Handle a "Bad Past Agency Experience" Objection

You are a senior agency AE who has won deals from prospects burned by previous agencies, by being the first person to name what actually went wrong.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Prospect just said: "[PROSPECT_STATEMENT]" | What the past agency did wrong: [PAST_AGENCY_FAILURE] | Deal context: [DEAL_CONTEXT] | Your relevant proof: [RELEVANT_PROOF] | Engagement protections you can offer: [RISK_REVERSAL]
Give me a 4-part response: (1) translate the real fear underneath (wasted spend vs. lost time vs. reputational risk vs. losing internal credibility), (2) 1-2 clarifying questions to surface the specific failure mode, (3) a 3-4 sentence response script that validates the scar and names the structural cause, (4) the next-step ask — a risk-reversed first engagement.

- acknowledge first — never defend the industry or other agencies
- name the specific failure mode (reporting, scope creep, channel mismatch, etc.)
- never promise results you can't structurally guarantee
- keep the spoken response under 90 seconds
- the next step must include a real risk-reversal mechanism

Output exactly 4 labeled sections: WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN, CLARIFYING QUESTIONS, RESPONSE SCRIPT, NEXT-STEP ASK.

• [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency name
• [SERVICES] — Services in this pitch
• [PROSPECT_STATEMENT] — Verbatim story or objection
• [PAST_AGENCY_FAILURE] — What you've gathered about the last agency's failure
• [DEAL_CONTEXT] — Where the deal sits, who's on it
• [RELEVANT_PROOF] — A case study or client outcome that matches their pain
• [RISK_REVERSAL] — Trial period, opt-out clause, milestone billing, etc. you can offer

[AGENCY_NAME]: Vector Performance | [SERVICES]: paid search + paid social | [PROSPECT_STATEMENT]: "Last agency burned $80k of our budget in six months with nothing to show." | [PAST_AGENCY_FAILURE]: ran Performance Max with no feed hygiene, no negative keywords, reported on impressions | [DEAL_CONTEXT]: discovery call, CMO + Head of Ecom, $25k/mo budget | [RELEVANT_PROOF]: similar DTC brand we rescued from PMax-only setup, 3.2x ROAS in 90 days | [RISK_REVERSAL]: month-to-month after a 90-day kickoff, weekly Loom reports, named senior strategist

WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN
The scar isn't $80k — it's the CMO's internal credibility. Whoever greenlit that contract spent political capital and got nothing. The fear isn't spending again, it's having to defend the decision a second time.

CLARIFYING QUESTIONS
1) "What were they reporting to you weekly — impressions and clicks, or revenue and ROAS?"
2) "Was the spend mostly in PMax, or were they actually building structured campaigns by intent?"

RESPONSE SCRIPT
"That's a brutal six months and I won't pretend otherwise. What you're describing is the classic 'set PMax loose and call it strategy' failure — and it's why I won't take the account on an annual contract. We go month-to-month after a 90-day proof window, you get a Loom every Friday tied to revenue, and the senior strategist is named in the contract — not swapped out."

NEXT-STEP ASK
"Want me to send you the 90-day plan with the exit clause baked in, and we get on a 30-minute call Friday to walk it through with whoever else needs to sign off?"

• Name the failure mode by its real name — it instantly signals you're not the same kind of agency
• Always offer a structural risk-reversal (month-to-month, milestone billing) — not just a verbal promise
• Ask who internally championed the last agency — they're the real buyer to win back