The best proposal for your business is the one that explains how the work supports a commercial objective. A long list of channels and deliverables can sound comprehensive without showing why they belong together.
Give candidates a consistent brief
Describe the customer, service, sales cycle and current acquisition methods. Explain what counts as a qualified enquiry and what your team can realistically handle. Share approved performance summaries rather than unrestricted account access at the quoting stage.
Ask candidates to identify what they need to learn before committing budget. A credible plan should distinguish known facts from assumptions.
Compare the first month of work
Request a sequence: audit, measurement fixes, message testing, campaign launch and review. Ask which dependencies could delay the plan and who supplies the required content or creative assets.
For SEO and content work, use Google's helpful-content principles as one review reference. For paid channels, ask how targeting, creative and landing-page experience will be tested together.
Keep ownership and reporting clear
Your business should retain access to advertising accounts, Analytics, creative source files and campaign data. Specify how permissions are granted and removed, and how the engagement can be handed over.
Reports should distinguish activity from outcomes: articles published, campaigns launched, qualified leads and acquired customers are different measures. Ask for the assumptions behind forecasts and reject guaranteed results unsupported by evidence.
Find marketing consultants who can explain what they would do first, what they would measure and what evidence would change the plan. Those answers usually reveal more than a polished presentation alone.