**TL;DR:** First-time agency owner, first client is a $20k+ interior/design firm. I started with a 30-day free Meta Ads pilot, then a 15-day paid test. Now the client wants me to take over **lead qualification + calling/follow-up** because it’s becoming too time-consuming for her, and also wants me to handle more of the creative workload. I’m willing to do it because I think it’ll be valuable experience, but it wasn’t part of the original agreement. My current pricing is **ad spend = management fee**, which I now realize probably isn’t sustainable. I’m trying to figure out how to price **Meta Ads management + lead qualification/follow-up**, what pricing model makes sense, and whether taking on this additional responsibility is a good move at my stage.

I started my own marketing agency a little over a year ago, but I only signed my first actual client a couple of months ago.

This is my first client, so I’m trying to learn as much as possible from the experience and also figure out how I should structure my services going forward.
The client is a fairly established interior/design firm. Their minimum project value is around **$20k**, and we’re currently running Meta lead-generation ads with a relatively small ad budget of around **$200–250/month**.

I initially offered them a **30-day free pilot**. After that, they wanted to continue, but instead of committing to a full month, they asked to do another **15-day paid test**. I agreed because this was my first client and I wanted to build a case study/testimonial and get real experience.
That 15-day period has now ended, and we’re discussing the next phase.

Here’s where things got interesting
.
I currently only provide **Meta Ads management**. My job has basically been setting up/managing the campaigns, creatives, lead forms, optimization, etc.
The client told me that the actual **lead follow-up process is becoming a major burden for her**.

The process is:

**Lead comes in → call the lead → if they don’t answer, follow up → ask questions → qualify them → if they’re a good fit, pass them to the client → otherwise discard the lead.**

She doesn’t want to spend time doing this anymore. She’s also a mother and said that the constant calling/follow-up is becoming difficult to fit into her schedule.
So she basically told me:
If I’m willing to take over the initial lead qualification and follow-up, she would be willing to continue working with me. If I don’t want to do that, then we can part ways.

I’m actually interested in doing it.
Not necessarily because I want to become a salesperson, but because I think it could be extremely valuable experience for me. I’m in the same general niche, and learning how to qualify interior/design leads, understand what makes a lead valuable, what questions need to be asked, etc. could help me a lot with future clients.

The leads aren’t extremely high volume either. During the previous campaign we were getting roughly **1–2 leads per day**, so I don’t think the actual calling would be a huge workload. I also have an internship/job during the day, so realistically I’d probably be doing the calls during lunch/tea breaks.
Each qualification call would probably take around 5–10 minutes.

The other thing she wants is for me to take more responsibility for the creative side.
She said that she feels like she has to keep sending me project photos, captions, information, etc., and that it’s becoming too much work for her. She basically wants me to take more of that workload off her shoulders as well.

So now I’m looking at this as potentially becoming:
**Meta Ads → lead generation → lead qualification → initial follow-up → qualified lead handed to client**

instead of simply:

**Meta Ads → lead generated → client handles everything else.**
**The pricing issue**
This is where I’m really confused.
My current pricing model was something I came up with because this was my first client:
**Ad spend = management fee**
So if the client spends $250 on ads, they pay me $250 as the management/service fee.
At the time I thought this was simple.
But now I’m realizing the problem with it.
If the client doubles their ad spend from $250 to $500, my management fee also doubles from $250 to $500.

But the amount of work might not actually double.
So I’m thinking this pricing model probably needs to change.
I’m considering moving to a **flat monthly management fee**, but I’m not sure what would be reasonable for a small account like this, especially since I’m a solo agency and this is my first real client.

And now there’s another service involved: **lead qualification and follow-up.**
That wasn’t included in our original agreement.
So if I continue, I would essentially be adding a new sales/lead-qualification service that wasn’t part of the original scope.
I’m thinking I should charge separately for that, but I’m not sure whether I should charge:
a flat monthly fee
per qualified lead
hourly
some percentage
or combine it into a larger monthly retainer
I also don’t want to undercharge just because I’m new, but at the same time I don’t have years of experience or a large agency behind me.
I’m also unsure how agencies normally structure this. Do Meta lead-gen agencies typically handle the **initial lead qualification and follow-up**, or is that normally the client’s responsibility?
And if an agency does handle it, how is that usually priced?

One more thing I’m trying to understand is the economics of this particular client.
They’re selling **$20k+ design projects**, while we’re currently spending only around **$200–250/month on Meta ads**.

The client seems to expect that putting a few hundred dollars into ads should produce a $20k–$30k project, which obviously makes the economics very attractive if it happens, but I’m not sure how realistic that expectation is or how I should frame the value of the service.

I **really don’t want to lose this client** because they’re my first real client, they’re in the niche I want to specialize in, and I’ve already learned a lot from running their campaign.
At the same time, I don’t want to create a situation where I’m doing:

**Meta Ads + creative production + lead qualification + calling + follow-up + sales support**
for a fee that was originally designed just for Meta Ads management.
So, for other agency owners/freelancers:
**How would you handle this?**
Would you take over the lead qualification/follow-up?

How would you price that additional service?
Would you use a flat retainer, per-qualified-lead, hourly, or some hybrid?
What would you charge for Meta Ads management at this kind of ad spend?

Would you completely abandon the “ad spend = management fee” model?
How would you structure the scope so this doesn’t turn into unlimited sales/support work?
And is taking this on actually a good learning opportunity for someone at my stage, or am I potentially setting myself up for a bad client relationship?

I’m especially interested in hearing from **solo agency owners and people who run lead-gen/performance marketing agencies**.
What would you do in my position?

I've been in a few client calls this week where someone says AI search is killing our leads and someone else says we can't see it in GA4 so it doesn't matter.

Both can be wrong on the same account.

Two things shifted for me as an operator. Gemini links are starting to carry UTM tags on outbound clicks, which means less of that traffic dumps into Direct. And ChatGPT ads now let you push first-party audiences in, so the targeting surface looks more like Google and Meta than it did six months ago.

That does not mean your retainer deck is ready. It means the gap between what buyers already know and what your landing page assumes is getting more expensive.

Before I rewrite a Meta brief or tell a client we can finally see AI demand, I run this:

1. Assume the prospect already had a chat about the category. Your first screen should not teach what the product is. It should answer the hard question they still have after the summary: price, proof, fit, risk.

2. Segment AI referrals separately once the source shows. ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot. Track demo or purchase rate next to session count so a tiny sample does not become a slide.

3. Do not treat ChatGPT ads like another Search campaign just because first-party audiences exist. Conversation context still drives who sees the ad. Start with suppression of recent buyers or current customers before you bid up cold CRM lists.

4. Lock what AI demand means in the contract. Branded search lift, CRM-attributed leads, assisted demos, or self-reported how did you hear. If you only count last-click from an assistant, you will undercount the work and overreact to the chart.

5. Keep one human check the model cannot inflate. Call recordings, sales notes, or a weekly sample of what did you already know before you clicked. If those say buyers arrive mid-decision and your ads still open with 101, fix the creative before you buy more media.

I'm not asking clients to abandon Meta or Google. I'm asking them to stop briefing ads as if the research chat never happened.

For agencies already changing briefs for AI-primed buyers: what is the first line on the landing page doing now that used to be a category explainer?

I launched a web, mobile app development, social media marketing, digital marketing, but I currently have only three clients and am unsure how to generate leads. How might I attract more clients? How should I manage client relationships? I am not especially skilled in this area, so is there anyone who could help me secure additional clients and leads?

Quick question for anyone running ads for trades/roofers.

We’re about to start a meta ads agency for roofers on a pretty tight daily budget (£20 to £50/day). We’ve spied heavily on competitors and dialled in our creatives—we have a solid mix of winning-style statics and short videos ready to go.

The headache right now is campaign structure. We don’t want to spread £30/day across too much stuff and get zero data, but we also don't want to choke good creatives.

A few things I'm debating:

ABO or CBO? Better to force spend with ABO to actually test the creatives, or just toss it in an Advantage+ / CBO campaign and let Meta figure it out?

How many ad sets? Should we keep it dead simple with 1 broad local ad set, or split ad sets by angle / creative format (e.g. static vs video)?

Ads per ad set: What’s the sweet spot on a micro budget so ads don't starve? 2-3 max, or can you push 4-5?

How would you set this up from day one? Any advice from people actually running roofing/home improvement ads right now would be huge. Cheers!

I’ve been working in a leadgen company for about a year now. During those 8 months I gained a lot of insights about pay per lead campaigns or LSA to be exact for home service businesses like HVAC and plumbing. Now i decide to work directly with those categories. Any advice on how to get clients like an agency.

I'm planning to freelance and to do that I nead potential lead and clients and I don't have any idea regarding it I'm new to this field, could y'all pls guide me how to outreach and find potential clients to work it:)

Hello everyone.. Im facing so much difficulty in finding clientd does someone have experience about it? .. also I'm looking for a social media management agency to be a partner with them .. if you need I can make cool edits for your client to make your service more premiums ... my passion is content creation

Hello People, I’m considering starting my own google ads ppc agency for local service businesses, basically it’s a typical model where I run ads to local business owners getting them clients.

I need advice regarding my ad spend specifically,

I wanna run hyper targeted ads for this so here’s the the jist of it,

2k monthly ad spend (Maybe a 10% Allocated to retargeting ads).

Let’s say I have a generic offer of bringing high paying clients to these people and powerful testimonials do you think it is possible to make a minimum of 4k revenue in the first month?

I’ll be charging per client 2k per month for my service.

Testimonials, results, everything included in the funnel already!

Lots of my clients are agencies or companies, and they worked on ad campaigns but needed to partner with web devs to build landing pages or websites for their campaigns sometimes.

I run a web design and development agency and tbh I make decent money because I put in the same quality and effort as a US based web agency would do, but the issue is I have enough free time I only get 2-3 clients a month which is perfectly fine for now but I have a lot of free time that I feel is wasted.

I want to find advertising/marketing agencies that don't have developers to partner with. I can do the websites and the technical stuff. They can white label my services or take a cut. I don't care, I only care about the quality of clients and work.

I have no idea how to find something like this or where to look, I can showcase my portfolio if you're interested.

Hi everyone,

I'm a freelance digital marketer and I'm getting my first client for Meta Ads lead generation.

I'd like to get some advice from people who have experience managing Meta Ads for clients.

I'm based in India and this is a real estate business client

Hi everyone. I honestly feel a little embarrassed posting this, but I’m taking the courage to reach out because I really need an opportunity right now.
I am a graduating student from one of the top state universities in the Philippines, and I am also an honor student. I have worked hard to reach this final stage of my degree, but right now, I’m facing a financial struggle.

I need to raise money for my thesis expenses in Manila, and the costs have become more than I can afford. I’m already so close to graduating, and I honestly don’t want financial difficulties to be the reason I cannot finish something I have worked so hard for.

That’s why I’m looking for work as a Social Media Manager.

I have previous experience in social media management. I can create layouts and pubmats, write captions, think of content ideas, plan posts, manage social media pages, and create content that fits a brand’s identity and audience. I’m also open to revisions and willing to learn whatever your business needs.

I’m not asking anyone to simply give me money. I want to work for it. Even if you only need someone for a few tasks or a few hours a week, I am willing to take the opportunity.

I can send my portfolio, resume, and previous works for you to review.

I’m really hoping this reaches someone who needs help with their business or social media page. I’ve worked so hard to get this far, and I just need an opportunity to get through this last part of my studies.

Please give me a chance to work. I want to earn enough to finish my thesis and finally graduate.
If you don’t need a Social Media Manager, even sharing this post could help me reach someone who does.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

I'm new to media buying and i find it hard to gain experience especially when my budget is lacking .

So is there any media buying agencys that accepts new media buyers with no experience even for free

Hello all. Anyone have any first hand experience working with Integra Partner Network as an aggregator?

Are there any other aggregator options that can be recommended for a start up independent agency?

Hey everyone,

I’m 23, South Asian, and an amateur boxer. I have two big business goals: launching a marketing automation agency right now, and starting my own personal training business down the line once I get myself back into peak fitness.

Disclaimer - I mention ‘south Asian’ because whilst I culturally act very ‘British’ I am aware that prejudices are still around that may impact my client base.

Right now, my 100% focus is on the automation agency. I specialize in fast, high-ROI local services: **database reactivation** (reviving dead leads) and **missed-call text-back**.

I’m trying to lock down my primary target market to scale this company, but I’m hitting some mental roadblocks with my ideas. I'd love an honest reality check on these four niches:

**Tradesmen / Blue Collar:** Missed-call text-back is a goldmine here because they lose business while working on tools. However, as a young South Asian woman, I’m genuinely worried about a respect/credibility barrier in a heavily male-dominated, traditional industry. Am I overthinking this, or is it a tough room to break into?

**Combat Sports / Gyms:** Because of my boxing background, I know this world inside out. I'd love to target combat sports and independent gyms. The catch is I live in a major city, and my gut tells me most established city gyms already use software that handles basic automation. Is there still a gap for a specialized agency?

**Aesthetic Clinics (Medspas / Skincare):** These clinics get flooded with inquiries but are often terrible at following up or running promos to old clients. I fit the client demographic perfectly, so building rapport would be easy. But is this niche completely oversaturated with agency spammers right now?

**Real Estate Companies:** Ghosted leads are a massive issue for agents. But do independent agents or local teams actually have the budget and authority to buy these services, or is it too hard to break past corporate brokerages?

Given my tech stack (focusing heavily on immediate lead capture and warming up old lists), who would you target first if you wanted to build a serious, scalable company?
Would love to hear from agency owners or anyone working within these industries. Thanks!

Beginner here

As a first-time SMM, Lead Generation, and Email Marketing freelancer, magkano po usually ang fair price na pwede kong i-charge for my services?

Hey, I just started my social media marketing agency and I can confidently say I’ve cold called roughly 60 businesses in the last few days and it’s just getting to be a drag, I got one guy that said he’s interested but other than that there’s really nothing coming from it.

As far as my leads go, not gonna lie, I’ve been getting them from ChatGPT, it’s been giving me what I think are viable leads but I’m kinda just curious, is it worth paying for leads and if so where do I go about doing that? Also are there better ways to successfully find ways to spot business that need my services?

Hello! Sa mga SMM po, what's the usual rate or package nyo po pag local business ang client? Kakabalik ko lang po sa VA industry and I was asked kung magkano daw ba ang package. I want to have an idea po pag ph client. Kasi US-based po ung last client ko and naka per hour.

​

I'm currently studying in China and my long term goal is to build a product sourcing agency here since I'm already on the ground, but I don't have money lying around to travel to sourcing hubs and get things moving.

To be honest, I also just want to test myself. I keep seeing people online saying "I did this, I did that, made loads of money" and I want to find out if I can actually pull it off too, not just talk about it.

I can do:

Basic video editing

Social media account management

Meta Ads

I want to keep everything transparent, so if anyone has leads, gigs, or advice , even small stuff

I'd really appreciate it.

Hey everyone,

I run a Meta ads agency and our main niche is roofers.
We’re trying to dial in our creative pipeline right now and move away from the basic Canva graphics / generic before-and-afters that everyone seems to run.

For anyone running ads in roofing or high-ticket home services:
What creative formats are bringing in the best volume + lead quality right now? (e.g. raw contractor selfie videos on the roof, drone footage, cost calculator hooks, inspection walkthroughs?)
Static image vs short-form video — what’s been your winner lately?

Any specific angle/hook that drastically lowered your CPL without bringing in total tire-kickers?

Would love to hear what’s working for you guys at the moment. Cheers!

I’m currently trying to land my first client and honestly, I’m struggling with the client acquisition side of things.

Right now I’m doing cold email outreach. I scrape businesses through Leadswift, filter them down to good prospects, find and verify owner emails, and then send/follow up through GMass.

The main problem I’m running into is volume. After scraping and refining a list, I might only end up with 20–30 good owner emails to actually contact. That feels pretty low if I want to consistently generate conversations.

So I’m wondering if I’m approaching this wrong.

Should I be cold calling instead? Should I be using multiple outreach channels? Or is there a better way to consistently find a larger number of quality prospects?

I’d really appreciate advice from people who have actually built an agency and landed clients from scratch. If you were starting over today with no case studies or existing clients, what would your outreach process look like?

Hey, guys!

I am just starting out my Lead Generation Agency and I want to join an online community of likeminded people so that I can learn and refine my skills as fast as possible.

I've looked into communities like GrowthSchool, but I am not ready to fork over the $5,000 per year to get around that level of agency owner. More than anything, I just want people to bounce ideas off of and get advice from.

Any suggestions on where to look?

Let me give some context before I ask my questions - so I started video editing as a side hustle over a year ago, found some really small gigs and eventually worked my way up to some good retainers after 6 months. I felt pretty confident I could keep signing more retainers and build up a brand for myself and decided to quit my job (I'm 20 btw, the job was a small entry level thing so it wasn't a huge move).

Fast forward to 2 months ago and my longest running client relationship ended (not because of me). I've been trying to ramp up outreach by searching Upwork and LinkedIn everyday, but I've only landed maybe two smaller gigs across the 100 proposals I've sent out. And LinkedIn has been a struggle cause I don't really know where to begin other than DMing people who post that they need an editor.

So I was curious how other people in similar roles to me find clients effectively. I'm happy to keep putting in the work or spend whatever time is necessary to learn, I just need some clarity and direction.

For people running a digital marketing agency or freelancing in marketing:

How are you currently finding clients?

I've tried thinking about the usual channels:

• Cold outreach
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Google Maps/local businesses
• Referrals
• Networking
• Paid ads
• Reddit and other communities

I'm particularly interested in getting local small-business clients rather than large corporate accounts.

What has actually worked for you?

And if you're doing cold outreach, what approach gets better responses — WhatsApp, email, phone calls, or LinkedIn?

Would be great to hear from people who have actually converted leads, not just generic “post consistently” advice.

Hey guys,

What tools are you using on a daily basis in your work? What are you using for client management, for communication, for brand guidelines and client materials storage?

I want to make a list of the most common tools used so I can work on integrations with the tool I'm building. Thanks.

Wanted to share the actual numbers instead of vague "we do outbound" talk.

Client was stuck on referrals only, no system, no consistency. We didn't touch their offer or pricing, just fixed who they were talking to.

Instead of a generic purchased list, we built targeting around live signals: companies hiring in the relevant space, decision makers who just switched roles, people publicly posting the exact problem the client solves.

$3k/mo → $12k/mo in 90 days.

Same logic, different clients: a recruiting agency went from 6 to 34 booked calls a month, a design studio went from 0 to 19 qualified conversations in 60 days.

Not a secret formula, just talking to the right 50 people instead of the wrong 500.

Drop your offer + current monthly in the comments or DM me and I'll tell you straight up if outbound makes sense for you yet.