Marketing
consultation

What a marketing consultation is for

A marketing consultation is the cheapest way to get an experienced second opinion before you commit real money. You're not buying a project or signing a contract; you're buying an hour of focused attention from someone who builds websites, runs Google Ads management and sets up CRM for clients right now. Owners usually book one at a turning point: before signing with an agency, before a redesign, when ad costs jump for no obvious reason, or when they want to bring marketing in-house.

Most of what I say on a call comes from accounts and projects I'm running today, not from a course I took years ago. That matters, because ad platforms change settings and defaults every few months. Advice that was right in 2023 can quietly cost you money in 2026.

When one hour is enough, and when it isn't

An hour works well for a single decision. Should you test Google or Meta first? Is this agency proposal reasonable? Why did cost per lead double last month? Which CRM suits a four-person office? You bring the question, I come prepared, and we finish with an answer.

An hour falls short when the problem has no clear edges. If you don't know why sales went flat, or you suspect every channel leaks a little, the audit with a walkthrough call is the better format: I review the website, ads, Google Business Profile and tracking first, then explain the findings in order of impact. For a full plan with budgets and targets per channel, the marketing audit and strategy is the right tool.

If you run marketing yourself, or have an employee who does, a single call rarely changes habits. That's what marketing mentoring is for: regular sessions where we review results together and you build the skill step by step. With three or more people involved, marketing training for your team is usually more efficient.

How I prepare for the call

Before every paid call I go through what's public: your website on a phone and a laptop, your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and the ads competitors run in your metro. If you give me read-only access to Google Ads, Meta or GA4, I'll also check search terms, conversions and costs. The call then starts from your situation instead of general theory.

What US owners ask about most

Some questions are specific to the American market. Owners collecting emails want to know what CAN-SPAM requires. Anyone planning text campaigns asks about TCPA consent and 10DLC registration, usually after hearing a horror story. Businesses selling to California residents ask whether the CCPA applies to them, and anyone who got an ADA demand letter wants to know how accessible their site really is. I'll explain what I know from setting these things up in practice, and tell you clearly when it's time to call an attorney.

Cost is the other big theme. In many US niches clicks are expensive, and national chains and franchises bid on the same searches as the local shop. A consultation is often where an owner decides whether paid search makes sense at all, or whether a stronger Google Business Profile and a better website should come first.

Seasonality comes up too. An HVAC company in Phoenix, a roofer on the Gulf Coast during hurricane season and a snow removal business in Minneapolis all have months to push hard and months to pause. Setting that rhythm ahead of time saves a lot of budget.

Mistakes I see before a first consultation

Three keep repeating. Owners judge ads by clicks and impressions because that's what the dashboard shows first, while the number that matters, cost per inquiry, isn't tracked at all. They let an agency keep the ad account in its own name, so leaving means starting over. And they pay for a new website before checking whether anyone even sees the old one. A short call usually catches all three.

In your time zone, in your language

I'm based in Europe and work remotely with businesses across the US, so consultations happen on Zoom in your morning, which is my afternoon. Eastern and Central owners get the widest choice of slots; Pacific owners usually pick an early one. I can run the call in English, Polish, Russian or Ukrainian, which many immigrant-owned businesses in places like Chicago or New Jersey appreciate. I don't consult in Spanish.

After the call

You leave with concrete next steps. Some owners carry them out alone and return months later with the next question. Others ask me to take over a channel, and then my regular pricing applies. Either outcome is fine with me. I'd rather you spend $65 and avoid a five-figure mistake than sell you a project you don't need yet. Fair warning: once you start tracking cost per customer, it's hard to go back.