Threw $1800 at a Google Ads consultant and got absolutely nothing back

This was back in 2019 when I first started my agency. I was getting maybe 2-3 leads a month from word of mouth and thought I needed to go big. Found this guy who talked a big game about scaling agencies with paid ads. Gave him $1800 for a month of management plus ad spend. He set up like 6 campaigns targeting small business owners in my area. After 30 days I got exactly zero leads and my phone didnt ring once. When I asked about it he said I needed to give it 3 months minimum. Told him sorry but I cant throw another $5400 at something showing zero results. Blocked me on LinkedIn. Made me realize you gotta really vet these people hard before handing over money. Anyone else get burned by a pricey marketing "expert"?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_eric17h ago

Yeah that's rough but $1800 is honestly not much for ads, especially with management fees. Sounds more like a test budget than real money to get results. The guy blocking you says everything though, a real pro would have documented what they learned and offered to adjust.

taylor_moore17h ago

Honestly $1800 isn't that much for ads, that's more like a cheap trial than a real budget.