An agency SLA should state what each side delivers, when it is due, what form it takes, and what happens if a dependency slips. Write it as the campaign's operating agreement and test each line against a record someone can inspect. Separate agency-controlled inputs from client-controlled outcomes. Hold the agency to the inputs and quality it controls, and record the client conditions that affect downstream results.1 This keeps the conversation useful when activity is on plan and commercial results still lag.
Set the SLA boundary
Decide what belongs in the SLA and what belongs in the wider contract. This keeps scope, service standards, and remedies from becoming one vague promise.
An SLA is a documented commitment that defines performance standards such as response time, resolution time, and availability.2 For an agency relationship, it governs an external vendor relationship.3 Keep the broad contract focused on scope and terms, then use the SLA for delivery thresholds and escalation conditions. Ongoing marketing services use SLAs less often than always-on services.4 When agencies use them, the commitments tend to cover response times and deliverables at defined stages.5
Ask the agency:
- What work is covered by the SLA?
- Which commitments belong in the contract instead?
- What counts as a missed commitment, and what happens next?
Start with the scorecard
Build the scorecard before writing the service language. Each measure should show whether the agency delivered work that can move through your revenue process.
Measure the program through qualified pipeline, with meetings booked and emails sent treated as activity measures.6 Define lead quality, rejection rates, and CRM-based rules in terms that someone can check in the record.7 Put the definition beside the measure so a performance disagreement becomes a review of a record instead of a debate over interpretation.
Ask:
- What makes an account or lead acceptable?
- What evidence makes it qualified?
- Who records the status and who can reject it?
Inventory every deliverable
Make the deliverables list detailed enough for someone new to the account to understand what the agency owes. Include the work that makes each output possible, since missing setup work can make a promised result impossible to inspect.
An outbound agency proposal should state the assigned people and capacity, channels, data and software, sender accounts, list research, messaging, reply handling, qualification, reporting, setup work, contract term, and ownership of campaign assets.8 If account research is part of the engagement, list completed account research as a deliverable.9 The deliverables section should set expectations for both the company and the agency.10 Assign responsibility for survey inputs and outputs, materials, reporting, review, and any further research requirements.11
For each deliverable, record its owner, due point, format, acceptance test, and correction path. Ask the agency to show what completion looks like before agreeing to the date.
Turn deliverables into stage gates
A list of outputs becomes useful when each stage has a clear point at which work can pass, return for correction, or escalate. Build those decisions into the SLA before the campaign starts.
High-performing SLAs include precise lead definitions, volume and quality quotas, revenue-focused KPIs, structured reporting, and enforceable remedies.12 Use those elements to define each stage gate. For research, specify the fields that must be complete. For messaging, specify the approved material and review owner. For lead handling, specify the qualification rule, required record, and handoff condition.
Ask at every gate:
- What artifact proves the stage is complete?
- Who accepts it?
- What happens when the artifact fails the acceptance test?
- Which next stage can start only after acceptance?
Set response times and intake rules
Use the same starting point for every request. Name the request type, intake channel, owner, acknowledgement time, resolution expectation, and escalation route.
State how quickly each request type will be handled and what internal stakeholders own.13 A workable meeting rule is that the agency contact sends a post-meeting recap within 1 business day.14 New client requests submitted through the project-management platform are acknowledged within 2 business days, while resolution can take longer depending on scope and budget.15 Make the intake channel explicit. The agency cannot guarantee a response time for requests sent through email, voicemail, or text message.16
Set a client feedback clock. One agency SLA asks clients to provide feedback within 3 business days and to request more time within 1 business day when a specific feedback round needs a longer turnaround.17
Use a simple request record with the submission time, request type, owner, status, next action, and escalation date. Move a request to escalation when the agreed clock expires, not when frustration becomes visible.
Write the client dependencies into the agreement
The agency cannot deliver against a moving target without an agreed client contribution. Put client inputs beside agency outputs so a missed dependency has a visible owner.
An agency SLA defines what the agency must deliver, what the client must enable, and what happens when either party falls short.18 Require both parties to meet deadlines or communicate early when a roadblock appears.19 Record access, approvals, feedback, list decisions, and changes to scope as dependencies with owners and dates.
When a dependency slips, update the schedule and record the reason. This gives both parties a usable account of what changed and keeps a missed date from being treated as an unexplained service failure.
Govern performance beyond the clock
Review the SLA as a performance document, not a file that gets opened only after a dispute. Bring the delivery, quality, and outcome records into the same review.
Operationally effective SLAs include outcome metrics alongside time metrics.20 Put outcome, time, satisfaction, handle time, escalation, and availability dimensions in the same governance document. This turns the SLA from a pass/fail compliance instrument into a performance management framework.21 Make the agreement fair to both parties, with commitments and remedies that apply to the agency and the client.22
Set a regular review against the scorecard. Check which deliverables passed, which were returned, which dependencies slipped, and which outcomes changed. Amend definitions when the work changes, and record the amendment before using it to judge performance.
What not to do
Before signing, check these failure points:
- Vague definitions, missing rejection windows, and auto-renewal clauses weaken accountability and reduce the agreement's value.23
- When conflicting requests are chronic rather than exceptional, collect examples of requested outputs, available hours or resources, changed dates, skipped reviews, and escalation results.24
- Put measurable delivery thresholds and escalation conditions in the SLA. The general service contract covers scope and terms.25
- Define services and delivered results in a proper SLA. Leaving either open to interpretation can create misunderstandings on both sides.26
Before signing, ask the agency to walk through one request, one deliverable, one missed dependency, and one escalation using the written rules. Both parties should reach the same answer from the document, giving the campaign team a rule it can run.