Financial pr agencies: there are hundreds of them, especially in London. Some will be big, some will be small — all will charge an arm and a leg.

These big corporate agencies can be quite intimidating, too, especially if you're a smaller business and new to the communications and media game. They'll have big offices in the city, paid for by clients with too much money and not enough sense.

You'll also find that many employees of financial pr agencies wear suits. This means they know very little about the media — which, of course, is their area of expertise.

Now that the scene is set, dear reader, we thought we'd arm you with 5 questions to ask a financial pr agency before you hire one. They'll help you to find out what you're really going to get — as opposed to what you'll be told you're going to get. It's not a comprehensive list of questions, but it's a start.

So here goes:

5 questions to ask financial pr agencies

1. Ask the agency exactly who will run your account if you choose to go ahead with them. Because you can bet your bottom dollar that it won't be the person who's sat pitching to you. Make sure it's not some junior bod who has very few contacts and won't be able to get his head around your business. Because unless you confirm that at outset, that's exactly who you'll end up with.

2. Ask them to show you recent examples of coverage achieved for their clients. If they can't show you at least a handful of decent pieces of coverage from the past few days, get the hell out of there. They'll be one of those financial pr agencies that talk a lot about your strategic messages but never actually get you any media coverage. And media coverage is probably what you want.

3. Ask them if they will work with you on a non-contractual basis for the first three months. After all, if they're as good as they say they are then why would they be worried about losing you at the end of Month 3? These days, the best UK pr agencies will be prepared to take you on without a contract in the early stages, if not indefinitely. PR companies that tie you into big contracts are usually PR agencies that underperform.

4. Ask them when they expect to start getting you media coverage. If they say it may take a month before you start seeing any coverage, get out of there quick. Any half decent financial pr agency can get you coverage within a week or two. It will know exactly where to put you and have the contacts to make it happen. Say that you want to see some quick hits to put the pressure on them.

5. Ask them to tell you what they have done for other clients with similar budgets. A pr agency that walks the walk will have stacks of case studies to hand that demonstrate how it has raised the profile of companies of a similar size, or in a similar sector, to yours. Concrete examples of client work tell you a lot more about what you're going to get than the guff you'll get in a pitch.

All in all, be one demanding son of a gun from day one. And don't give an inch. Big corporate financial pr agencies will walk all over you and charge you thousands for negligible results if you show them that you don't really know how they work.

Other than that, good luck!