Guides for marketing agency owners
Five guides to the parts of a marketing agency sale: earnouts, a client who is too big, partner badges, PR firm deal terms and media billings. If you are new to selling, read what a marketing agency is worth and how to sell a marketing agency first.
Earnouts and cash at close in marketing agency sales
How much is paid at closing, what earnouts are tied to, what they tend to pay out, and seller notes.
Read this if a buyer offers to pay part of the price later. In 21 deals reported by TobinLeff, an M&A advisor to larger marketing agencies, 15 included an earnout, and earnout consideration averaged about 28% of the purchase price.
Client concentration, retainers and contracts
The concentration thresholds buyers use, why retainers matter, and the contract clauses that decide whether clients transfer.
Read this if one client brings in more than a tenth of your revenue. Advisors Palmer and FE International both set the line at 10% of revenue for one client and 25% for the top three.
Selling a digital or performance marketing agency
How buyers price digital and performance agencies, partner badges, ad accounts and founder-led sales.
Read this if you run paid search, paid social, SEO or analytics for clients. FE International says performance, search and PPC agencies price higher within their size band.
Selling a PR firm
How PR firms are valued, why net revenue and retainers matter, and how deals keep senior account leads in place.
Read this if you run a public relations or communications firm. Gould+Partners, a PR firm M&A advisor, wrote in December 2024 that buyers typically pay 20% to 35% of the valuation at closing and the rest over three to five years as an earnout.
Selling a media buying or advertising agency
Gross billings vs agency gross income, media payables and credit, client tenure and what buyers check.
Read this if client media spend runs through your revenue line. Converge Direct, a US media-buying agency, reported $293.5 million of 2021 revenue but $37.6 million of gross profit, because it generally reports advertising revenue gross.
Which guide to read first
By type of marketing agency
| Your firm | Read |
|---|---|
| Digital or performance | Digital and performance, then client concentration |
| Creative or branding | Client concentration |
| Public relations | PR firms, then earnouts |
| Media buying or advertising | Media buying |
| Content or social media | Earnouts |
| Full-service or hybrid | What it is worth, then earnouts |
For creative and branding studios, FE International says project-heavy creative studios fall toward the low end of their size band unless they have productized, durable service lines.
Sources
All sources accessed October 14, 2026.
- TobinLeff M&A Advisors, What Buyers Actually Underwrite When Buying an Agency, June 11, 2026
- Axial, Digital Marketing Agency Valuation Multiples (Averages from Industry Experts), November 12, 2025
- FE International, How to Value a Digital Marketing Agency in 2026: EBITDA Benchmarks and Exit Multiples, May 20, 2026
- Gould+Partners, Putting a Value on Your PR Firm, December 8, 2024
- Troika Media Group, Converge Direct, LLC and Affiliates combined financial statements, years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, June 6, 2022
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