Updated January 2025
These days, small and mighty marketing teams are often the norm. For busy marketing managers that can mean balancing the demands of both your sales and marketing teams, keeping up with product updates, maintaining an active social media presence and a whole slew of other responsibilities — all with minimal support.
When you’re tasked with being *the* marketing content engine, it can make you wonder how to get it all done.
Luckily, there is help, and it’s probably more attainable than you think. The right content marketing agency partner will understand your industry and customer buying cycle, be fluent with the latest marketing trends and come to the table ready to help you tackle any content marketing project…so how can you convince your boss that an agency is just the boost your company needs to create great marketing content?
Here’s how.
1. Create a complete list of marketing tasks for the next six to eight months
Yes, you read that correctly. Often, leadership has no idea how many items are on your plate (and maybe you don’t either). Make a list of every marketing request, planned project, and even long-term marketing content goal you’d like to achieve, as well as the benefits they will have for the company.
Once you’ve recorded all the things you have to do, you can realistically identify what is possible to accomplish with the resources you have — and see where a content marketing agency can help you get your marketing deliverables to the finish line.
Now, hang onto your list and ready yourself with a little more research before you make your case.
2. Quantify the cost of hiring a content marketing agency
With budgets under more scrutiny than ever before, the next thing to do is run the numbers to see just how far you can stretch your marketing dollars when you enlist an agency partner. Start by researching the average cost of a content marketing agency.
Next, compare the cost of hiring and agency vs. the cost of hiring a new full-time employee or two. Remember, an employee salary is just part of it; you’ll also want to account for overhead, benefits, onboarding (time) and other costs. To see how the math adds up, check out our nifty calculator tool.
3. Start looking at agencies and compile proof that other B2B companies have had success
If you work in marketing, you know — testimonials are gold, so it can help to have some real-world examples of businesses that scaled faster by partnering with experts.
As you research potential agency partners, pay close attention to who they work with. A reputable agency will have glowing reviews from current and former clients, and if they’re smart, a case study or two on their website to support their mission. Look for companies like yours who have used marketing agencies and save these success stories for your presentation.
4. Align your ask with your boss’s priorities
Before scheduling a meeting to talk over your idea to hire an agency, take the time to understand what matters most to your boss right now. Is their top priority cutting costs, improving ROI, boosting brand visibility or something else? You can gather these insights through direct conversations, recent team meetings or even by reviewing company goals and performance metrics. If possible, frame your proposal in the context of solving specific challenges your boss has voiced or delivering on objectives they’ve prioritized. This helps make your ask feel directly relevant to their goals, increasing the likelihood of buy-in.
Be prepared to proactively address common concerns upfront. For example, if there’s worry about losing control or brand alignment, explain how collaboration, transparent processes, and regular check-ins would ensure consistency and accountability.
Prepare to tie your ambition to the company’s broader vision. Express how partnering with an agency could unlock potential for impactful marketing results, therefore positioning your ask as a strategic investment in growth.
5. Try these conversation starter tips to confidently approach the “hiring an agency” discussion and address concerns upfront
Start by setting up the meeting with clear intent and context. When requesting time with your boss, frame the conversation as an opportunity to explore a high-impact solution for achieving marketing goals. Mention that you’ve done thorough research, including cost analysis and agency evaluation, and are eager to share a well-supported proposal.
It can be helpful to position the discussion as a collaborative effort to solve challenges or scale initiatives, which can help get buy-in before the meeting even begins. Sending a brief agenda in advance with key points — like cost comparisons, agency expertise and anticipated outcomes — can also set the tone for a productive and focused conversation.
Once in the meeting, you’ll kick things off by grounding your proposal in data. Be prepared to share the results of your cost analysis to demonstrate that hiring an agency is not only more cost-effective than onboarding a full-time employee but also provides immediate access to a broader skill set. Highlight the specific agencies you’ve researched, explaining how their expertise aligns with the company’s goals.
It’s time: Ask your boss for permission to hire an agency
Now it’s time to get that meeting on the calendar. Once your boss understands how much value your organization and content efforts can gain with outside help — and how much less it can cost than an FTE — they’ll hopefully be ready to approve you to enlist an agency. If your boss is hesitant to set up a full retainer relationship, ask if you can try working on a per-project basis to test out the partnership.
If you are looking to hire outside support, an agency representative should be more than happy to connect with you to learn about your needs, your company, and you! Chances are, if you’re going to work together, both sides will want to make sure it’s a good fit. A strong agency partner will eagerly take the time to speak with you and your boss, and maybe even provide you with some stellar resources to make your case, share a pricing guide, or help you with a project scope of exactly what you’ll get for your budget.
(We’re not kidding! Give us a shout and let’s chat).