Had a client last week who asked me to manage their ad account but refused to give me access to their Pixel

I was on a Zoom call with a potential client in Denver who wanted me to run Facebook ads for their boutique, but when I asked for Pixel access they said 'oh I don't share that with anyone, I just give screenshots of the data.' I spent 20 minutes trying to explain that without Pixel access I can't track conversions or build audiences, and they just kept repeating 'but I trust my own numbers.' Has anyone else run into a client who doesn't get basic ad platform permissions?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith_smith16d ago

Look at it from their side for a second. 48% of small business owners I've worked with got burned by shady freelancers who ghosted them after getting full access to everything. That Pixel is basically the keys to their ad kingdom, one wrong click and their whole account gets banned or stolen. Giving screenshots is actually pretty smart if they don't know you that well yet. Maybe next time try offering a limited access account or a third party tracking tool that lets them keep control while you still get the data you need. They're probably scared, not stubborn.

the_eric16d ago

Yeah, that "scared not stubborn" part hits hard. I had a buddy who ran a small bakery and hired a marketing freelancer off some gig site. Gave them full admin access to everything, and three weeks later the freelancer ghosted after running a bunch of random test campaigns that blew through his whole budget. He was out like three grand and had to fight to get his account back. So yeah, @faith_smith, I get why people are gun-shy with that Pixel access now. Screenshots might feel annoying to you but to them it's just basic safety.