I’ve been on hundreds of new client calls over my almost 21 years managing paid advertising accounts at JumpFly, and many times I can tell how well a client relationship is going to go based on the information the client shares with my team and me on that very first call. And more often than not, it comes down to expectations and whether those expectations are realistic.
When expectations are aligned early, relationships tend to be productive and long-lasting. When they aren’t, even the best paid search strategy in the world can’t fix the disconnect later.
Why We Don’t Guarantee Results
As an agency, we work very hard to set realistic expectations from the beginning. Our sales team will not guarantee, or even predict, the specific results our management team will deliver, nor will they give a timeframe for when “things will be better.”
If a company guarantees they can raise your ROAS by a certain percentage or reduce costs by a specific amount, that should be a red flag. No agency, no matter how experienced or skilled, can guarantee performance. When promises like that are made, the relationship is usually built on shaky ground from the start.
The Discovery Call (Our New Client Kickoff)
We often refer to the discovery call as the New Client Kickoff because it’s typically the first real working conversation between our team and the client. I’m involved in many of our audit calls, where an analyst reviews a client’s existing Google and Microsoft accounts and walks through what they’ve found, both good and bad.
The New Client Kickoff, however, is usually the first time the full teams – both ours and theirs – come together. When it’s done well, this meeting lays the foundation for trust, alignment, and long-term success. When it’s done poorly, it can create unrealistic expectations that no amount of optimization can fix later.
This call is a two-way conversation. It’s not a strategy presentation, and it’s not a promise of performance.
What We Aim to Learn on the Kickoff Call
Our goal for a New Client Kickoff is to understand three core things: the client’s business goals, where we can help immediately while also setting the accounts up for long-term success, and the boundaries around what we believe we can realistically do and what we can’t.
To get there, our team asks a lot of questions. We need to understand revenue goals, margins, seasonality, budget constraints, historical performance, and any past challenges. We also want clients to talk about their business more broadly – what other marketing efforts they’re running and what they believe differentiates them from competitors. Context matters, and without it, even good tactics can miss the mark.
My colleague Krystal wrote a great blog outlining the questions we ask on this first call, so check it out to get the full list.
The Importance of Data and Strong Foundations
Beyond gathering information, we’re very clear about one thing: our work depends on clean, accurate data. Paid media can’t fix broken funnels, low conversion rates, or unrealistic budgets.
That’s why we’re upfront about what is and isn’t within our control. We can drive qualified traffic, but we can’t compensate for fundamental issues elsewhere in the business. Being honest about this early helps prevent frustration later.
Setting Expectations Around Timing and Performance
Another critical part of the conversation is timing. Long-term issues can’t be fixed immediately, and sustainable performance is built through strong foundations, testing, learning, and iteration, not overnight changes.
We also talk through the fact that performance is influenced by more than just campaign optimization. Offers, pricing, competition, and the website experience all play a role. We can bring the traffic, but we can’t make someone buy; that’s the job of the website.
Defining Success Together
We always ask what success looks like to the client and work through whether those goals are realistic, how long it might take to achieve them, and in some cases, whether they’re achievable at all given the current constraints.
This includes discussing timelines for building new campaigns, how long learning periods typically take, what can be done as short-term triage, and what needs to be approached with a long-term mindset. Clear expectations here are critical to building trust.
Roles, Responsibilities, and Communication
We also clearly outline what we own and what the client owns. This includes approval processes for keywords and ad copy, expectations around communication, and the importance of client involvement.
The strongest partnerships I’ve had are with clients who actively engage with us and share both successes and challenges in their business. We aim for at least one monthly call, though we may meet more frequently early in the relationship. In most cases, weekly calls aren’t productive unless accounts are extremely volatile; there simply isn’t enough time between weeks for meaningful learning or strategic progress.
Budget Alignment and Realistic Trade-Offs
Budget is another area where expectations can easily become misaligned. A scenario I’ve encountered more than once is a client telling our sales team they have a $50,000 monthly budget, only for that number to drop to $20,000 on the kickoff call, while the revenue expectations remain the same. (“You’re the expert, just cut out the waste!”)
Budget impacts timing, learning speed, testing opportunities, and how realistic revenue goals truly are. Limited budgets slow progress and restrict scalability, but oversized budgets can also be problematic if clients expect them to be fully spent every month without being satisfied with performance. Aligning here is essential.
How We Close the New Client Kickoff
Before concluding the New Client Kickoff, we summarize what we learned, outline clear next steps and timelines, and are transparent if we don’t believe we’re the right fit, especially when what we’ve learned doesn’t align with what was shared earlier in the sales process.
My goal for any new client partnership is a long-term relationship, not a short-term sale. I’ve had clients who’ve been with me for my entire JumpFly career, and even one that predates me. When the client is successful, we’re successful, and that’s what matters.
Red Flags That Signal a Poor Partnership
Some warning signs tend to surface early and are worth paying attention to:
- Unrealistically high ROAS expectations without any willingness to change pricing, offers, or strategy
- Extremely short timelines, such as expecting performance to double within 30 days
- Very low budgets paired with national coverage goals in highly competitive markets
- Rudeness or disrespect toward our team, their own team, or our time
- Clients that don’t let us ask our questions or get through our agenda, which usually means they don’t respect our expertise; clients like this tend to micromanage and not listen
Clients are usually on their best behavior at the start of a relationship. If these issues appear early, they rarely improve later. I’ve gone back to sales or to management and said this client isn’t worth the headache to take them on.
Honest Beginnings Lead to Better Outcomes
At the end of the day, setting proper expectations on the discovery call isn’t about slowing things down or being overly cautious. It’s about setting the relationship up to succeed. Honest conversations early on protect both the client and the agency, and they create the foundation for trust, accountability, and long-term growth. When expectations are realistic and aligned from the start, the work becomes more effective, the partnership stronger, and the results more meaningful for everyone involved.
