decks. We are always glad to be one of the agencies you run through it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it typically take to onboard a new marketing partner?

For a single scoped project like an OM, onboarding and a first draft can move in one to two weeks once the brief is complete. Broader retainer relationships take longer to ramp fully.

What’s a reasonable first project to test a new agency relationship?

An OM, a deck rebuild, or a single video build are all well-scoped, low-commitment ways to evaluate an agency’s work and process before considering a larger retainer.

How many agencies should I realistically talk to before deciding?

Two to three, run through the same five-question filter and the same request for comparable-asset work, is usually enough to make a confident decision without dragging the process out.

Ready When You Are

Whether you are evaluating your first marketing partner or reconsidering your current one, the framework in this series, from the OM fundamentals in Month 1 through this checklist, is built to be used with any agency you are considering, including us.

A Simple Way to Structure the First Conversation

Come to the first call with three things ready: your current biggest marketing gap, one comparable asset or deal you can share for context, and a rough timeline. Agencies that ask sharp follow-up questions about all three, rather than jumping straight to a proposal, are usually the ones worth continuing the conversation with.

One Last Practical Tip

Whichever partner you choose, put the scope and timeline in writing before work begins, even for a small first project. It sets expectations clearly on both sides and gives you a concrete basis for evaluating fit before any larger commitment.

Start with a scoped project conversation