Trying to find a decent advertising consultant in London can feel like a proper nightmare. The market is absolutely flooded with people calling themselves 'experts', and most of them will just burn through your cash with nothing to show for it. The truth is, most businesses get it wrong. They look for flashy websites or big promises, when what they really need is a partner who understands their specific business and knows how to get results in a seriously competative market like this one.
So, forget the usual approach. Let's talk about how you can actually find someone who knows what they're doing and won't waste your time or money. It's not about finding a supplier; it's about finding a strategic partner.
So, where do you even start looking?
Your first instinct is probably to google "advertising agency London" or "freelance ad consultant". Don't. You'll just get a list of whoever is best at SEO for their own business, not necessarily the best at running ads for yours. It's a list of the best marketers of marketing, which isn't what you need. You need the best marketer for your product or service.
The real starting point is a change in mindset. You're not looking for a generalist. You're looking for someone with specific, provable experience in your niche, or at least a similar one. The first place to look is at their case studies. This is non-negotiable. If they can't show you detailed examples of their past work, with real numbers, you walk away. It's that simple.
You want to see that they've worked with businesses like yours. If you're a B2B SaaS company, a case study about a local pizza shop is completely irrelevant. You need to see that they understand the longer sales cycles, the complex decision-making units, and the kind of messaging that resonates with a business audience. Conversely, if you run an eCommerce brand, you want to see they can generate a direct return on ad spend, not just 'leads'.
How do I know if their case studies are any good?
This is where you need to put your critical thinking cap on. A lot of agencies show off with vanity metrics that don't mean a thing for your bottom line. "10 Million Views" for a luxury brand sounds impressive, but did it sell any products? Maybe, maybe not. It was a brand launch, so maybe sales wasn't the goal. You need to look for the metrics that actually matter to a business owner.
Look for results that are tied to revenue or customer acquisition. For example, we've got case studies showing things like a "1000% Return On Ad Spend" for a subscription box, or "£107k Revenue Generated at 618% ROAS" for a prize draw company. See those numbers? They are in pounds (£), and they talk about Return On Ad Spend (ROAS). That shows an understanding of the UK market and a focus on what matters: profit.
If you're a software business, you should be looking for things like Cost Per Trial or Cost Per User Acquisition. We've managed to get "5082 Software Trials at $7 cost per trial" for one client, and for another, a medical job matching platform, we "Reduced £100 CPA to £7 CPA". That's a massive, tangible improvement that directly impacts their profitability. Those are the kinds of results you're looking for. Vague claims about 'increasing brand awareness' are a huge red flag.
Here's a quick checklist for reviewing case studies:
- -> Is the business in a similar industry to mine? (e.g., B2B, B2C, SaaS, eCommerce, Service)
- -> Are the results expressed in real business terms (Revenue, ROAS, CPA, CPL) and not just vanity metrics (impressions, clicks, reach)?
- -> Are the results local? Seeing results in £ for a UK-based business is a very good sign.
- -> Does it sound realistic? If they're claiming a 50x return for every client, they are probably lying. Advertising is tough, and not every campaign is a massive winner. Honesty is a good sign.
What questions should I ask on that first call?
Okay, so you've found a consultant with some promising case studies. The next step is the initial call or consultation. This is your interview. You are hiring them, not the other way around. Most businesses mess this up by asking weak questions. Don't be one of them.
Your goal on this call isn't to be 'sold to'. It's to find out if they are a strategic thinker. A good consultant will spend most of the time asking you questions. They'll want to understand your business, your goals, your customers, your margins, your LTV. If they just launch into a pitch about their services without understanding your situation, they're not a consultant; they're a salesman.
Here’s a table of questions you should be asking, versus the ones you should avoid.
| Good Questions (Tests for Strategic Thinking) | Bad Questions (Leads to Vague Promises) |
|---|---|
| "Based on what I've told you, who do you think my Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is, and what's the biggest problem we solve for them?" | "How many leads can you get me?" |
| "Which advertising platforms would you prioritise for us first, and why?" | "Do you do Facebook ads?" |
| "What sort of offer or call to action do you think would work best for our audience?" | "Can you guarantee a 5x ROAS?" |
| "What's the most common mistake you see businesses in my industry making with their ads?" | "What's your price?" (Ask this later, after you've established value) |
| "Can you walk me through how you would calculate what we can afford to pay for a customer?" | "How quickly can we see results?" |
Tbh in paid advertising, you can't really promise anything. It's impossible to predict exactly how the ads will perform. Anyone who guarantees you results is either inexperienced or being dishonest. What a good consultant *can* do is show you a logical process, based on experience, that gives you the best possible chance of success. They sell you on their process and expertise, not on a guaranteed outcome.
They're talking about strategy. What should I be listening for?
This is the real meat of the conversation. A great consultant will start thinking about your strategy right there on the call. Their answers to your questions should sound something like this, demonstrating a clear, logical framework for how they approach advertising.
First, they'll challenge your definition of your customer.
You might say "we sell to finance companies in London with 50-200 employees". A good consultant will tell you that's useless. That's a demographic, not a customer. They'll push you to define your customer by their pain. They'll say something like: "Forget the company size for a second. Who is the person inside that company who has a nightmare that we can solve? Is it the Head of Compliance who is terrified of a new regulation? Is it the CFO who can't get accurate cash flow data and is worried about making payroll?"
This is what we mean when we say your ICP is a nightmare, not a demographic. Your ads can't speak to a company size. They have to speak to a person's urgent, expensive problem. An expert knows this. They'll want to know what podcasts that person listens to, what newsletters they read, what software they already use. That's the intelligence that shapes a winning campaign, and it's a far cry from just targeting "Finance" on LinkedIn.
Second, they'll have a clear opinion on the message.
Once you know the pain, you need a message that speaks to it directly. A good consultant will be able to sketch this out. They'll tell you to stop selling the features of your service and start selling the solution to the nightmare. For example, if you sell fractional CFO services, your ad shouldn't say "Expert Financial Strategy". It should say something like: "Are your cash flow projections just a shot in the dark? Are you one bad month away from a payroll crisis? Get expert financial strategy for a fraction of a full-time hire." You're not selling a service; you're selling a good night's sleep. That's the difference. They should be able to articulate this distinction clearly.
Third, they will tear apart your offer.
This is probably the biggest failure point for most businesses. You drive traffic to a page with a "Request a Demo" or "Contact Us" button. A top consultant will tell you this is lazy and arrogant. You're asking a busy decision-maker to book a sales call. It's high friction and low value. It's an instant turn-off.
They will insist that your offer's only job is to deliver an "aha!" moment of undeniable value, for free. For a SaaS company, that's a free trial with no credit card. For a service business like ours, it's a free 20-minute strategy session where we audit their failing ad campaigns and give them actionable advice. For a data analytics firm, it might be a free 'Data Health Check'. You have to solve a small, real problem for free to earn the right to solve their big problems for a fee. If the consultant you're talking to doesn't challenge your "Request a Demo" button, they don't understand modern B2B advertising.
What kind of results are realistic for the London market?
This is a tough one, but a good consultant should be able to give you some realistic ballpark figures based on their experience. Anyone who avoids this question is hiding something. Costs in London and the UK are high because it's a developed, English-speaking market. It's one of the most competative places to advertise in the world.
Here's a rough idea of what you might expect, based on our own campaign data. This is just an estimate, but it's grounded in reality.
| Objective & Market | Typical CPC | Typical Landing Page CVR | Estimated Cost per Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leads/Signups (UK/Developed) | £0.50 - £1.50 | 10% - 30% | £1.60 - £15.00 |
| eCommerce Sales (UK/Developed) | £0.50 - £1.50 | 2% - 5% | £10.00 - £75.00 |
| B2B Qualified Leads (LinkedIn, UK) | £5.00 - £15.00 | 5% - 15% | £33.00 - £300.00 |
But honestly, the cost per lead is the wrong question. The real question is: "how much can I afford to spend to acquire a customer?" To answer that, you and your consultant need to understand your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).
It's not as complicated as it sounds. Here's the basic formula:
LTV = (Average Revenue Per Customer Per Month * Gross Margin %) / Monthly Churn Rate
Let's run an example for a hypothetical London-based SaaS business:
- -> Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): £400/month
- -> Gross Margin: 80% (0.80)
- -> Monthly Churn Rate: 5% (0.05) of customers cancel each month
LTV = (£400 * 0.80) / 0.05
LTV = £320 / 0.05 = £6,400
So, each customer is worth £6,400 in gross margin over their lifetime. A healthy ratio of LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is 3:1. This means you can afford to spend up to £6,400 / 3 = £2,133 to acquire a single customer.
Suddenly, a £150 lead from LinkedIn doesn't seem so expensive, does it? If you close 1 in 10 of those leads, your CAC is £1,500, which is well within your profitable range. This is the maths that separates professional advertisers from amateurs. A good consultant will not only understand this but will insist on doing this calculation with you before a single penny is spent. It frames the entire strategy.
What are the biggest red flags I should watch out for?
It’s just as important to know what to avoid. I've seen so many businesses get burned. Here are the things that should make you run for the hills.
| 🚩 Red Flags (Run Away) | 🟢 Green Flags (Good Signs) |
|---|---|
| Guarantees Results: "We guarantee a 5x ROAS". Impossible and dishonest. | Focuses on Process: Explains their methodology for testing, learning, and optimising. |
| Uses Corporate Jargon: Talks about "synergies", "leveraging assets", "growth hacking". It's fluff to hide a lack of substance. | Speaks Plain English: Explains complex ideas simply. Talks about customers, problems, and profit. |
| No Relevant Case Studies: Can't show you proof they've helped similar businesses acheive their goals. | Has Highly Relevant Proof: Shows you detailed case studies that are close to your niche, with real numbers. |
| Focuses on Vanity Metrics: Gets excited about clicks, impressions, or 'reach'. | Focuses on Business Metrics: Immediately asks about your CPA targets, LTV, and revenue goals. |
| Long, Inflexible Contracts: Tries to lock you into a 12-month retainer from day one. | Offers a Test Project or Flexible Terms: Confident enough in their work to start with a smaller project or a 3-month term. |
| Doesn't Ask Questions: Spends the whole first call pitching their own services. | Is More Interested in You: The first call feels like a consultation where they are diagnosing your business. |
Another thing to watch out for is trust. If you've gone through their case studies, had a free, in-depth strategy call, and you still feel the need to ask for references to call their other clients, it might be a sign of a bad fit. Tbh, for us, that's often a red flag. It signals that the trust isn't there from the start, and that's a difficult foundation to build a succesful partnership on.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
Finding the right person is tough, but it's not impossible if you follow a logical process. It's a major decision that can make or break your growth for the next year. Here's a summary of the approach you should take.
| Step | Actionable Advice | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vet Case Studies | Ignore everyone who cannot show you detailed, relevant case studies with real business metrics (ROAS, CPA, Revenue) in your currency (£). | This is the only real proof of competence. Everything else is just talk. It filters out 90% of the time-wasters. |
| 2. The First Call | Go into the call to interview them. Ask strategic questions about your ICP, their pain points, and your offer. See if they offer a free, valuable audit or strategy session. | This tests if they are a strategic partner or just a salesman. Their questions are more important than their answers. |
| 3. Define the Maths | Insist on calculating your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and an affordable Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) *before* discussing ad spend. | This moves the conversation from "how cheap can we get leads" to "how much can we profitably invest to grow". It's the foundation of a scalable strategy. |
| 4. Scrutinise the Offer | Challenge the "Request a Demo" button. Push for a high-value, low-friction offer that provides instant value to your prospect for free. | The offer is often the weakest link. A great consultant will fix this first, as it has a bigger impact than any ad creative. |
| 5. Look for a Partner | Look for someone who challenges you, speaks plainly, is transparent about risks, and is clearly focused on your business's bottom line. | You are not hiring a pair of hands to click buttons. You're hiring a brain to help you navigate a complex, competative landscape. Trust and alignment are paramount. |
Getting this right is probably one of the highest-leverage decisions you can make for your business. The right partner won't just run your ads; they'll force you to get clearer on your customer, your messaging, and your business model. The wrong one will just set your money on fire.
This is a lot to take in, and the reality is that doing this properly takes expertise and experience. It's not just about setting up a campaign; it's about understanding the deep strategic levers that actually drive growth. That's where working with a specialist consultancy can make a huge difference, especially in a market as fierce as London's.
If you'd like an expert, no-nonsense opinion on your current advertising strategy, we offer a completely free, 20-minute consultation. We'll look at what you're doing, tell you what's wrong, and give you actionable advice you can implement straight away. No sales pitch, just a taste of the expertise you need to start growing profitably.
