Level Marketing / Articles / Running a business
How to choose a paid ads specialist: 9 questions before you hire
A poorly chosen ads specialist costs you not just their fee but your ad budget and your time. There are plenty of profiles calling themselves "targetologists" on Telegram and Instagram, so how do you check their experience? Here are 9 questions for the first meeting and what to listen for.
1. "What projects have you done in my industry?"
Experience in your niche helps but is not essential. What matters is that they can clearly explain how they solved a similar problem (for example, leads for an expensive product or a local service). Ask for numbers and process, not general talk.
2. "What numbers do you report results in?"
The answer should include cost per lead, number of leads and budget spent. If they only talk about reach and followers, be careful: those numbers don't show sales. See our CPL guide.
3. "Who will own the ad account?"
The right answer is you. The ad account and Business Manager should be opened in your business's name, with the specialist working through granted access. Otherwise, when the partnership ends, you lose the history, audiences and Pixel data.
4. "What will you do in the first month?"
A good specialist has a concrete plan: brief, competitor analysis, audience hypotheses, creative tests, tracking setup. "We'll launch and see" means there is no plan.
5. "Who makes the creatives?"
Much of the result depends on video and images. Clarify whether creatives are included, who shoots them and how many new ones you get per month. Why the first seconds matter: Reels hooks.
6. "How often and in what form will you report?"
The minimum is a written monthly report: spend, leads, cost per lead, what was done and next month's plan. A short weekly update is even better.
7. "How do you calculate the budget?"
A professional answer starts from your goals: how many customers you need, your conversion and average order. The method is in our ad cost guide.
8. "What will you do if there are no results?"
No one can guarantee results 100% — be wary of anyone who does. The right answer: which metrics are tracked, when the strategy changes and how decisions are made.
9. "Will you help with lead handling?"
Ads bring the lead; your team makes the sale. A good specialist will also advise on response speed, CRM and sales scripts, because otherwise the ad's effect is lost.
Red flags
| Signal | Why it's risky |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed results ("100 leads guaranteed") | Ad results depend on many factors |
| Refusing to give you account access | Your data stops being yours |
| Talking only about reach and followers | Says nothing about sales |
| Launching without a plan | Budget goes on chance instead of testing |
| Very low price and "I do everything" | Usually not enough quality or time |
What to check in the first month
- Do you have full access to the ad account?
- Is the Pixel or other tracking set up?
- How many creatives and audiences were tested?
- How did cost per lead change, and why?
- Did the report arrive on time?
Conclusion
When choosing a specialist, what matters is concrete numbers, a transparent process and an ad account that belongs to you — not a pretty portfolio. With these 9 questions you can assess a specialist in one meeting. At Level Marketing we present the report in the client's office on the project date every month, and our specialists' bonuses depend on the client renewing.
