For example, let's say it's an agent with a website on the Internet. The writer needs to find out who that agent represents, and what their standing is in the industry. In my book, and in my class, I outline specific questions a writer needs to ask any potential agent or producer. A writer needs to know the track record of the agent, what the agent thinks of her writing, and how this agent intends to market her script. If an agent is unwilling to communicate, asks for money, or says he plans to send out your script to as many people as possible, then I would say keep looking for someone else to represent you.
Good agents have a marketing strategy, and they have contacts.
They take a rifle approach to your project, not a a shotgun approach. I'd like to focus on your book for my next question. As with almost all of the principles and formulas I've developed, from reading scripts and seeing movies. I always look at what good stories have in common. There has been one essential component at the core of everything I've ever taught or written, and that is that the foundation of all Hollywood movies is a visible desire for the hero, with a clearly implied end point or finish line.