Agency insights
Thoughts and lessons on client selection, burnout, pricing, and modernising legacy accounts, from someone who's run a Google Ads for years.
I lost the last 3 deals I pitched because I made the same mistake (3 times).
Published September 2024. Last updated July 2026.
I lost the last 3 deals I pitched on because I made the same mistake every time. I forgot to ask when they wanted me to start managing their Google Ads.
(To be fair, I'm a little rusty. I haven't wanted more managed-for-you Google Ads clients for a while so I haven't had much practice selling.)
- All 3 prospects were warm. They'd approached me after reading something on my website.
- All 3 were in industries where I've generated thousands of leads.
- All 3 would cover my costs just on their savings from wasted ad spend.
I felt like our meetings went well. We even got past the hard bit where I told them how much I charge and asked them if they wanted to go ahead.
All 3 said yes. I started looking at new surfboards.
Then, the day after the meetings, I got 3 'not now, maybe later' emails.
I don't know about you, but in my experience not now = never.
'When' is a power-question.
I'd missed something that was making my potential clients reluctant. Asking when they wanted to start would have uncovered it. 'When' changes the project from theoretical to something that's actually going to happen. It flips the discussion from deciding if to deciding how.
The answer signals a commitment to going ahead, or it uncovers hidden reluctance.
If I'd asked when they wanted to start I'd have got one of two answers:-
-
If they said now, I could start the take-on process right there in the meeting. Nothing signals commitment like paying the invoice.
-
If they said later, I'd have tried to figure out why they had contacted me now if they only wanted to start in the future. This would uncover hidden problems or uncertainties. There is a good chance we would have been able to resolve them.
But, I didn't and so I lost the deals. The good news is that it won't happen again. I've added 'Ask when' to my call note template. I won't forget next time.
Hope you found this useful.
Most Google Ads Problems Aren't Google Ads Problems
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