Most agencies sound the same on a sales call. The differences show up three months later: who actually runs your account, what goes in the report, and what happens to your data if you leave. These 12 questions bring all of that out before you sign anything.
- Who runs my account day to day, and will I speak to them?
- Who owns the ad account, the Pixel and the audiences?
- What will the monthly report show: leads and sales, or reach and clicks?
- If you only ask three questions, ask those three.
The 12 questions
For each one, here's what a good answer sounds like and what should make you pause.
Who will run my account day to day?
Good answer: a named person, their experience, and how often you'll speak to them. Red flag: "our team", with no name, or the senior person from the sales call vanishing once you sign.
How many other accounts does that person look after?
Good answer: a straight number, and how often they'll be inside your account each week. Red flag: they won't say, or the number is too high for anyone to look at each account properly every week.
What exactly does the fee include?
Good answer: a written list covering setup, tracking, how many new ads a month, which formats, reporting and calls. Red flag: "everything you need", with creative, video or landing pages quoted later. How much Facebook ads management costs lists the usual extras.
Is there a setup fee or a minimum term?
Good answer: none, or a setup fee that buys something specific, and month-to-month terms or a short notice period. Red flag: a 6 or 12-month minimum with no way out if results don't come.
Will my ad spend be billed to my own card?
Good answer: yes, inside your own ad account, so you see exactly what Meta charged. Red flag: the agency pays Meta and invoices you, without showing Meta's own invoices.
Who owns the ad account, the Pixel and the audiences?
Good answer: you do, in your own Meta business account, with the agency added as a partner. Red flag: everything is built inside the agency's business account.
What happens to everything if I leave?
Good answer: you keep the account, its history, the audiences and the creative files, and their access is removed cleanly. Red flag: "we'd have to discuss that".
How will you track leads and sales?
Good answer: the Meta Pixel plus the Conversions API, tested before launch, with leads matched to real customers where possible. Red flag: "Meta tracks it automatically", or no mention of server-side tracking.
What will the monthly report show?
Good answer: leads, bookings or sales, the cost of each, what changed and what's next. Red flag: reach, impressions and engagement as the headline numbers.
How often will you change things, and how will I know?
Good answer: a rhythm you can see, such as weekly checks and new creative every month, with a short note on what changed. Red flag: the same ads and campaigns running untouched for months.
What do you need from me?
Good answer: access, details of your offer, photos or video, fast follow-up on leads, and your numbers: customer value and how many leads you close. Red flag: nothing at all, which usually means nobody will ask what a customer is worth to you.
Can you show results for a business like mine, and who isn't a fit?
Good answer: real numbers with context, such as the timeframe, spend and type of business, and an honest list of who they turn away. Red flag: guaranteed results, or every business being a perfect fit.
Why the report question matters most
When we took over a two-site climbing gym's Meta ads from another agency, nothing in the account was technically broken. The tracking worked and the campaigns were optimizing for sales. Alongside them sat an engagement campaign that had produced 12,237 post engagements for £85.99, a number that is genuinely impressive and means nothing. As far as we could tell, it was the number being reported.
Meanwhile, one always-on sales campaign had run for more than a year and had long since stopped learning, returning £0.82 for every £1 spent. Eight months after we took it on, the account returns £2.99 on a third less spend. Questions 9 and 10 would have surfaced the problem in the first month.
How we'd answer them
It's only fair to answer our own list:
- The person who sells you the work is the person who runs it.
- Facebook and Instagram ads management runs $500-$2,000 a month. Static ads and carousels are included; short-form video is quoted separately, before anything gets made.
- Month-to-month, with no setup fee and no long-term contract.
- Your ad spend goes straight to Meta, on your own card, never through us.
- You keep full ownership of your ad account, the Pixel and the audiences.
- The Pixel and the Conversions API are set up and tested on day one.
- Reporting maps spend to leads and booked customers, with weekly updates and fortnightly calls.
- Our case studies publish the real numbers, and we'll tell you on the first call if we're not the right fit.
What to bring to the call
You'll get far better answers if you bring three things: what a new customer is worth to you, how many leads usually become customers, and either access to your ad account or a few screenshots of the last three months. A good agency will ask for all three. If you're still deciding whether ads make sense at all, start with are Facebook ads worth it for a small business.
Questions people ask
How do I choose a Facebook ads agency?
Compare them on who runs your account, who owns the ad account and data, what the monthly report shows, and the contract terms, before you compare price. An agency that answers those four clearly is usually worth a closer look.
What should a Facebook ads agency report each month?
Leads, bookings or sales, what each one cost, what was spent, what changed in the account and why, and what happens next. Reach, impressions and engagement can explain results, but they shouldn't be the headline.
Should I sign a 12-month contract with an ads agency?
It's rarely necessary. Month-to-month terms or a short notice period let you leave if results don't come. A long minimum mostly protects the agency.
Should the agency own my Facebook ad account?
No. The ad account, the Pixel and your audiences should sit in your own Meta business account, with the agency added as a partner. Then nothing is lost if you part ways.
How long before an agency should show results?
In our accounts, first leads typically land in 10-14 days, with a reliable cost per lead by around day 45. Be wary of anyone promising results in days, or asking for six months before you'll see anything.
What are the biggest red flags?
No named person running your account, an ad account the agency owns, reports built on reach and engagement, long lock-ins, and guaranteed results. Any one of these is worth a follow-up question.
Is NCMborz the right fit for every business?
No. We're not the right fit if your offer hasn't sold yet without ads, if you're looking for the lowest price, or if you can't commit a real ad budget alongside the fee. We'd rather say so on the first call.
Want to put these questions to us? Book a strategy call. Ask all 12, and we'll answer them about your account, not in general.
