# How do I end things with an agency properly?

**Short answer.** Yourself, in person, before the letter goes out, and with the reason attached. The agency world is small: how you leave decides who shows up for your next pitch.

Yourself, in person, before the letter goes out, and with the reason attached. Those four points cover nearly everything there is to say, and all four get broken surprisingly often.

## Why it matters

The Belgian agency world is small. The account director you part with today will be at another agency in two years, possibly in the pitch you launch then. How you leave decides who takes part and with how much enthusiasm.

There is also a practical reason: you still need several months. A three to six month notice period means these people will work on your brand for another half year. A termination that lands like a slap costs you exactly those months.

## How to do it

**1. Say it yourself, to the person who invested most.** Not by email, not through procurement, not through an assistant. One call or one meeting.

**2. Give the real reason.** Not at length, but honestly. "We are moving to an agency stronger in e-commerce" is usable; "we are going in a different direction" is an empty sentence everyone recognises.

**3. Only then send the formal letter**, with the notice period and the dates.

**4. Say what you expect during the remaining period**, and ask who stays on your account. See [what a normal notice period is](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/normale-opzegtermijn).

**5. Start the handover immediately**, not in the final week. See [how to make sure the handover goes well](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/goede-overdracht).

## What not to do

**Launch a pitch without saying so.** They will hear about it anyway, because the market is small, and then you lose the conversation before it starts.

**Leave it to the new party.** Your current agency should not hear it from its successor.

**Wait until the last day of the notice period.** An agency told in time can plan a clean handover; an agency told late can only tidy up.

## And ask for a debrief

Ask what they thought went wrong, including what you could have done differently. It is the cheapest advice you will ever get, because it comes from someone who knows your brand and has nothing left to lose.

If a selection runs ahead of the termination, the order of those two is half the work. IKAg guides that process on the advertiser's side: see [Agency selection & pitches](https://www.ikag.be/en/agency-selection).

See also: [what switching agencies costs](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/wat-kost-van-bureau-wisselen) and [who owns the work when you stop](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/van-wie-is-het-werk).

## Related questions

- [What is a normal notice period with an agency?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/normale-opzegtermijn): Three to six months is common, and the length should follow from how many people the agency dedicates to you. Insist on reciprocity: a notice period that binds only you is not an agreement, it is a penalty.
- [How do I make sure the handover goes well?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/goede-overdracht): Ask for source files, access and running commitments while the relationship is still live, not afterwards. A handover clause costs nothing at the start and weeks after the fact.
- [When should I switch agencies?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/wanneer-van-bureau-wisselen): Switch when the problem is structural rather than personal: the team changed three times, every proposal needs rebriefing, or the agency has outgrown your category. Disappointment in one campaign is not a reason.

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IKAg is the business consultant for marketing and agencies in Belgium and the Netherlands. Market figures come from the Agency Barometer, calculated on the annual accounts agencies filed with the National Bank themselves. Figures on pitches and satisfaction come from IKAg-guided processes, and are always presented as such.

- All questions: https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq
- Last updated: 2026-08-19