How do I choose a TikTok Shop agency vs in-house team?

I advise vetting agencies with three filters: "Ask what their differentiator is," interview the actual account manager for 30 minutes, and check for public thought leadership. If agencies lack these proof points, building in-house may be safer.

What traits should a TikTok Shop community manager have?

According to I, look for "patience," sociability, and adaptability because "creators are gonna ask them a ton of questions. They have to be able to keep the creator calm, be patient with them, and then also be kind to them."

Why do brands get burned by TikTok Shop agencies?

I found that "most of the times these brands just don't know the correct questions to ask." Without vetting differentiators, interviewing AMs, and checking thought leadership, brands sign contracts blindly.

Should I hire in-house for TikTok Shop or use an agency?

Q: What questions should I ask a TikTok Shop agency before signing?

I recommend asking for "proprietary in house tech, an in house engaged creator community with at least 2-300 creators for your niche, or a case study in the last 90 days for a brand of your size and niche."

Q: Should I interview the account manager before hiring a TikTok Shop agency?

Yes. I say "You MUST get on a call with the AM who will be working with you and run them through a short interview for 30 mins on TikTok Shop strategies for your brand" to screen out junior AMs at premium-priced agencies.

Q: What is the first hire for a TikTok Shop in-house team?

I is clear: "Community manager, community coordinator is the first role to hire. I don't think you need an ads guy because you shouldn't spend money on ads until you have a sizable enough community."

Q: When should I hire ads or analytics people for TikTok Shop?

I say analytics and ads hires come later: "In the early days it's just did you give out more samples today than you gave out yesterday and did you get more videos today than you give yesterday? You can track yourself in Google Sheets."

“Most of the times these brands just don’t know the correct questions to ask.”

That’s how I framed the TikTok Shop agency vs in-house debate after fifteen brands told him they’d been burned by their agency partners in a single month.

Why most brands get burned by TikTok Shop agencies

I explained the core problem on LinkedIn:

“Last month 15 different brands told us they got screwed by their TikTok Shop agency. Here’s how we helped them select the correct partner going forward.”

The issue isn’t that agencies are inherently bad—it’s that brands sign contracts without vetting properly. I provided a simple framework:

“Ask what their differentiator is? Here are some valid differentiators: Proprietary in house tech trained on historical data for TikTok Shop fulfillment. An in house engaged creator community with at least 2-300 creators for your niche. A case study in the last 90 days for a brand of your size and niche.”

Without these proof points, you’re gambling.

Interview the account manager before you sign

I was direct about the second filter:

“Ask who the AM will be on your account and their background. You MUST get on a call with the AM who will be working with you and run them through a short interview for 30 mins on TikTok Shop strategies for your brand. This will let you easily screen out junior AM’s from agency’s who charge premium prices before you sign a contract.”

The agency brand doesn’t matter if the person running your account can’t answer basic strategy questions.

Why I built in-house at Mary Ruth’s

On the Zero Sum Game podcast, I discussed the in-house path with Jay Hunter from Mary Ruth’s. Jay explained his default stance:

“I’m notoriously anti-agency. I think for a lot of agencies where like they’re doing the work—and this is no disrespect to them—but like the business model is just least amount of work for most amount of money. And so like for the partnership to really work, it’s just very hard to find like a great partnership that works for both.”

I then walked through how Mary Ruth’s actually built their TikTok Shop team from scratch:

“I had went to almost every direct report I had, all my directors, and I was like, ‘Hey, do you want to take on TikTok shops, like try to figure it out?’ And every single director actually turned me down.”

The solution? Go a tier down:

“I had to go a tear down actually to my managers and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to steal some of your—I’m going to find a manager from you guys and I’m going to steal them to do TikTok shops.’”

That manager was Catalina, who had no ecommerce channel experience but took the channel from $50K in January 2024 to over $4 million by May.

The community manager is the first hire

I was emphatic about sequencing:

“I think community manager, community coordinator is the first role to hire. I don’t think you need an ads guy because you shouldn’t spend money on ads until you have a sizable enough community. That’s my opinion.”

He elaborated on why the analytics and advertising hires can wait:

“I mean look the analytics are nice but I think in the early days it’s just did you give out more samples today than you gave out yesterday and did you get more videos today than you give yesterday? You can track yourself in Google Sheets if you need to.”

The logic is clear: content volume drives TikTok Shop performance, and community managers produce that volume.

What to look for in a community coordinator

I outlined the personality traits that matter:

“The number one skill to have is patience. I think bubbly is not the right word, but just like how sociable they are. Do they have a lot to say? Are they willing to talk? Can they talk about stuff they don’t know about? Because like again, creators are gonna ask them a ton of questions.”

I added:

“They have to be able to keep the creator calm, be patient with them, and then also be kind to them.”

Thought leadership signals agency quality

my final filter for agency selection:

“If an agency has no quality content or voice around TikTok Shop then I’m hesitant that they know what they’re talking about. TikTok Shop is a channel where you have to invest a ton of cash upfront for a long period of time. I want to know that my agency understands where to put that investment and is on top of all algorithmic shifts/market data so I give my brand the best shot.”

No public expertise, no trust.

Key takeaways

Vet agency differentiators before signing—look for “proprietary tech, an engaged creator community, or a case study in the last 90 days”
Interview the actual account manager for 30 minutes on TikTok Shop strategy to “screen out junior AMs”
Hire community coordinators first because “you shouldn’t spend money on ads until you have a sizable enough community”
Prioritize patience and sociability in community hires since “creators are gonna ask them a ton of questions”
Check for thought leadership—agencies without “quality content or voice” likely lack expertise

What this means for operators

The TikTok Shop agency vs in-house decision comes down to asking the right questions upfront. As I put it:

“Most of the times these brands just don’t know the correct questions to ask.”

If you’re evaluating agencies, demand proof of their differentiator, interview the AM directly, and verify they have a public track record. If you’re building in-house, start with a community coordinator who can handle creator volume—analytics and ads hires come later. The brands that succeed on TikTok Shop aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets; they’re the ones who vet properly and sequence their hires correctly.

Should I hire in-house for TikTok Shop or use an agency?

Why most brands get burned by TikTok Shop agencies

Interview the account manager before you sign

Why I built in-house at Mary Ruth’s

The community manager is the first hire

What to look for in a community coordinator

Thought leadership signals agency quality

Key takeaways

What this means for operators

Sources

Does follower count matter on TikTok Shop?

Does TikTok Shop help my Amazon sales?

How do I choose a TikTok Shop agency?

Frequently asked