Is Your Agency Actually Worth $15K/Month?
I'll tell you in 7 days. If they're not, I'll show you exactly what to do about it.
You're spending $10K-$20K/month on an agency.
Growth is... okay. Not terrible. Not great. Just... fine.
But you have this nagging feeling you're overpaying for underwhelming results. And here's the problem:
You have no objective way to tell if they're actually good.
They send reports. They explain their work. They're responsive in Slack. But when you ask the hard question—"What's actually working and what needs to change?"—you get dashboards, not decisions.
Meanwhile, you're 8 months in and $120K deep, and you still can't tell if you're getting your money's worth.
Here's Why You Can't Tell
Agencies aren't trying to rip you off. But their business model creates three problems that cost you money:
1. You're funding their overhead, not your growth
That $15K monthly retainer breaks down like this:
- •15-20% goes to their sales team (who sold you)
- •10-15% covers account management (who explains things to you)
- •20-25% disappears into overhead (office, software, admin)
- •40-50% goes to actual execution
You're paying $15K to get $6K-$7K of work. Every month.
2. You get whoever's available, not who's best
Agencies staff projects based on utilization rates, not fit. That junior media buyer managing your account? They're learning on your dime while juggling 11 other clients.
3. Their incentive is retention, not results
The easiest way for an agency to lose a client is to change too much, too fast. So they optimize for "no surprises" instead of breakthrough performance.
The result: You plateau. They stay comfortable. And you keep wondering if you're getting your money's worth.
The Solution: Get an Objective Audit Before You Spend Another $50K On Ads
I've managed over $100M+ in ad spend and reviewed countless agency relationships for DTC brands—from startups spending $10K/month to established brands scaling to $1.5M/month on one channel.
In 7 days, I'll get inside your accounts and tell you exactly what's happening.
This Pays for Itself in Week 1
A few years ago, I took over a drinkware startup from a multi-channel agency. They were in that critical early phase—still figuring things out, trying to break through to real scale.
They were paying $15K+/month for Meta ads, Google ads, and email marketing. But they were stuck.
Here's what the agency was reporting:
Meta Ads ($10K/month):
- •1.8x ROAS
- •"Can't scale—economics don't work"
- •Agency recommendation: "Pull back spend or we'll lose money"
Google Ads + Email:
- •Managed separately by different specialists
- •Decent activity, minimal results
- •Nobody connecting the dots
Amazon (self-managed by client):
- •Growing steadily but inconsistently
- •Nobody tracking what was driving the spikes
The Agency's Critical Mistake:
They were measuring Meta in isolation. Looking at 1.8x ROAS and saying "can't scale."
But here's what they completely missed: Meta was the rising tide lifting all boats.
What We Actually Found:
When we dug into the numbers, we discovered something the agency never saw:
- •Meta was driving top-of-funnel awareness
- •People were seeing the ads, then searching for the brand on Amazon
- •Amazon sales spiked on days when Meta spend increased
- •When we factored in the Amazon halo effect, true ROAS was 3.5-4x, not 1.8x
The agency was "managing" both Meta and advising on Amazon, but they never connected the dots. They didn't understand incrementality. They just looked at Meta in a silo and said "doesn't work."
That one blindspot was costing them 10x growth.
What We Fixed:
Week 1: Fixed The Offer + Tracked The Full Funnel
- •Created bundle structure: "Buy more, save more"
- •AOV jumped from $15 to $50+ on the DTC site
- •Set up proper Amazon attribution tracking
- •Now we could see Meta's true impact across all channels
Weeks 2-3: Rebuilt Meta Strategy
- •Relaunched creative (new angles, new hooks, real testing framework)
- •Segmented audiences by awareness stage (cold/warm/hot)
- •Different creative for different stages
- •Direct Meta ROAS jumped to 5x+
- •Total business impact: 7-8x when including Amazon lift
Week 4: Scaled With Confidence
- •Agency said: "Can't scale past $10K/month"
- •We went to $3K-4K/day ($90K-120K/month in ad spend)
- •Why? Because we understood Meta wasn't just a conversion channel—it was the awareness engine driving the entire ecosystem
Months 2-3: Optimized Everything Else
- •Fixed Google (negative keywords, merchant feed optimization)
- •Fixed email (working coupon codes, better templates)
- •Built proper landing pages
- •All channels working together, not fighting each other
The Results:
Before:
- • $15K+/month to multi-channel agency
- • 1.8x ROAS (measured incorrectly in isolation)
- • $15 AOV on DTC site
- • $20K-30K/month total revenue (DTC + Amazon)
- • Agency recommendation: "Pull back, can't scale"
- • Stuck in startup phase
After (90 days):
- • $12K/month total (fractional CMO + specialists)
- • 5x+ direct ROAS, 7-8x total business impact
- • $50 AOV on DTC site
- • $250K-300K/month total revenue
- • Scaled 10x+ in spend with confidence
- • Broke through to real growth
The Real Problem:
The agency had "specialists" managing each channel. But nobody:
- •Owned the full customer journey
- •Understood cross-channel attribution
- •Asked "What's driving our Amazon spikes?"
- •Saw that Meta was the growth engine for everything
They were executing channels. Nobody was solving the business problem.
That's the difference between a fractional CMO and an agency.
We own outcomes, not just channel execution.
The Same Methodology Works At Any Scale
That drinkware brand went from startup to $250K-300K/month using cross-channel attribution insights.
But this isn't just a "small brand" strategy.
I've used the same methodology to help brands scale to $1.5M/month in Meta ad spend by understanding how their paid channels drive lift across their entire ecosystem—including Amazon, retail partnerships, and organic channels.


Most agencies can't think this way. They manage channels, not businesses.
When you understand true incrementality and cross-channel attribution, you can scale with confidence—whether you're spending $10K/month or $1.5M/month.
💡 The Pattern I See Everywhere
This isn't unique. I see this in almost every audit:
- •Agency A runs Meta, reports isolated ROAS
- •Agency B runs Google, reports isolated ROAS
- •Nobody tracks cross-channel lift
- •Nobody sees how channels drive each other
- •Result: Massive underinvestment in the channel creating the most total business value
Your agency might be making the same mistake right now.
That's why you need an audit from someone who owns the full funnel, not just one channel.
What You Get: The 7-Day Agency Audit
The Agency Performance Audit
- •Complete review of ad accounts, campaigns, and creative strategy
- •Analysis of their actual execution vs. what you're paying for
- •Cross-channel attribution analysis (are they missing lift like the agencies above?)
- •CAC breakdown by channel—are you really profitable, or just breaking even?
- •1-3 opportunities they're missing (worth at least $10K+ annually, often $50K+)
- •Clear recommendation: Keep, Fix, or Fire
The Debrief Call (60 minutes)
I'll walk you through:
- •What they're doing well (if anything)
- •Where they're bleeding your money
- •Whether they're worth keeping
- •If yes: How to manage them better (what to push them on, what to kill, what to double down on)
- •If no: Exactly what to replace them with and what it should actually cost
The Decision Framework
You'll walk away knowing:
- •If you should stay with your agency (and how to 10x the value you're getting)
- •If you should fire them (and what the transition plan looks like)
- •Whether a fractional CMO model would save you money while getting better results
What Happens Next: Three Possible Outcomes
Option 1: Your Agency is Actually Good
(Rare, but it happens)
Great. I'll show you how to optimize the relationship, push them harder in the right areas, and fill the strategic gaps they're not covering. You keep your agency, get better results.
Option 2: Your Agency is Mediocre
(Most Common)
They're executing channels but missing the strategic layer—like the cross-channel attribution in the case study above. We have two paths:
- •Path A: They fix it with me managing them as your fractional CMO, or
- •Path B: We transition to a better model
Option 3: Your Agency is Bleeding You Dry
We build a new system. Either I take over as your fractional CMO with proven frameworks and managed specialists, or I help you hire the right team in-house.
Either way, you save $5K-$13K/month while getting senior-level strategic execution and better results.
My Guarantee: You Either Win Big or Make $500
If I don't find at least ONE major opportunity that's costing you $10,000+ annually, I'll refund your $2,500 AND send you an additional $500 for wasting your time.
Read that again.
You either:
- •Discover opportunities worth $10,000+ per year (minimum 4x return on the audit), or
- •Walk away with $500 profit
You literally cannot lose.
Ever since doing audits like this, I've never had to pay the $500.
Why? Because there's always something:
- •Broken conversion tracking costing you 20-30% of your ad spend
- •Traffic campaigns when you should be running conversion campaigns
- •Overpaid specialists (like paying $3,500/month for email worth $1,200)
- •Missed cross-channel attribution (like the agency missing $120K in Amazon lift)
- •Wasted ad spend on irrelevant audiences or poorly structured campaigns
- •Stale creative with no testing framework
I'll find it. It's always there.
And here's the kicker: If you hire me as your fractional CMO after the audit, the full $2,500 is credited toward your first month.
So you're either:
- Getting a free audit (if you hire me), or
- Getting $10K+ in found opportunity (if you don't), or
- Making $500 profit (if I somehow fail)
The worst-case scenario is you make money. The best case is 10x growth.
That's what I call a no-brainer offer.
The Investment
$2,500 for the complete audit + debrief.
If you decide to work with me as your fractional CMO after the audit, I'll credit the full $2,500 toward your first month.
If I don't find at least one opportunity worth $10K+ annually, you get your money back plus $500.
This Only Works If:
- •You're spending $50K+/month on paid ads (if you're spending less, you probably don't need an audit—you need a different strategy)
- •You're doing $1M-$5M+ in annual revenue (proven product-market fit)
- •You're a DTC brand (ecommerce, subscription, or direct-to-consumer B2C)
- •You're ready to make changes based on what the data shows
If that's you, book your audit call below.
Why Listen To Me?
I'm Michael Cocan. I've been doing performance marketing for DTC brands for 15+ years.
My track record:
- •Managed $100M+ in ad spend across 50+ brands
- •Scaled brands from $10K/month spend → $1.5M/month spend
- •Specialized in cross-channel attribution and incrementality (the stuff most agencies don't understand)
- •Worked across categories: Outdoor gear, hunting, fashion, subscription, CPG, drinkware, fitness, new-to-market products
What I do differently:
I own the full customer journey, not just individual channels. That means understanding how Meta drives Amazon sales, how paid drives organic, how your email list grows from paid acquisition, how all your channels work together to grow the business.
Most agencies execute channels. I solve business problems.
"But My Agency is Different"
You might be right. About 10% of agencies are excellent.
On the audit, I'll tell you honestly if you should keep working with them. I'm not here to talk you out of something that's working.
I'm here to show you the truth about what you're paying for—so you can stop wondering and start growing.
Book Your Agency Audit
15-minute qualification call to make sure this is a fit
Once qualified, I'll send over the simple agreement and payment link. 7 days later, you'll know exactly where you stand.
P.S. — Yes, I'm serious about the $500. I've built my business on delivering results, and I back it up with my own money. If you're not blown away by what I find, you profit. Simple as that.
P.P.S. — I work with 3-5 clients at a time, max. If you're thinking about this, don't wait. I typically have 1-2 audit slots available per month.