We recently sat down with a prospect for an informal capabilities meeting, and I noticed that most of the questions asked tended to center on production capabilities. And, while we certainly have a wide range of capabilities, I have to say it left me feeling like we were coming up short in their eyes because we didn’t have a basement full of programmers.

Isn’t that like going to meet with a home builder and quizzing her about the carpenters she employs? Sure I expect her to hire the best people, but what I care most about is what I can expect my home to look like and why it’s the best fit for my family and me.

So, I’d like to suggest that a more productive initial discussion might be to focus on how the agency gets to ideas and past examples of great insights, rather than the tools they have at their disposal. Having been a client myself for several years, I know that if I had to pick between an agency dedicated to insights and an agency that employs dozens of Flash developers, I’d go with the first scenario every single time.

So, how do you identify an agency that’s truly committed to building brands based upon identifying stronger and deeper insights? Here are some things to keep your eye on:

See what the agency thinks are great insights. Put them on the spot. Every single piece of work ought to be based upon a key insight into that client’s business, customers or competitive situation. Telling that story should come as second nature.

Follow the money. A pretty clear indication of their commitment is how much they have invested in this area. Do they have Account Planners on staff? How much do they spend in research tools or research facilities? If the head of Account Planning is not present in your first meeting, maybe they’re not really committed to discovering those nuggets.

Ask whose job it is. Oftentimes, agencies play the “it’s everyone’s job” card. While certainly all of an agency’s efforts should be focused on getting smart about the client’s business, their target and their marketplace, truly great agencies treat insight gathering as a separate discipline. If they don’t, then it’s clear that relevant ideas are not seen as the strategic foundation of the organization.

Today’s agencies need to be more insight-centric and far less obsessed with narrow production capabilities. I’m sure we’d all agree an agency shouldn’t be tied into making recommendations based on its capabilities. It goes to the old saying about, “if the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything starts to look like a nail.”

But, don’t take my word for it. In this Ad Age video, Patrick Edson, VP Marketing Innovation, MillerCoors points to hard-to-find insights as the reason behind the success of the Rocky Mountain Cold Refreshment campaign. Funny, he never says a word about his agency’s production capabilities.