Sheffield's Guide to Hiring Ad Experts That Get Results

So, you're looking for a freelance advertising consultant in Sheffield. Good. It means you've realised that hoping for customers to just find you isn't a strategy. But the search itself is a bit of a minefield. You're probably being bombarded with promises from folk all over the country, and even the world, telling you they can get you amazing results.

Here's the bit of uncomfortable truth most people won't tell you: most Sheffield businesses hire the wrong person. They do it because they ask the wrong questions and look for the wrong things. They hire a 'button-pusher' when they need a strategist, or fall for a slick salesperson who has never actually run a campaign that made a real profit for a client. My goal is to fix that. I want to help you find a genuine expert who can make a material difference to your bottom line, not just send you a report full of meaningless metrics.

But can't any remote consultant do the job? Why Sheffield?

It's a fair question. In a world of Zoom calls and remote work, does location even matter? For paid advertising, I'd argue yes, it definitely can. Especially for a city with a unique economic identity like Sheffield. A generic London agency might see Sheffield as just another spot on the map, lumping it in with Leeds or Manchester. But that misses the point.

Think about it. Are you a B2B company trying to get in front of engineers at the Advanced Manufacturing Park? That's a completely different challenge to a new bar trying to attract students around West Street, or a creative agency targeting clients in the Cultural Industries Quarter. A local consultant gets these nuances. They understand the local competition, they have a feel for what messages resonate with a South Yorkshire audience, and they probably know what your competitors are already doing. They're not just applying a template; they're using real, on-the-ground intelligence. It's an advantage you shouldn't dismiss lightly, particularly if you're a local service business where this kind of local lead generation expertise is what makes or breaks a campaign.

Who am I actually talking to? The Good, The Bad, and The 'Button-Pusher'.

When you start your search, you'll find that 'advertising consultant' is a broad title. In my experience, they fall into three main camps. Knowing which is which is the most important part of this whole process.

1. The Strategic Partner: This is who you're looking for. They'll start by asking about your business, not about ad platforms. They'll want to know your profit margins, your average customer value, and what a new customer is actually worth to you. They see paid ads as a tool to solve a business problem (like needing more qualified leads or increasing online sales). They challenge your assumptions and talk about building a sustainable growth engine. They might have a smaller, more focused set of case studies, but they can talk about each one with incredible depth. The first conversation feels less like a sales pitch and more like a free consultation where you learn something. This is the person who will help you identify the right path for genuine business growth.

2. The Platform Specialist (The 'Button-Pusher'): This person is technically proficient. They know every nook and cranny of Google Ads or Meta Ads. They'll impress you with jargon about 'quality scores', 'bid strategies', and 'performance max'. The problem? They can't connect any of it to your bank account. They'll deliver reports showing a high click-through rate (CTR) but won't have a clue why it didn't lead to sales. They see their job as getting cheap clicks, not profitable customers. Hiring them is dangerous because things will look like they're working, but you'll be slowly bleeding cash.

3. The Smooth Salesperson: This one is the riskiest. They have a slick website, a confident pitch, and they promise you the world. They'll guarantee results, which is the biggest red flag in advertising because it's impossible. Their case studies will be vague ("we boosted engagement by 200% for a client") and they'll be hesitant to get into the gritty details. They often work for larger, churn-and-burn agencies where your account will be passed to a junior person the moment you sign the contract. They sell a dream, not a service.

How do I know they're not just full of it?

Easy. You ignore almost everything they say in their pitch and focus on one thing: their case studies. This is the only proof that matters. But you need to know how to dissect them properly.

Don't just glance at the headline figures. A good consultant should be able to walk you through the entire story of a campaign. For instance, I remember one campaign we ran for a B2B software company. We managed to get them highly qualified leads for just $22 CPL on LinkedIn. The case study isn't about the $22 number; it's about the *how*. It was about deeply understanding their Ideal Customer Profile, realising their audience didn't respond to corporate jargon, and testing creative that spoke to their specific pain points. The number was the result, not the story.

When you're reviewing a consultant's past work, ask these questions:

• -> Is this case study for a business in a similar industry to mine? Getting results for an eCommerce clothing brand is completely different to generating leads for an industrial manufacturer.
• -> Are the results in pounds (£)? It sounds simple, but a consultant showing you results in dollars for a US client tells you nothing about their ability to perform in the UK market.
• -> Can they explain the 'why'? Why did they choose that platform? Why did that ad creative work when others failed? Why did they target that specific audience? If their answer is "we just tested things," they're a button-pusher, not a strategist.
• -> What went wrong? A great consultant will be honest about the ads that failed and what they learned from them. Someone who only shows you winners is either lying or inexperienced.

What's a fair price? And how do I set a budget?

This is the question on everyone's mind. The honest answer is: a good freelance consultant in Sheffield isn't going to be cheap. But they shouldn't be as expensive as a top London agency either. You're typically looking at a retainer model (a fixed fee per month), a percentage of ad spend, or a project-based fee. For any serious, ongoing work, expect to be investing a four-figure sum per month just for their management fee, on top of your ad spend.

If that sounds like a lot, you're thinking about it the wrong way. The consultant's fee isn't a cost; it's part of your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). The real question isn't "how little can I pay?" but "how much can I *afford* to pay to acquire a valuable customer?" To answer that, you need to know your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).

Most businesses have no idea what their LTV is. But it's the single most important number for scaling with paid ads. It's the metric that separates the businesses that can grow aggressively from those that are stuck tinkering with tiny budgets. It is the core concept you need to understand to stop wasting money and start investing it intelligently.

What questions will sort the experts from the amateurs?

Once you're on a call, you need to go beyond the basic "tell me about your experience". You need to ask questions that force them to think strategically and reveal whether they are a partner or a button-pusher. Try these:

• "Based on what you know about my business, what ad platform would you start with and, most importantly, why?" A good answer will involve a discussion about your target customer. Are they actively searching for a solution? Then they'll likely suggest Google Search. Is it more of an impulse buy or a service people don't know they need? They might suggest Meta (Facebook/Instagram) or LinkedIn for B2B. A bad answer is "we're experts in everything" or just defaulting to the platform they know best without justification.
• "What do you see as the biggest advertising challenge for a business like mine in Sheffield?" This is a great test of their local knowledge and commercial awareness. Can they identify specific local competitors? Do they mention the character of the Sheffield market? Or do they give a generic answer that could apply to any business, anywhere?
• "If we were to start tomorrow, walk me through how you'd structure the first campaign." Listen for words like 'testing', 'audiences', 'creatives', and 'funnel stages'. A strategist will talk about testing different audiences (e.g., broad interests vs. lookalikes) and different ad formats (e.g., image vs. video) separately. A button-pusher will talk about tools and settings. The real work is in finding the right combination of audience and message, this is a topic we've covered in our ultimate guide to vetting B2B ad consultants.
• "What metrics will you be reporting on, and which ones actually matter to you?" If they lead with clicks, impressions, or CTR, be wary. A strategic partner will talk about Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), Return On Ad Spend (ROAS), and Lead-to-Customer Rate. They care about the metrics that connect directly to your revenue.

What are the instant deal-breakers?

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is walk away. Trust your gut. If something feels off, it probably is. Here are some of the biggest red flags that should have you ending the conversation immediately:

Guaranteed Results: "We guarantee a 10x return on ad spend in your first month." This is the number one sign of a snake oil salesman. Paid advertising is not a predictable machine. There are far too many variables. An expert knows this and will talk about a process of optimisation and discovery, not about guarantees.

Lack of Transparency: If they are not willing to give you full, admin-level access to the ad accounts they build for you, run. The ad account is your asset, you are paying for it. Anyone who wants to keep it locked away is hiding something or planning to hold you hostage later.

The 'Trust' Issue: This one is a bit more subtle. I've found that if a potential client has reviewed a consultant's detailed case studies, had a free strategy call, and *still* asks for client references, it's often a sign of a deep-seated lack of trust. It tells me that no amount of data or results will ever be enough, and the relationship is doomed to fail. A good working relationship is a partnership, and that has to be built on mutual trust from the start.

Pushing for Long Contracts: A confident consultant will be happy to start with a shorter-term agreement, perhaps a 3-month initial project, to prove their value. Someone who tries to lock you into a 12-month contract from day one is more interested in their own security than your results.

So, how do I make the final choice?

By now, you should have a much clearer picture. You've filtered out the button-pushers and the salespeople. You're hopefully left with one or two potential strategic partners who understand your Sheffield business and have relevant experience.

The final decision comes down to a mix of evidence and chemistry. Who do you feel you can work with? Who challenged you the most (in a good way)? Who gave you the most clarity and confidence? Don't underestimate the importance of good communication and a partnership feel. Deciding between hiring a consultant versus building an in-house team is a big step, so you need to be sure you've found the right partner for your business stage.

To help you structure this final decision, the table below summarises my main recommendations. You can use it as a scorecard for your final candidates.

Hiring the right freelance consultant is one of the most powerful levers you can pull to grow your business. They can help you avoid the costly mistakes that most founders make when they try to go it alone, and can accelerate your path to finding a profitable, scalable source of new customers. It's not a cost; it's an investment in expertise.

If you’re a Sheffield-based business and this all sounds a bit overwhelming, or you just want a second pair of expert eyes on your current strategy, we offer a completely free, no-obligation initial consultation. We can review what you're doing and give you some honest, actionable advice to help you move forward.