# LinkedIn agency shortlist worksheet
Source: https://maestrogtm.com/best-linkedin-ads-agencies/
Prepared by Maestro, an agency included in the comparison. Updated 2026-10-24.

Open linkedin-agency-shortlist.csv in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, or another CSV reader. It contains text and no formulas. Duplicate the provider columns for more agencies. Keep the original example separate from real proposals.

1. State your company situation and missing work. Mark each criterion Required, Optional, or Not applicable with a reason. Define actual deliverables, quantities, and acceptance where needed.
2. For each provider, enter its answer, accountable owner, and proposal/page reference with date. A public page supports a discovery shortlist; the written proposal must confirm inclusion. Shared ownership needs named input and completion owners.
3. Unknown stays Unknown. An empty cell is unresolved, never zero or excluded. Enter zero only when the quote explicitly establishes zero. Not applicable needs a buyer reason. Keep currency, taxes, media, fees, setup, production, software, and implementation separate.
4. First-three-month known subtotal = 3 × monthly management + setup + 3 × monthly media + known required outside production + known required software/implementation. Align currencies and tax basis before comparing. If a required cost is unknown, show a known subtotal and list unresolved costs; do not call it a complete total or cheapest offer. Media is not the agency fee.
5. Review audience/strategy; formats and revisions; destination; CRM repair; qualified-meeting definition and report test; account and billing ownership; files/data at exit; delivery operator; term, cancellation, and exit. Assign an owner and evidence for every mandatory item.
6. Use Discovery shortlist for a plausible provider with incomplete scope. Use Resolve scope for missing mandatory answers. Use Ready for buying decision only when mandatory work, owners, costs, terms, and tests are agreed. This worksheet never authorizes signing, spending, or launching and does not verify delivery performance.

## Fictional example
Northstar has 8000/month media, no available designer, a RevOps owner, and sales follow-up. It needs management, eight static ads/month, and a qualified-meeting report.
A quotes 3000/month plus 1000 setup, with creative advice only. Known subtotal: 3*3000+1000+3*8000 = 34000. Required production cost and owner remain Unknown.
B quotes 4000/month, explicitly zero setup, and the eight static ads included. Known subtotal: 3*4000+0+3*8000 = 36000. B advances to reporting-scope review; A must resolve production. Neither is ready to sign: reporting acceptance, full extras/tax basis, and contract terms still need review. These are fictional proposals, not any listed provider's offer.

## Questions to send finalists
Who owns accounts, billing, audiences, files, and data at exit? What creative and revisions are included? Who fixes failed CRM delivery? Which report fields distinguish leads, held meetings, qualified meetings, and opportunities? Who supplies sales feedback? Who works on the account? What are the full fees, minimum term, cancellation notice, and handover deliverables?